When people think about Wes Anderson-style movies, titles such as “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” tend to come to mind — movies known for their symmetry, use of colors and unconventional characters.
A group of students and faculty at the University of Lynchburg took a liking to this style and decided to put their spin on it for the holiday season with its short film, “The Grand Hopwood Hall.”
The film tells the story of two University of Lynchburg students trying to enter a gingerbread house-making contest after being denied by a professor who oversees it.
The two main characters — Ned and Pansy — were rejected by “Mrs. Pumpernickel” due to their history with the professor and their mothers.
Suzanne Ramsey, writer and editor for the university’s marketing and communications department, was the screenwriter and director of the short film.
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Ramsey said last year, the university did a short Christmas film called “A Dell-lightfully Royal Holiday,” inspired by Hallmark-style movies.
Starting in the spring, she said the department wondered what the film could be this year but wanted a take on another style. The Wes Anderson-style of movies came up, as staff were fans of those films over the years.
She also mentioned Anderson had a movie released this year called “Asteroid City” that helped influence the university’s film.
Ramsey described the movie style as quirky, adding in those types of films people tend to see awkward romances and characters running away for no reason.
“People will identify with it, because it’s kind of timely right now, and it would be fun, because the movies are just kind of weird and fun, and quirky,” she said. “So, we just figured we could do our take on that genre this year.”
Ramsey said in last year’s movie, romance blossomed between characters and in this film, she wanted to do the same.
The two main characters, Ned and Pansy, fell in love during the course of Ned trying to get Pansy into the gingerbread house contest.
Ramsey said a lot of the script just “sprung to mind,” only taking her a few days to come up with it.
“It kind of happened really quickly,” she said.
As far as casting, she said over the last couple of years the department has relied “a lot” on the theater department.
“We have just a huge amount of talented students on campus, you know, to help us out with these things,” she said, adding that there’s not a lot of time for formal auditions.
So, she contacted the chair of the theater department Jeffrey Wittman and presented different parts of the film, asking for guidance on which students would be best suited for the acting roles.
Ramsey said filming started in September and continued throughout the fall semester.
“I am just so happy with how this turned out. I mean, I think it turned out great and that is totally thanks to all of the people who helped on this,” Ramsey said.
Kelly Jacobson, assistant professor of English at the university, said when Ramsey presented the idea for her to be in the film, she initially agreed. However, she tried to get out of it because she had never acted in a film before.
Jacobson played “Mrs. Pumpernickel,” a comical but intense character.
“I was very nervous the first day because I definitely never thought I would be doing something like that, but it was really fun,” she said.
Jacobson said “Mrs. Pumpernickel” is the opposite of her, which is why she thought it was “so funny” she got that part.
As a professor, she describes herself as “bubbly, very enthusiastic,” and a “cheerleader-like” instructor, where the character is “very theatrical” and “very grumpy.”
“I think that’s why Suzanne [Ramsey] thought it would be so perfect for me to be her because everyone that knows me, thinks that’s really funny that I’m being this grumpy lady. I would never say no to a student about anything,” Jacobson said as she laughed.
Lane Payne, freshman at the university, said it was “very surreal” to see the film continue to grow throughout the semester.
The theater major was the narrator for the short film, walking the viewer through the different events and decisions the main characters made.
Payne said he was blown away when he saw the final product.
“I am used to being on stage and seeing every little piece come together, because you’re always there … but the film was a completely different animal,” he said. “I was there for my part, and I saw what was going on while I was there; but other than that, I had no idea what to expect and no idea what was going on until I saw the finished product.”
Nico Thomas, a junior theater major, played Ned in the film.
Thomas said he was in the short film last year and when he heard about the film this year it was an “immediate yes.”
“It’s definitely something to get used to, because I’ve never really played that kind of awkward character,” he said.
According to a news release from the university, the film made Inside Higher Ed’s annual list of best holiday videos produced by colleges and universities around the country.
Ramsey emphasized it was all a team effort, as the group got volunteers around campus who were extras, helped with art, helped with costumes and more.
“People from all over campus helped out. And so, it was just a lot of fun to do, and I think, so far, it seems like people really liked it,” she said.
The film can be viewed on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXOx360sg1c.
Rodney Robinson Jr., (434) 385-5554