One-of-a-Kind Film Internship Program Brings Hollywood Pros to ASU

Actor Lochlyn Munro (left) and ASU film production instructor Chris LaMont conduct a lunchtime Q-and-A for the benefit of the ASU students interning on the feature film “Justice Served.”
Photo by: Tim Trumble

PHOENIX — In order to break into the acting business, many tend to turn to Los Angeles for their to-go place. 

However, a brand-new program in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre at ArizonaS State University is bringing Hollywood to students. 

“There is no film school in the world that is doing what we’re doing,” says Janaki Cedanna, clinical assistant professor in the school, part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. “We took a lot of years as the film faculty to figure out how to do this.”

This, also known as “the template,” or more officially the ASU School of Film, Dance and Theatre Summer Feature Film Internship Program, is an ambitious plan to make one feature-length movie a summer with a predominantly student crew, supervised directly by department heads who are working film pros, and mentored by faculty from the school.

The goal is to create a professional film set where students can gain experience and earn academic credit in a safe learning environment.

Eligible students must be at a minimum GPA and be majors in the school. Cedanna and Chris LaMont, a film production instructor, serve as faculty internship supervisors and as producers on the film. Professor Ellery Connell, also with the school, is the visual effects supervisor and lead artist on the film, and will manage a team of student interns to complete the visual effects by the end of the summer. Jake Pinholster, director of the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, is executive producer.

This summer, the movie that the students have the opportunity to intern on is “Justice Served,” a psychological thriller that is the directorial debut of Marvin Young, better known to most of the world as Young MC. This summer also happens to be the 25th anniversary of Young’s monster hit, “Bust a Move.” 

Young wrote and stars in the movie, alongside such familiar faces as Lance Henriksen (“Aliens,” “Terminator”), Lochlyn Munro (“Scary Movie,” “White Chicks”) and Gail O’Grady (“Revenge,” “NYPD Blue”). His production company is also financing the film.

Cedanna says that rental companies cut their rates for the production “because everybody I tell about the template loves it. Because we all went to film school, and we all say, ‘I wish we had that when I was in film school!’”

For “Justice Served,” Cedanna and LaMont brought back at least six ASU alumni in paid positions, including four who got their degrees in May of 2014.

For the 60-some students interning on “Justice Served,” including about 15 who worked on “Car Dogs” and are back with promotions on “Justice Served,” the film is a chance not only to earn academic credit, but to gain a foothold in the world of professional film.