For Immediate Release:
HONORARY DEGREES
To film school or not to film school, that is the question.
Young film school students begin to question the worthiness of their expensive educational agenda. Feeling trapped in a school where money talks, and creativity seems to take a backseat, the students decide to help a recently fired Directing instructor unravel the diabolical scheme of the head of the school to downsize, by replacing teachers with robots for a special home correspondence course.
“You’re definitely going to ruffle a few feathers…”
- Anonymous VFS Writing Instructor
“We don't need this VHS where stuff totally matters you guys 'N stuff”
- Eric Coleman as "Dwayne"
“That would have been me 10 years ago”
- Kevin Smith - Writer/Producer/Director
After hearing Honorary Degree writer/director,
Eric Coleman, yell out, “that would make sense” after
Kevin questioned current Vancouver Film School
practices during the “Evening with Kevin Smith” Event
at the Vogue theatre in Vancouver, B.C.
Anecdotes/News
•
All key members of cast & crew met while attending Vancouver Film School (VFS). Some were still attending during filming.
•Writer/Director, Anthony Haas, attended VFS on a Full Scholarship after winning an International competition years earlier. At VFS, he met his Honorary Degrees writing partner, Eric Coleman.
•The Honorary Degrees script was accused of being in violation of VFS Code of Conduct #40 and was pitched by the writer/director pair as a mock senate sub-committee hearing in front of eight shocked and confused VFS instructors.
•The pitch was recorded, going against school policy, and will soon be available for viewing if you know the right people.
•Original screenplay continued to gain widespread attention after it was pitched as a final project at VFS and turned down.
•Producer, Anthony Haas, approached VFS about using one of their classrooms so that the students could film the script on their own. VFS refused going against their “policy” of supporting students careers, or “setting their ship asail”. They swore it was not because of the content.
•Filmed exactly one week after Writer/Director pair graduated from VFS. Without the schools help.
•Entire budget for Honorary Degrees was under $1000.
•Lead Actress, Hanna Hall, appeared in Forrest Gump, and The Virgin Suicides.
•Brett Kibbler, who was originally on set to be a boom op, ended up playing the role of Steayve, with less than two hours notice. This unplanned event unleashed Brett’s alter-ego William and turned a supporting role into a starring one.
•Name of original screenplay was changed to Honorary Degrees after VFS actually awarded Kevin Smith with an honorary degree, during the evening with Kevin Smith event at the vogue theatre in Vancouver BC, even though Kevin dropped out of the school over 10 years prior.
•The Baby in the Box reference gained attention on the viewaskew message board after Mexican VFS student, “Jerry” pitched the idea to Kevin Smith, not once, but twice, at the Evening with Kevin Smith event held at the vogue theatre in Vancouver BC. Kevin’s response, “you make that movie!”
•Writer/Producer/Director, Anthony Haas, decided to attend VFS after he found out one of his inspirations, Kevin Smith, had once attended the school and not finished. Years later, while contemplating an early exit from the school as well, Anthony was approached by co-writer, Eric Coleman, with the idea of writing a script about all of the things they didn’t like about the film school experience. The script, Honorary Degrees, kept him in school, underwent many revisions, and ending up as a near tribute to the very person that made Anthony want to attend film school in the first place.
•Honorary Degrees was made exclusively to be entered into the moviesaskew.com Film Festival and for the viewing pleasure of KevinSmith, Scott Mosier, and David Klein whom all attended VFS.
•Voting for Honorary Degrees on moviesaskew.com can be done by clicking Here.
Production Notes
•Filmed over a four day period using 42 setups, and 56 minutes of tape.
•Filmed entirely in Vancouver B.C. with American, Canadian, and Russian Cast and Crew.
•Entire budget for Honorary Degrees was under $1000.
•Cast and Crew volunteered their time to help this script come to screen. Well except for some pizza. God Bless them.
•Writer/Director, Eric Coleman, actually did sound on every project he worked on in VFS and believed he was “put in a peg and run out on a rail.”
•Atleast five different people handled the boom microphone during the shoot after original boom operator, Brett Kibbler, was forced to become an actor. The credit for the position ended up going to a bucket.
•Behind the Scenes footage, Outtakes, Production Stills, and exclusive VFS pitch footage, soon to be available online and on DVD.
For additional information visit the website at:
honorarydegrees.homestead.com
Or
project23productions.com
Project23 Productions
Contact: Anthony Haas:
