What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1109701
4 WHAT'S UP! APRIL 28-MAY 4, 2019 "It's a very good character study with all these different characters, and we have such a stellar cast. For all of our five teens, we got our first choices, and they just blew us away," Olson says. "And we wouldn't be here without Jeff Wild's writing. The success of the movie and the quality of the movie is a combination of the material the writer gives us to do and then I have to interpret it and put it in visuals. Everyone is really stepping up. I think they see the potential in the film, and I think we inspire each other to do better. "I love 'F.R.E.D.I.' — I think this is a step above 'F.R.E.D.I.'," he adds proudly. "My character goes through a lot, a lot of emotional changes," actor Emery Kelly shares. Playing the troubled Aiden is a departure for Kelly, who more frequently portrays the "fun, young, dumb, cute jock," he confesses. Fans will recognize him from the Emmy-nominated Netflix series "Alexa & Katie," or from season three of the Fox singing competition "The X-Factor" and subsequent years with pop group Forever in Your Mind. Kelly says the chance to explore greater emotional depth with his first feature film role has taught him more about himself. It even inspired him to write a song for the film, "The Answers," which brought the team together to shoot the tune's music video while on location in Fayetteville. "What I'm learning from this movie is that it's OK, you know? Everything is just OK. I don't have to over-think too much. I don't have to think of multiple scenarios of how it can go down. This film, this crew, this set, this song really opened my eyes to just how to be comfortable with myself." A New Threshold In preparation for the film's summer release, Remo promises Arkansans will see his face again — and maybe a few of the stars' — at a special red carpet premiere in the Ozarks. But that's not the only return trip he'll be making. Remo already has his next project in the works, with hopes to begin filming mid-summer, and two more ventures coming down the pipeline. Noting the increase in support and opportunities to tap local resources just in the year between "F.R.E.D.I." and "Max," Remo points to SkipStone's existing relationships as an indicator for potential. During "Max," the production was able to give paying positions to some of the interns for "F.R.E.D.I." from John Brown University; Remo has held meetings with members of JBU and the University of Arkansas to discuss expanding internships; community leaders from Northwest Arkansas cities have already expressed excitement and pledged cooperation to SkipStone's endeavors. "It's not that the people aren't there and willing, it's that they don't have the knowledge or anybody to train them," Remo says of the region's film industry. "We want to try to implement something that will train them, have enough work there for them to stay there and actually make a living and learn the craft, and [they] can then teach next generations." "The community can be proud that this was made in Northwest Arkansas," Babcock adds of "Max Winslow." "I think that's our threshold is, the next thing, we have to make it equal to or better than. Because we want the community to be proud and keep this positive momentum going. And that's how you build a good film area." Film Continued From Page 3 COVER STORY NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Actor and musician Emery Kelly stars in the forthcoming "Max Winslow and the House of Secrets," a role that inspired him to write the song "The Answers" for the film. Here, Kelly performs during filming of the music video in Fayetteville in January.