Bluebox Limited duo in running for prestigious prize

By Julie Jensen / MOLINE DISPATCH / April 4, 2004

Two college freshman from Bettendorf have made it into the top 250 semi-finalists in a national competition sponsored by LivePlanet and Miramax. If they make it through to the top 50, the top 10, and the top four to first place, they'll have the chance to create an independent film with a $1 million budget and sign a three-picture deal with the studio.

Scott Beck and Bryan Woods of Bluebox Limited created their three-minute entry of a "director scene" in 24 hours, and Mr. Beck said, "Winning was a shock to us, but we will try to do the best we can."

The Project Green Light competition was started three years ago by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and placing in any of the rounds is not only a great honor, but a real career boost.

Their entry is titled "Amber," Mr. Beck said, "A man wakes up in the middle of the night in a nightmare and looks at himself in the mirror. He is struggling with his wife, and it cuts to a flashback where he is dealing with a multiple-personality disorder."

The scene is dark and dreary, and Mr. Beck said, "We used a lot of lights that were amber-colored, and we had to finish it with a title, so we called it 'Amber.' It's really difficult to conceive of something that will put a message across in that amount of time."

They shared the directing, lighting and editing duties equally.

The deadline came at a busy time for them, as they were shooting their third full-length film, "University Heights," which will premiere at the Adler Theatre, Davenport, in late June.

Bluebox Limited has made 11 short films, and "University Heights" will be the third full-length picture. The others are "For Always" and "Lost and Found," and both are playing at the Cedar Rapids film festival this weekend.

"University Heights" is a story of four lives on a college campus. It takes place in a few days and delves into their pasts. Each has struggled with problems, and it shows how they deal with their future and where they are headed.

"It has some controversial issues - drugs, sexuality and racism - but it addresses them," Mr. Beck said.

The two met when they were sixth-graders at Bettendorf's Middle School. That's when they started making movies with Camcorders. They started Bluebox Limited in 2001, and Mr. Beck said, "We've been working together for almost eight years."

Mr. Beck is a cinema major at the University of Iowa, and Mr. Woods is at Scott Community College. Mr. Beck said, "I'll stay at Iowa for one more year and then go to California for my junior and senior years - probably at UCLA.

"Right now, Bryan and I have to send in a biography video to the contest. They will narrow the winners to 50, then review the biography video and scene together to arrive at the top 10. They'll choose the top four the second week in June, and the final winner will be announced in July.

"If you make it into the top 10, you get to market yourself, flying to L.A. to do interviews. You are definitely going places, whether you win the competition or not. We'll find out whether we are in the top 50 on April 27, but I'm happy enough with what we've got.

The future looks bright for these young men. They have more that a toehold on a profession that's tough to crack at an age when most people haven't even decided what they want to do when they grow up.