If you’re into quirky Wes Anderson-style movies, you’ll love the University of Lynchburg’s 2023 holiday video, “The Grand Hopwood Hall.”
The short film, which boasts “every Wes Anderson trope we could fit into 12 minutes,” according to its trailer, tells the story of two University of Lynchburg students who try, unsuccessfully and then laughably, to enter a campus gingerbread house-making competition.
The film stars theatre majors Arilyn Webster ’26 and Nico Thomas ’25, as main characters Pansy and Ned; theatre major Lane Payne ’27 as the Brian Cranston-esque narrator; and Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson, assistant professor of English, as Mrs. Pumpernickel, a hilariously intense faculty member who has been running the gingerbread house contest for decades.
“The Grand Hopwood Hall” also features theatre students, staff, alumni, and friends of the University as extras. It was shot and edited by Tim Russon, Lynchburg’s video producer, and staff members across campus contributed, making props and helping out in other ways.
“It was truly a team effort,” said Suzanne Ramsey, the film’s screenwriter and director, who works in Lynchburg’s Office of Marketing and Communications. “It also was a great opportunity for the theatre students to work in another genre — film.
“Everyone had a great time making it and hopefully faculty, staff, students, alumni and the wider community will enjoy it, too.”
Watch the 2023 holiday video below:
