East Hampton Star story
October 15, 2009
[From The East Hampton Star - Oct 8, 2009]
“A Hamptons Homecoming”
By Kate Maier
on the set of "Schooled" with Alysia Reiner. Photo by Brendan Elms
The Hamptons International Film Festival might be surprised to find a true East Hamptoner in their midst this year.
Like many others, Brooks Elms, a Californian who recently wrote a script along with a longtime friend, Greg Cantwell of New York, will be in town to rub elbows with more established people in the film industry. But while he is here, Mr. Elms most likely will also be paying a visit to his mother at the house he grew up in on McGuirk Street. He’s also bound to meet up with some of the cast and crew members of the 50-some-odd films he churned out as a student at East Hampton High School.
The movie he will be pitching to producers, “Montauk Highway,” explores class division in a place called East Hampton. The lead character’s last name is Bennett.
After his most recently completed film, “Schooled,” became a “cult classic in the alternative education community,” Mr. Elms went back to the drawing board to create a script that would appeal to a wider audience, “instead of beloved micro-niches,” he said.
Enter Mr. Cantwell, a former high school buddy who is an advertising sales executive for Spike TV and Comedy Central in Manhattan. “Through my mom and through Greg, I have a sense of what’s going on out there,” Mr. Elms said. Mr. Cantwell “had the sort of base idea to do something in the summer when there was a scandal and the tensions were particularly high.”
The two tossed around a number of ideas before coming back to one that Mr. Cantwell had suggested before. In the script, a local girl is killed by a wealthy visitor from Manhattan in a hit-and-run accident.
Ultimately, the protagonist must decide between standing up for his friends, a group of “tough, sun-kissed, blue-collar kids who think college is a waste of time, and that rich people are a waste of life,” or adopting the privileged lifestyle that he has been invited to adopt.
“That other idea from the past came lurching forward, especially with the economic times; it’s so severe between the haves and the have-nots,” Mr. Elms said last week. “The Hamptons is such a known town, but very few people really know what it’s like from a local perspective.”
As a student at East Hampton High School in the late 1980s, Mr. Elms made short experimental films and videos with a core group whose members included Mr. Cantwell, Rich Morey, Fred Ryerson, Jed Laskowitz, Chris Kelly, and Jay, Matt, and Bryan Charron. [Plus, P.J. Cantwell, Matt Dauch and many more!]
Many were aired on LTV, and “at our peak, we made a 55-minute movie that we premiered in the E.H.H.S. auditorium in front of over 100 people,” Mr. Elms said in an e-mail.
Mr. Elms took his adolescent ambition to the next level as a film student at New York University. Fittingly, the first film he made there won him a production grant at the Hamptons International Film Festival. His thesis film, “Drew, Trip, and Zoey,” snagged a screenwriting award from New York University.
“Next up was an experimental narrative called ‘Disaster Video,’ about a nervous astronomer who isn’t sure if he’s discovered a meteor heading toward earth that will exterminate our species, or if his girlfriend is just cheating on him,” Mr. Elms said by e-mail.
“I learned two excellent lessons from that movie: Number one, I needed to learn more about story structure. And number two, I needed time off.”
Mr. Elms spent the next few years in Chapel Hill in North Carolina “devouring books on psychology, the human growth movement, and radical educational philosophies.” Since then, he has been exploring themes of authority and hierarchy in his work. “Montauk Highway” is a manifestation of this new perspective.
At the festival, Mr. Elms and Mr. Cantwell will be touring parties and panel discussions along with Tony Abrams, another filmmaker who has signed on to the project as the director. The hope is to forge a contact with an executive producer who can turn the dream into a reality.
Mr. Elms also hopes to run into Alec Baldwin, a task that many who live on the South Fork do not find that difficult. Aside from leading “A Conversation With Martin Bregman” on Saturday, Mr. Baldwin serves on the board and has historically been super-involved in festival activities.
Mr. Elms is also looking forward to seeing a few films made by former colleagues. Andrew Hollander, the composer who worked on “Schooled,” also wrote the score for “Serious Moonlight.” Directed by Cheryl Hines and starring Meg Ryan, the movie will be screened today at 1:30 and tomorrow at 9:30 p.m.
Alysia Reiner, the leading lady in “Schooled,” [produces] and stars in “Speed Grieving,” a short film that is to run in the New York Women in Film and Television series.
While Mr. Elms tries to visit East Hampton at least once a year to see family and friends, he anticipates being entirely consumed by the festival, which he hasn’t attended since college. He is likely to notice that a lot has changed over the festival’s 17 years, with more stars, films, discussions, and workshops than ever before.
If he has time, he said, he might make it down to the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett for a late-night drink and perhaps to run into some old friends — but his main purpose will be to talk to some of the heavy hitters the festival is known to attract.
“There will be more networking than Mom on this trip,” he said.
Ashley Sings at the Lakers’ Game!
February 27, 2009
Ashley Argota plays Soomi, in “Schooled.”
Here she is belting out the national anthem for The Lakers.
Go, Ashley!!
