Left: Cook County High School graduates David Riehm (left) and Kyle Ford, now film students at Moorpark College, California, review a scene while filming the thriller The Room.
After several months of writing, finding cast members, then rehearsing and filming within the walls of a purportedly haunted mansion, Director Kyle Ford, 22, is ready to share his latest production, The Room, with the public at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts on Monday, July 6 at 7:00 p.m.
The Room is the frightening tale of a little boy with a seemingly normal life—until he attempts to visit a secret room in the attic. “He discovers something shocking,” said Ford.
Executive Director Ford doesn’t want to give away the story, but he is happy to talk about the help he received from his Cook County High School classmates David Riehm and Charlie Rude. Riehm wrote the screenplay for the 45-minute production and Rude had a small part in the movie. Riehm also did a lot of camera work and Rude did grip work. “We all did whatever we needed to do,” said Rude.
Rude has had a few other acting roles—in an Eric Hutchinson music video, as an extra in Emma Roberts’ Wild Child, and as a wounded German soldier in the opening scene of the Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie.
Below: The film students also created the eerie poster advertising the play, which will be shown at the Arts Center on Monday, July 6.
The Room is a follow-up to last summer’s 35-minute Trauma, which was also a Moorpark College Production. The success of that film helped Ford and the other film students obtain more funding for The Room—and enabled them to shoot on location at the Camarillo Ranch house, a mansion built in 1892 and believed to be the scene of several deaths. Although other crewmembers had eerie experiences, Ford, Riehm, and Rude did not. Theywere pleased to be able to use the old house for the production.
“We were able to rent it for $450 a day when they usually charge $4,000 a day. But we got a break because we are students,” said Ford.
The savings made it possible for the film class to buy new camera equipment and the computer technology needed for some sequences with special effects. It also made it possible to hire 12-year-old Zack Emerson from LA Casting, who Ford said, “steals the movie.”
“You’re rooting for him the whole time,” said Ford.
But will your positive thoughts for the little boy save him? If you want to find out, don’t miss the screening of TheRoom.
In addition to The Room, Ford will share some of his earlier works, film shorts entitled Love Won’t Un-die, a zombie love story; Corpse Anonymous, a sacrilegious story of an AA meeting for the recently deceased; and Peace of Mind, a dramatic work about a young man (Rude) being committed to a psych ward.
The films are not recommended for small children, as they have adult language and content.
The Room Arrowhead Center for the Arts Monday, July 6 7:00 p.m.
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