Filmmaking duo set for premiere

By Lindsey Ignace / THE DAILY IOWAN / June 21, 2004

People always say, Don't mix business with pleasure. But that is just the combination that works for two 19-year-old Bettendorf filmmakers.

UI sophomore Scott Beck and Scott Community College student Bryan Woods will hold the première of their film, University Heights, on June 26 in Davenport. The film, which is about four people on a college campus dealing with life, will show at the Adler Theatre at 7 p.m. for $5 a ticket.

"It's the biggest thing we've ever done," said Beck, the film's writer and director. "I'm excited and nervous."

Fifty local actors from Iowa City and the Quad Cities partook in the film, Woods said.

"Hardly any of the actors had film experience. I was impressed by their skills," Beck said.

Before filming began, Beck and Woods invested thousands of dollars in new equipment, but the film itself cost only $300.

The duo have been making films together since meeting in middle school seven years ago.

"Filmmaking was always something I and Scott did for fun. We used to make movies with action figures," said Woods.

Since junior high, the filmmakers have moved beyond action figures. In 2001, they started their own production company, Bluebox Limited.

"During work, we are really professional, and it's easier to get stuff done," Woods said. "We click with our ideas. We really trust each other and go with it."

The two also participated in the third season of the Bravo Channel's "Project Greenlight," a contest and television show started by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for amateur directors and screenwriters. Beck and Woods were too young to participate in the first season and opted out of the second.

"We found out about the third one and gave it a shot," Beck said.

The students sent "Project Greenlight" a three-minute film and finished in the top 50 out of 700. They have since gained some recognition.

Woods and Beck, who have no formal training, learned their craft through hands-on experience and watching tons of movies. Both cite Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love, as an influence on their work.

"I'm really glad we learned it on our own," Woods said. "The knowledge is so rich."

Beck and Woods switch off writing and directing their movies. Last week, the two started production on Woods' film, Her Summer, which is about a police officer on a routine investigation who finds his brothers murdered in a shed.

The pair want to make films that are entertaining but also have a message.

"We want to be sure we are making the best stuff possible," Woods said.