QUEENS FILM FEST Screening Info
November 4, 2008
LAUNCH DAY! SPREAD WORD! WIN POSTER!
October 16, 2008
The link to the launch of our Special DVD Offer is:
http://www.schooledthefilm.com/124
It’s a 20% discount, plus a bundle of Bonus Gifts worth more than $100!
To celebrate, we designed 17inch x11inch posters. If you spread the word
about this offer to even ONE other person, let me know
(you can BCC me), and I’ll enter your name in our raffle.
Winner gets to pick a signed poster of your choice
and make all your friends insanely jealous!
Spreading the word is easy. Think of somebody you know who’s:
– a concerned teacher/educator
– somebody else who’s a thoughtful parent
– and somebody else who’s into psychology/personal growth
Send an e-mail to them (and maybe others) with this text:
–Subject: “You might want to check out this film”
–Body Text: “My friend made this indie film called “Schooled.”
They’re running a really cool special offer TODAY. Follow this link:
http://www.schooledthefilm.com/124
And that’s it!
Do it now! You KNOW you want to feel the power and good will
of spreading the word for a gutsy little film with heart!
Plus, I’ll add you to the raffle to win a poster!
–B
“SCHOOLED” DVD SPECIAL OFFER!
September 8, 2008
I’m VERY excited about this… On Oct. 15th, we’re launching a promo for the DVD where people get 20% off AND special bonus gifts. Some gifts are for the rebel education crowd like: a free annual subscription to The Alternative Education Newsletter (edited by notable education author Ron Miller), and a 10% discount to the “Re-Thinking Education Conference,” and there’s also 20% off membership to the “European Democratic Education Community” (EUDEC). For the show biz people, there’s the new e-book by renown Hollywood Coaching founder David Brownstein. And for everybody there’s unreleased new music from musicians involved in the film, and even more!
So it’s an awesome bundle of extras, on top of the discounted DVD and I’m pumped up about getting the offer to as many people in the target audience as possible.
If you’re a member of message boards, e-mail lists, or have your own newsletter or blogs that serve people who’d want to know about this offer: teachers, therapists, homeschoolers, rebel parents, personal growth geeks (like me!) and, of course, indie film fans ——- then hook them up by sharing this offer on LAUNCH DAY, Wed. Oct. 15. Just let me know you’re interested in spreading the word and I’ll send an e-mail reminder to you with the link to the special offer on the morning of Launch Day.
In the meantime, if you personally know any large traffic bloggers or websites that seem to serve this audience (again it’s: teachers, therapists, homeschoolers, rebel parents, indie film fans, and personal growth geeks) please send me an e-mail so I can connect with them: Brooks@BrooksElms.com
If we do serve an overlapping audience, they’ll be excited to extend this offer to their community because it adds value to their content, makes them look good, and at no cost to them.
Yeah!
–Brooks
SAVE THE BLUE MOUNTAIN SCHOOL!
June 18, 2008
The ONLY publicly funded American school using the Sudbury Valley model is in danger of losing it’s funding. I’ve posted the e-mail I received asking for support, as well as the e-mail I wrote to help. If you’re moved to help, you have to act fast!
============
After the Oregon State Department of Education issued a proposed final order in favor of Blue Mountain School (BMS) citing that it was wrongfully terminated by the local school district, the future of the school is still in the hands of the local school district. In order for BMS to continue, a majority YES vote by the board is needed to renew the school on July 7th. The local school district’s recent site visit report to the board included inaccuracies that ended up making the school look bad, when in fact, very significant improvements were made. If the board doesn’t approve the renewal on July 7th, the school will submit an appeal to the state and will be funded only until the state makes a decision. If the state rules in the school’s favor as it did before, it can only tell the district to reconsider; it has no power, and the school will have lost it’s funding.
So, parents and Blue Mountain supporters have been reaching out to board members to listen to their concerns in hopes of getting a YES vote at the July 7th renewal meeting.
An inside source (who cannot be named) from the State Department of Education let on that your letters, your emails to Susan Castillo made an impact, a big difference.
I’m here with one knee on the ground and the words “pretty please.” I’m asking if you would send a short, friendly email to the South Lane Board Members, and ask them to renew the school at the July 7th meeting. I did forward all of your previous letters but a direct email from you (with your city/state) will be hard to ignore. It is powerful when people come together.
You have already shared your valuable time and it’s hard for me to ask for more. It is a matter of one vote, just one other YES vote from a previously unsupportive board member. That’s what we need, and we ask you to help us do that.
Please consider sending an email to the following addresses.
Thank you sincerely.
Therese Nguyen, Blue Mountain parent
tompatmcvey@msn.com
cheryl@breedenhomes.com
sherry@duerst-higgins.com
jraade@southlanefire.org
jim@cybernos.com
iamcarrie@oip.net
ruby56@gmail.com,
kparent@lane.k12.or.us
=================[My Letter of Support]========
To The Members of The South Lane Board:
I’m writing to passionately urge you to renew the funding
for the Blue Mountain School on July 7th. The world-wide
democratic school movement is growing steadily
and keeping this school funded is powerful message
to the community that children CAN be trusted
to be far more involved in the central policies
of their communities, and that they can be fully involved
in the creation of their unique educational curriculum itself.
