Scranton-born screenwriter Tim Calpin had Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton in his movie but was in danger of having the family and friends who inspired his creativity miss out on seeing the film on the big screen.
So with Joe Van Wie and Jason Holly’s Wilkes-Barre-based production company Revere Pictures and Utopia in Dickson City, a premiere of the raunchy teen film noir mystery-comedy “Assassination of a High School President” was presented at Cinemark in Moosic last Thursday. The 125-seat theater was filled to capacity with family and friends who came out to support Calpin.
Unlike much of the recycled fluff you’ll find in movie theaters these days, “Assassination” has the guts to be original. Littered with quotable obscenity-laden dialogue, it tells the story of a geeky sophomore high-school newspaper reporter (Reece Thompson) who teams up with the hottest girl in school (Barton) to investigate a case of stolen SATs. Meanwhile, the unstable and hilariously intense principal (Willis), who is a veteran of the Iraq War, is hell-bent on finding the culprit while eradicating the school of gum chewing.
The film combines the feelings evoked from the characters of 1980s John Hughes films like “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Breakfast Club” with the realistic high-school speak seen in “Superbad.” Mix in some “All The President’s Men,” and maybe even a little “Chinatown” and there’s “Assassination.”
Despite the big stars and favorable reviews, “Assassination,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in February 2008, was released straight to DVD last week. Originally, the plan was for the film to open limited in theaters then expand. However, according to Ain’t It Cool News, the production company the Yari Film Group (which was also behind the Oscar-winning “Crash”) became wrapped up in involuntary bankruptcy and a legal battle that kept the film on the shelf. In fact, Peter Sciretta of Slashfilm.com posted a blog on March 12 entitled “Help Save Assassination of a High School President From Going Direct To DVD.”
Many would be disillusioned by the situation, however Calpin is too proud of the film to let it stifle him.
“When you sign on to do this, you know what you’re getting into,” he explained. “You know how difficult it could be. We set out to make a funny movie. People pressure you to conform or be more broad. … In no way would I want to change the script to make it more commercial. I wish I could have it both ways, but for me it’s more important to do the script your way than to have it be in theaters.”
Calpin, 30, grew up in the Green Ridge section of Scranton before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry. He co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Jakubowski, who he met when both worked as production assistants on “South Park.”
“Assassination,” which is set at a private school, was inspired by Calpin’s days at Scranton Preparatory.
“I love Scranton,” the 1997 graduate said. “A lot of my experiences that influence what I write are here.”
Van Wie, a Scranton native who is Calpin’s cousin and an actor/producer, wanted to make sure the area got a chance to see its hometown boy make good.
“I felt so bad about the tragedy of the film being tied up in some legal problems that we thought everyone should have the opportunity to see it on the big screen in his hometown and have the chance to celebrate Tim’s massive success,” said Van Wie, who auditioned for a role, which was cut from the script by director Brett Simon. “Watching my cousin’s film on the big screen was a joy that can’t be matched.”
Van Wie has produced two feature films — “La Soga” which premiered last month at the Toronto Film Festival, and “Forged,” which was filmed in Northeastern Pa. last winter and will be out in January. He hopes Calpin’s success will bring more filmmakers to NEPA.
Meanwhile, Calpin and his writing partner have optioned several screenplays, and they’re currently writing a family comedy in the vein of “Goonies” for Warner Brothers. He hopes to eventually direct and produce features. In 2007, he wrote and directed the short comedy “Gentleman Jack,” which filmed in Scranton — starring and produced by Van Wie.
“Ultimately, I would love to be able to have the clout to make a smaller independent film here,” Calpin said. “Anything you want, people in Scranton are more than happy to help. The people in position to let you do these kinds of things are cool.”
According to Van Wie, “Rumor has it that Tim Calpin and Revere could be working on something that will have Penn State fans very interested.”
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