RUNTS won Best Feature Film - Less than $5000 Award in the 4th Season of MP Film Award Jordan-Paige Sudduth Director, Writer, Producer, Cinematographer & Casting Director of the Film RUNTS agree to interview with us.
Jordan-Paige Sudduth is an autistic 20 year old actor, writer, director, filmmaker, author, and daily vlogger. Born on April 13, 2001 in Georgia, she began acting in stage productions in the 4th grade, then became interested in acting for film and television around 11 years old. She resides in Georgia, where she has lived for most of her life. Jordan began writing her first film in her freshman year of high school, and has continued with it since then. Outside of acting and filmmaking, Jordan is also an avid
reader and loves going to the movies when there's not a global pandemic to stop her. She graduated from Vancouver Film School's Writing for Film, Television, and Games program in August of 2020, and sold her first screenplay in April 2021.
About the Film: Synopsis: RUNTS Film Synopsis:
Cyrus Price and his friends are the runts of the litter, and always have been. Bella (known as Bluebell to her friends) has an unpleasant past and most of her family is in jail, Avery’s a killer dancer but can’t catch a ball to save his life and is teased for it daily, Abcd’e (affectionately nicknamed Alphabet, even though it’s
ironic) is quite intelligent, but being severely dyslexic, she can’t read a thing. Alexander’s adopted and while he’s got a great adoptive family with plenty of other adopted siblings, sometimes his anger at his biological parents threatens to take over. Cyrus has already got an alcoholic mom, but when his brother Ben suddenly can’t be found one morning, his journal shoved under his bed reveals that he may have been kidnapped by his trusted boyfriend, AJ. After gathering evidence and finding where AJ may have taken Ben, Cyrus and the rest of the crew heads off to find him and get him back, but what they find out ends up being more heartbreaking than they thought.
What was your drive behind making this film?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: I wanted to write a film that centered around a tight knit friend group, and I knew Atlanta had so many talented young actors. Kids and teens are my favorite demographic to work with, and I really wanted to create a film where they could shine and show off their comedic and dramatic performance capabilities. It was also going to be my last major film project before my family moved and I went to college, and since my first film was a feature film, I wanted my last one to be a longer film as well!
How you feel when you are awarded with the MP FILM AWARD Award?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: I was incredibly honoured that we were awarded an MP Film Award! This cast and the other crew members are incredible, and any time their hard work is recognized and appreciated, it brings me indescribable joy.
Can you tell us about the greatest moment during shooting this film?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: I would say our greatest moment was right after our final take of the last scene. One thing I wanted to make sure we did with this film was shoot the first scene first and the last scene last, so our last scene on our last day was really the last scene of the whole film. It was cold outside and we shot at sunset, so we didn’t have much time. The moment we called that it was a wrap, the actors rushed through the gate that the crew was behind and nearly tackled us all in hugs. We celebrated together, and then had a “That’s a Wrap” cake together at the farm we were shooting at. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.
How rigorously did you stick to the script while shooting?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: We stuck pretty close to the script, but I always told the actors that if there was a different way to say the line that felt more natural to them, or they wanted to improv a bit, that was totally fine!
Where there any onset problems During the filming of the film & how did you deal with it?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Oh yes, as there always are! In retrospect, we didn’t run into as many issues as we could have, so it could have been a lot more difficult! The largest issue I can think of is that there was one day we had some outdoor scenes, and it was raining nearly the
whole day. Our actors were amazing and didn’t mind walking through the light rain for a
few shots, and it ended up looking great and fitting well in the finished film. However, it
began to rain harder, and I made the call that one scene that was supposed to be filmed
outside was not able to happen in our originally planned spot. Thankfully, we were
shooting in and around my house that day, so we just chose to shoot on my covered
back porch, change the lines around a little bit to work with the location change, and we
shot the scene!
Do you have any advice for young filmmaker out there? Or like yourself?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: My advice is to NEVER let your age, whether you’re 8 or 88, stop you from doing what you’re passionate about. I was 14 when I started writing my film film with the intention of shooting it, and while the people around me were supportive, I don’t think many people expected I would actually do it! However, at 15 I had shot my first film, a feature film, and proved to myself that I could do it. So don’t let your age stop you, or let other people tell you that it should hold you back!
Do you think it is essential to go to a film institute in order to become a successful filmmaker?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Even though I’m someone who went to film school (the Writing for Film, Television, and Games Program Class 62 at Vancouver Film School represent!), in my
eyes, it’s absolutely not essential. You can learn so much by networking and talking to
those experienced in the industry you want to go into, or just by looking at reliable
resources on the internet. I’m also a firm believer in that the best way to learn is by
doing, so get out there and do what you love and you’ll learn a ton!
Which film has inspired you the most?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: This is a really great question, but is really hard for me to answer! I would have to say it’s the recorded stage show of Cathy Rigby’s Peter Pan. I know that’s technically a musical, but it was recorded and I watched that DVD countless times when I was very little. I used to act out the scenes in front of my TV, and I think that’s where my love for acting started, which eventually led me to screenwriting and filmmaking!
Which particular film maker has influenced you the most?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Another great question that I really didn’t have the answer to until recently! I recently took a trip to Walt Disney World and I went through the Walt Disney exhibit in Hollywood Studios. Although in today’s time I look back and know there were many things he did that were wrong and not at all admirable, he’s my favorite filmmaker, because of the ambition he had. He was determined to create something no one had ever seen before. His drive to create and do what others saw as impossible is very inspiring to me. My favorite quote of his is “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Which book would you love to make a film out of one day?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Oh there are SO many!! I’ll narrow it down to my top two. I would love to adapt The Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborn and The Kingdom Keepers books by Ridley Pearson into tv series!
If you got the opportunity to go back in time & change something in any particular movie of yours, then which movie & what changes will you opt for?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Ooh, great question. If I had the opportunity to go back in time and change something, it would be for my web series “Rings” that I did. In the series, I cast myself as the one of the lead roles of Violet, and I would absolutely change that, and would take myself out and cast someone else so I could only focus on directing, writing, and producing. I love Violet so much and feel very similar to her, but I know there are actors who could have brought her to life better than I did!
If you were to shoot the film again, what would you do differently?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Oh goodness. Honestly the whole process was amazing and is one of my favorite films I’ve ever done. But if I could do anything differently, I would have changed the location of where we shot our one and only night scene, because the sound from the road SUCKED in post production, haha! So I would change that scene to a quieter outside location.
What is your greatest achievement till date?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: You’re hitting me with the hard questions here! I love that though. I would say my greatest achievement to date is selling my first screenplay at 19! It’s currently in the plans for it to go into production, so if it actually gets shot and becomes a legit film, I think I’ll spontaneously combust, it’ll be so hard for me to believe.
How do you pick yourself up after a failed film?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: I don’t like to think of anything as a failure, because as long as you tried, did your best, and/or learned something, then you never fail. But if a film doesn’t do as well as I was hoping, or I’m not as happy with the way I did something, I look at the behind the scenes of the film and remind myself what an amazing time I had filming with the cast and crew. I’ve gotten to work with some incredible people over my years of filmmaking, and I am so grateful to anyone who has ever stepped on a set of mine and trusted me as a creator!
Where our viewers can catch you (share your social media)?
Jordan-Paige Sudduth: Sure thing! Here’s where you can find me:
Instagram & TikTok: @jordan.paige.s
Twitter: @jpsudduth
Facebook Page: Jordan-Paige Sudduth
Daily Vlog YouTube Channel: NeverFearJordiIsHere
Filmmaking YouTube Channel: JayPay Productions
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