I teamed up with several Oscar winning colleagues
to make a feature film called “Schooled,” that was
inspired by the success of this unusual education model.
The film has screened all over the world, including Europe, Australia,
and several US cities like: New York, LA, San Francisco, Dallas,
and many others. We’ve got another screening coming up
in Germany in a few weeks.
Although this approach to education is significantly different
than the traditional model, it still works wonderfully.
Several alumni from these schools actually helped
make the film, on both sides of the screen,
and they were FULLY educated, and FULLY prepared
to do any of the tasks we needed them to do.
For more info on the film and the
people who made it you can click here:
www.SchooledTheFilm.com
www.imdb.com/name/nm0255484/
Again, I urge you to do everything in your power
to maintain the funding for the Blue Mountain School on July 7th.
In my view, not only does this education model work,
it’s actually the best education model I’ve ever
come across, in regard to preparing kids
for a lifetime of satisfying, productive citizenship
in the Information Age.
Please keep this education option alive!
The kids who want it are depending on you.
Very best,
Brooks Elms
writer-director-producer
“Schooled”
Nick Daley in the NY Times
April 11, 2008
I’m very proud to announce that an actor from “Schooled”
named Nick Daley has been featured in a recent LA Times article.
Nick plays “Mr. Jiggers, the Janitor” and has Prader-Willi Syndrome
which is characterized by mild retardation.
He’s very funny in the film (we feature him in the opening scene)
and he was a blast to work with.
Read the article here: Go Nick!
“Schooled” Plays Hollywood!
December 18, 2007
The Silent Movie Theater ROCKS!
This was taken at our DVD Release Party held at The Red Pearl Kitchen.
My wife, Angela hooked us up with the cake
and it tasted as good as it looks…
DVD’s NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Order them HERE!
My Lesson From KID NATION (a letter to the editor)
December 13, 2007
I’ll be sending this around to see if any newspapers want to print it.
In the mean time, here it is…
=====================
My Lesson from “Kid Nation”
=====================
After watching the Dec 12 finale episode of CBS’s “Kid Nation,”
a show I felt mixed about, I was surprised to clarify the key lesson
– a lesson that bears underscoring.
I’ve spent the last 6 years researching alternative education models
in which kids are fully involved in their communities — schools like
Sudbury Valley in Framingham, MA. These “Information Age” schools
give students the power to vote on the budget, hire and fire teachers,
and even to decide how they spend their days:
studying, playing, and/or dealing with core school politics.
This research fueled my independent feature film called “Schooled,”
slated for it’s DVD release on Dec 17th. When I first heard about
“Kid Nation” I felt both intrigued and somewhat threatened.
Intrigued because the subject matter related to my project,
and was being given the mainstream treatment. And threatened
because I was sure there was no way the show could be true to
the principals of children’s empowerment that I had come to value
through my research. Network TV shows have to grab the attention
of millions of viewers so contrived contests and
two-handed heartstring tugging are a must.
Despite my skepticism, and feeling embarrassed that they even
caught me wiping away tears, I’m thrilled with the ultimate message
that came through loud and clear: kids handle responsibility far better
than most people think they can. In a culture where the biggest
challenge facing most high school class presidents is deciding on
a prom venue, we must bring democracy more directly
into mainstream education.
Perhaps greater community involvement in children’s formative years
will pay off most when these kids grow up and lead us in facing
overwhelming global issues. Challenges such as ferocious poverty
which can cripple us or global warming which could even kill us.
On the other hand, maybe choosing that cool local inn for prom night
really is still the best way to prepare our future leaders.
Brooks Elms
Writer-Director
“Schooled”
www.SchooledTheFilm.com
The “Schooled” bus goes Hollywood — on Saturday and Monday…
December 12, 2007
We’re getting close to the final screenings! Very exciting….
For the many people on this list who have already seen the film (perhaps even several times!) consider joining us just for the DVD Release Party on Monday night after the screening. It’s free! It will be at 9:30pm-ish and we’d love to celebrate the finish line of this leg of the journey with as many people as possible.
DVD RELEASE PARTY!
The Red Pearl Kitchen
www.RedPearlKitchen.com
6703 Melrose (Near Highland) 90038
Plus, the first shipment of “Official Release Edition” DVDs have arrived! They’re looking very handsome and will be available at the screenings for $20. Cast & crew get their copies for free, our background actors can buy a copy for $10, and on Dec 17th, everybody else can get them on-line for $25.
I’m pumped up for people to check them out and give us feedback on the audio commentary.
Details:
THE HOLLYWOOD SCREENINGS
The Silent Movie Theater
611 N Fairfax (south of Melrose) 90036
Saturday, December 15th at 4:30pm
(A Benefit for Play Mountain Place!!)
AND
Monday, December 17th at 7:30pm
Tickets $12 – ($15 at the door. Seating is VERY limited!)
www.BrownPaperTickets.com/event/24116
1-800-838-3006
