Lights, Camera, Action and Maclay.
The Florida State University (FSU) film school is filming a movie, “Sonny Boy,” on Maclay’s campus from May 15 through May 19. Along with this week, they are continuing filming throughout the summer as well. The FSU film school worked with Maclay in order to make the film “Sonny Boy” a reality.
“I think it’s a cool collaboration,” director of upper school Charles Beamer said. “I think any time we are able to open up our campus to people on the outside, it gives them a sneak peak behind the scenes of what we do on a daily basis.”
“Sonny Boy” takes place in a classroom which is why the majority of the scenes are being shot in history teacher Stephanie Amidon’s room. The plot of the film is that the main character, Sonny, fails at becoming a writer and decides to take a career change and become a substitute teacher instead.
“I play Marcus,” actor Quinn Coté said. “He is important to the storyline just because he provides opposition to the main character Sonny. So Marcus’s whole purpose is just to kind of rile up the main character and give him a wall to push against.”
Along with Marcus, there are many other students who play an important role in the film such as Gabriel.
“My character’s name is Gabriel,” actor Nick Harris said. “I’m just one of the students in the class. I’m one of the more rowdy students like the class clown type.”
When having a movie being shot on Maclay campus, it excites many of the students and teachers especially those in the theater department.
“I think it’s really cool,” theater teacher Jordyn Adia Seckel said. “Kids can take pride in the fact that parts of their school are going to be featured in a film.”
With the movie being shot in Amidon’s room, however, the A pod is being taken up by equipment and actors which disrupts students’ everyday life on campus.
“I am in Mrs. Amidon’s homeroom,” junior Ava Duke said. “Ever since the movie started being filmed in her room, I have to go sign into homeroom in Dr. Fitzpatrick’s room which is honestly kind of inconvenient for everyone. The equipment also takes up the whole A pod and it’s hard to walk through all of it.”
