Perry grad shows film in Heartland Film Festival

By Sara Gentry

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[caption id="attachment_4348" align="alignleft" width="446" caption="Perry alum Greg Wilson’s short film, “Grande Drip,” will play at AMC Greenwood Park next Saturday morning."][/caption] Eric Jensen buys a cup of coffee every morning, except Eric doesn’t drink coffee. He’s enamored with the girl behind the counter. Unable to muster the courage to woo his love, an unlikely hero comes to the rescue — an eccentric homeless man with a heart of gold. “Grande Drip” producer Greg Wilson was born in Indianapolis and is a graduate of Perry Meridian High School and Taylor University. In 2004, Wilson attended the Los Angeles Film Studies Center; through their internship program he landed in legendary writer/director/actor Garry Marshall’s office. That internship led to a part-time job which, in turn, led to full-time work as Marshall’s assistant on the film “Georgia Rule.” After the film, Wilson moved up to head of development and casting at Henderson Productions. He currently is gearing up for a Web series called “Type. Writer.” How did you get involved in filmmaking? I bought a HandyCam for a trip to Europe with friends in college. We began shooting and editing goofy little videos just for fun soon after that. That’s how I got hooked. Was there a particular film or event that inspired you to follow this path? Well, it was really a series of quotes from my professors. Movies have always had a profound effect upon me, but I didn’t start thinking about film as a career until I was a junior in college. I was a biology major at Taylor at the time, and my favorite prof, Dr. Jan Reber, liked to say things like, “Do what you love, and find someone to pay you for it,” and “Do what you wake up every morning excited to do.” Those thoughts changed my life. Can you give us a description of your movie? It’s a fun, slightly quirky short about friendship and love, and how the two are never far apart. It was based on real-life encounters with the homeless, but we gave it a creative spin. We were fortunate enough to cast some fantastic actors, including the legendary Garry Marshall and an emerging star and comic-genius, Matt Walker, who played our loveable homeless man, Keith. We tried to make it look and feel just like a real Hollywood movie, only shorter, and I think we did a pretty good job of that. What’s your goal as an artist? My two goals are to dig out the stories that I have buried inside me (which isn’t an easy process), and then to put the best possible end product on screen. Are there any Indianapolis-related references in your film, or did your hometown influence it in any way? Yes, although we shot it in Los Angeles, we had the Midwest in mind for the feel we wanted. In fact, we’re currently working on the full-length feature script for “Grande,” and we’ve set it in Indy.

Grande Drip

Dramatic Short, Heartland Film Festival » Saturday, Oct. 17 • 3:15 p.m. AMC Castleton Square » Tuesday, Oct. 20 • 1:30 p.m. AMC Castleton Square » Thursday, Oct. 22 • 6:15 p.m. AMC Castleton Square » Saturday, Oct. 24 • 10 a.m. AMC Greenwood Park

What do you miss about the south side? Pizza King and House of Tokyo. But other than food, I miss being so close to everything. In LA, no matter where you’re going it’s usually 30-40 minutes. And I miss my friends and family, of course. Where do you live now? I live in Studio City, Calif., near Universal Studios. I work in Burbank, less than five minutes from Warner Bros and Disney. What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or artists of any kind? Do it. If you’re an actor, act. If you’re a writer, write. If you’re a director, direct. Find a way to do what you love, and the breaks will come.

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