For Adam Jacobs, making a good movie begins with a great title.
"'Weekend Hat,'" said Jacobs. "Someone said that and said 'Adam, that's a great title for a movie' so I said 'okay, I'll do it.'"
While Adam has always had aspirations of being a filmmaker, he started writing his first feature length film during spring break. He would take inspiration from his life and his friends to weave into a comedy about the last weekend in high school.
"I just had a lot of pages of notes," said Adam. "I was scribbling down and rearranging. I had to look up how you format a script perfectly."
Weekend Hat is about a high school senior named Jonathan Alexander, who is a stellar student with an otherwise boring life. His only friend gives him a hat and when Jonathan loses it, he spends his weekend trying to get it back. The quest to retrieve the hat leads Jonathan on several adventures that include getting into a gang fight and attending a concert in his underwear. The first trailer is already completed and posted on Rockethub and YouTube.
Adam Jacobs is using Christmas and Birthday money to fund this project, which he estimates will cost around $3,000.
"I never bought Gobstoppers when I was a kid, I saved up my money so I had a couple grand saved up," said Jacobs.
Jacobs says his major problem isn't finding shooting locations or even scouting good talent. It's scheduling the timing of the shoots for the teenage cast.
"It's just waking up early enough to get to the shoot, that's the problem," said Jacobs.
During a concert scene shoot at 7th Street Entry, members of the band had to show up early in the morning.
"I'm a 17-year-old, so getting up at eight in the morning isn't the best thing," said Sam Bramble, the drummer in the band. The band improvised a song composed of tweets for the concert scene.
Adam recruited Sam, other band members, actors and the leading cast member, Luke Davidson, at his high school, Perpich Center for Arts Education.
"He's invested his whole life in this film," said Luke Davidson, who didn't know Jacobs before they began collaborating on the movie. "I trust Adam. I've seen some clips already and it looks great."
Jacobs hopes to enter this film into film festivals, including the prestigous Sundance Film Festival. His friends believe in his ability and his drive.
"To see Adam on the Oscars someday holding some big golden man, that would make my day," said Sam Bramble.
Shannon Slatton, reporting
sslatton@twelve.tv
Thursday, August 16, 2012