Some UCLA students go on vacation over their summer break. Some take summer school, and others hit the beach. Mark Iverson, a second-year film and television student, made his third professional-quality film.
Iverson is a filmmaker in all senses of the word: He wrote, directed, produced, and played a supporting role in his new film “Blind Landing.”
He has completed and screened two other film projects in the suburbs of Chicago, where he grew up, but today will be the first time one of Iverson’s movies will premiere in Los Angeles.
“As much as I love DVDs, there is something about the movie theater experience that is incomparable,” said Iverson. “Things are bigger, more exciting and more dramatic.”
Iverson isn’t the only person excited for the film’s Los Angeles premiere. Steve Coulter, one of the lead producers of “Blind Landing,” is eager to observe the student reactions to the film.
“This kind of film is perfect for a college-aged audience,” Coulter said. “It’s a story about how everyone expects to grow up and have more mature relationships in college, even though that isn’t always the case. Everyone can relate to a story like this.”
Coulter is one of the founding members of CNGM Pictures, a nonprofit organization of filmmakers in Chicago, many of whom have worked with Iverson on their own projects in addition to his.
“Working with Mark is really neat,” Coulter said. “When he and I work together, we are able to help each other, but we are aware that we have different styles”.
Coulter is graduating from the University of Iowa with a degree in business management this May, after which he will move to California and hopes to work on more films with Iverson. Their differing styles ultimately lend themselves well to gaining experience in the industry.
“(Mark) knows what he wants, but he lets his actors make their own choices with their roles. He just likes to make everyone happy,” said Paige Minor, who went to high school with Iverson and plays the female lead in “Blind Landing.”
Minor is currently a production assistant at Disney and intends to major in theater at Moorpark College and go into a career in acting. But she’s impressed with what Iverson has already accomplished.
“If I saw his name in lights, I wouldn’t be at all surprised,” she said.
“Blind Landing” is a story very close to Iverson’s heart because it is similar to an experience that he had with his high school girlfriend. He was inspired to make this film in his senior year of high school, after he had just finished his first feature-length picture. He had written about his rocky experiences with his high school sweetheart for a college admission essay, and realized that the story had a great format for a short film.
“Doing this film really helped me deal with what happened,” Iverson said. “Making movies is such a great way to work out your feelings about the world.”
Although Iverson is one of few out-of-state students at UCLA, he welcomes the California college lifestyle.
“I never wanted to go to an art school,” said Iverson. “Having a cumulative college experience is just wonderful.”
In the future, Iverson hopes to write many more films and continue enjoying the life of a college student.
“If you want to be a filmmaker, you have to make movies, even if you have crappy equipment, horrible actors, and you aren’t really sure how to write scripts yet,” said Iverson. “If you want to make movies, how can you not?”