Former student screens locally-filmed movie

    When most people think of Murray, movies definitely aren’t the first thing to come to mind. However, the Curris Center played host Monday to the premiere of a movie written by a former Murray State student, starring a current  student and shot on location around Murray.
    “Goodbye Wendell” tells the tale of two young people mired in rural southern living and their struggle to find a way out.
    Angie Gregory, former Murray State student from Benton, Ky., said she first put the story to paper for a creative writing class. She adapted her story to a screenplay for another class.
    “The screenplay I wrote in Dr. Lochte’s class is not the screenplay I have now,” Gregory said. “There were things I added in to make the story more well-rounded and to expose the characters. I made things more realistic and solid.”
    Gregory said the story is based on her own experiences.
    “I feel that when I write, the picture I paint is just a reflection of reality,” Gregory said. “That’s what I hope I accomplished; to take what’s real, to draw from my own experiences and to put it in a film. I grew up in a situation similar to Wendell’s where I was completely sheltered.”
    Caleb Campbell, senior from Gideon, Mo., plays the titular character Wendell. Campbell said it was a challenge to play the quiet character.
    “I’m more of an easy going sort of person,” Campbell said. “It was really hard to stay in character as Wendell, who is really a very sheltered, quiet person.”
    Gregory said Campbell was a good fit.
    “When I saw Caleb Campbell on the audition tape I just said, ‘That’s Wendell. I hope he can act,’” Gregory said. “He had the spirit of Wendell and he let that come out of the character.”
    Still, Campbell said he was nervous at the screening.
    “It was a little bit surreal,” Campbell said. “I had never seen myself on a screen that big before. My family was there and it was just kind of weird. I started seeing it as the character and started getting into the story.”
    Campbell said he was excited about people’s reactions at the screening.
    “Everyone’s reactions were great,” Campbell said. “To see the film for the first time all edited together was a great experience.”
    Gregory said her favorite part was the end.
    “The applause sounded so booming,” Gregory said. “Sometimes people clap out of obligation, but it didn’t feel that way. Their response was very positive and very powerful and that made me feel good. It was very rewarding.”
    Gregory said she hopes to take “Goodbye Wendell” to film festivals in the South.
    “It’s a southern story,” Gregory said. “I think a lot of the references in the film will be understood better in the South. I‘ve always been drawn to southern movies, southern fiction, because I relate.”
    Gregory said she hopes that the film will be accepted into and be well-received in film festivals for the sake of everyone involved.
    “I just want to get the best exposure that I can for everyone that worked on the film,” Gregory said. “Everyone put so much effort into this. Hopefully they’re proud of the work.”
    Cody Arant can be reached at cody.arant@murraystate.edu.
 

1 comments

L Conklin

Wed Sep 2 2009 18:50

Reading this article in itself was a heartwarming story in itself. Being a northerner who had lived in the south, I can relate to what Ms. Gregory is trying to say. We do not appreciate the simple, layed-back way of the southern population, where life is actually more deep and has a romantic sence of well being that Northerners just cannot comprehend. Life has to be in the fast lane and somehow loses it's meaning along the way. I guess that is where the old saying "take time to smell the roses" came about. Congratulations on the film, you all should be very proud including Murray State.

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