Story last updated at
12:03 p.m.
Thursday, April 8, 2004
Britt Penrod tucked away in New Zealand, finishing script
The news at Poo Corner
Roberta Coker
the Examiner
Britt Penrod is currently in New Zealand after receiving a
writer's grant from the Roy W. Dean Foundation. Last year he submitted
a proposal for a script he had been considering for years and working
on for several months entitled "Amateur Night." As part of the grant,
he was flown to the Wairau Valley on the south island of New Zealand,
where he was provided a car, food, expenses, and the Foundation's Wye
Cottage. There he can work in solitude to finish the script.
A graduate of Truman High School, he was heavily involved in the
school's theater program, where he worked with drama teacher Kat
Tucker, who had a great influence on him.
Later he directed a scene from the school's production of "West
Side Story." After that he knew directing was wanted he wanted to do
and left for Los Angeles. While there, he has written and directed a
few plays and three film shorts, the last of which, "Beautiful," was
nominated for Best Film Short in the New York International Film &
Video Festival.
He has been writing and filming around his schedule at Raleigh
Studios, an independent movie studio in Hollywood. Raleigh was once
the studio of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford and now hosts
numerous commercial productions, music videos, and the production of
"Hostage" starring Bruce Willis.
"Amateur Nights" is a challenging script for Britt and deals with
the revelation of a woman's sexual abuse in a small community where
the people, who are friends with the victim, are also friends of the
culprit. Judges of the international competition selected Britt's
project after three qualifying rounds. The Dean family has been making
funds and resources available to filmmakers for 25 years.
Britt is the son of Karen and Howard Penrod. Howard is the
Independence Public Works director.
Roberta "Poo" Coker is active in community organizations. E-mail
poo.coker@examiner.net.
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