The Road to Hollywood

Twelve years ago in West Chester, Ohio an 8-year-old boy found a hobby when his father brought home a video camera. In the years since, this boy's hobby of chasing his family around the house and shouting out acting directions has turned into his dream of becoming a professional filmmaker.

Now a senior at Miami University, A.J. Rickert-Epstein has done everything possible to make his dream become a reality.

"I'm a firm believer that if you want to do something, you need to go out and do it yourself," he said. And that's exactly what he's done.

But Rickert-Epstein has had to be dedicated and innovative to obtain a well-rounded filmmaking education. At just 20 years old, he already has a plethora of filmmaking experience, with more than 100 short films to his name.

As just a freshman in high school, he conceived the idea for his own production company when he and a longtime friend began making short films in his basement. Named for his former baseball team, the Butler County Cobras, Cobra Productions is now the calling card of their films.

"It's the umbrella that we all work under," he said. "One day I hope to start it as a genuine company in Hollywood."

By junior year of high school, Rickert-Epstein was confident that filmmaking was his calling. Having the opportunity to finish his requirements and graduate a year early, he began his college career at the age of 16.

Rather than attend a prestigious filmmaking school where he would be just a face in the crowd, Rickert-Epstein chose to attend Miami, where he knew studying film would be more of a challenge.

"A lot of students have come to me in the last 10 to 15 years and expressed a desire to make films, but they didn't do anything about it in practical terms besides daydream," said Pete Martin, the director of Miami's film studies program. "A.J. took advantage of what was here and practiced filmmaking in a serious way, instead of whining about the limitations."

He chose to major in mass communication and minor in film studies, but Rickert-Epstein has exceeded classroom expectations.

"There might have been better places for A.J. to get technical training, but he managed to get it here, somewhat on his own," Martin said.

Rickert-Epstein spent his first college year at the Hamilton campus where his father teaches educational psychology. But no stranger to creative endeavors, Howard Epstein is also the coordinator of an artist series that brings in an array of popular folk and jazz musicians to Hamilton. He, along with the rest of Rickert-Epstein's family, has supported him in his filmmaking endeavors since childhood.

The most rewarding of his out-of-class experiences began his sophomore year. Like many students before them, Rickert-Epstein and fellow student filmmakers, Brandon Lea and Sam Mechling, were frustrated with the lack of filmmaking opportunities for students. Together they co-founded the Miami Association of Filmmakers and Independent Actors (MAFIA), an organization dedicated to helping students make creative films.

As the 2003-2004 president of MAFIA, Rickert-Epstein helped secure an editing room in Williams Hall, the mass communications building, with a multitude of high-quality video equipment. Since, MAFIA has made 12 student-created films besides Rickert-Epstein's numerous works during this time.

"He's been very active in getting other people involved and encouraging them to film their work, as well as contribute to his own," said Martin.

The current president of MAFIA, Vonzell Carter, who's a junior major in theater and creative writing met Rickert-Epstein in fall 2003. They worked together on a student theater production. Carter was an actor and Rickert-Epstein ran the costume crew. In the year since, Carter has appeared in three of Rickert-Epstein's films, Volition , Deviance and Daywalker.

"A.J. has the ambition to inspire you," said Carter. "I was really only thinking about acting, but after doing a few films with him and seeing his filmmaking process, I was inspired to start doing some filmmaking of my own. I'm actually starting my first project this Friday."

Over the past year, Rickert-Epstein has helped create two film festivals on campus. In April 2004 the first annual MAFIA film festival featured over 14 short films created by MAFIA members as well as Cincinnati-area filmmakers. In January 2005, Rickert-Epstein and MAFIA assisted the Program Board in hosting the first annual Red Brick Showcase, a campus-wide festival. His latest film, Daywalker, a 35-minute prequel to the "Blade" action series, won best picture.

Over the summer of 2004, Rickert-Epstein took part in the Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program to create a documentary, Miami University: Past, Present and Future-An Evening with Dr. Phillip R. Shriver.

"What impressed me was that it is totally different from the style of film he has previously worked with, and that shows versatility," said Martin.

While working with Shriver to film the documentary, Rickert-Epstein says he learned a lot about himself.

"I enjoyed working with Dr. Shriver, but I found that I don't like making documentaries; it's not really what I want to do," said Rickert-Epstein. "I like to make action films. I love to daydream, and for me, action films are a way to act upon those daydreams without real life consequences."

Shriver also enjoyed working with Rickert-Epstein. "He was very interested and whole-heartedly engaged in the process of filming the documentary."   

Currently Rickert-Epstein is putting his final touches on the DVD version of the documentary. He presented the final product at the Undergraduate Research Forum in April.

Rickert-Epstein has also aided various student organizations with film needs ranging from the taping of special events, making recruitment videos for Greek organizations, and creating skit videos for the a cappella group, the Remnants.

Rickert-Epstein is also participating in Miami's first film production class, Williams Hall Interdisciplinary Studio Production. In fall 2004 he was chosen to direct the project, a student written screenplay entitled, "Portrait of Unrest." He believes it has been a positive experience in learning to work with a crew.

"Now that we're heading into the production phase, I've realized that I didn't even know what directing was because I'm not used to working with 15 or 20 people on a crew," Rickert-Epstein said. "I'm used to doing everything by myself. Normally I'm the producer, director, production designer, art designer, scheduling coordinator, continuity producer and often times, the cinematographer. Now each person has one of these jobs, and it's hard for me to take a step back. It's a good challenge for me."

Rickert-Epstein is known for giving his crew creative freedom so they feel ownership in the film.

"His process of fully integrating the cast and crew into every element of the film really gives each film a sense of collaborative accomplishment, and it strengthens the bonds between those involved," Carter said. "He creates an environment where your creative impulses can blossom."

Rickert-Epstein is no longer an 8-year-old experimenting with his dad's video camera.   In May, he graduated with a bachelor's degree at the age of 20. After graduation, he's off to Los Angeles with some former cast and crew members to pursue his career.

"I didn't expect my filmmaking to affect so many people, but a lot of my friends that have been closely involved in the films that we've done have decided to be involved in the film industry, to take a really big risk, and go out to L.A. together," Rickert-Epstein said. "We all work well together and we all push each other. We're a good team, and that's what's important."            

See some of Rickert-Epstein's films at...www.fxhome.com/cinema/. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "Movie Archive" button. Type "Cobra Productions" into the "Studio" search field. Many of his films and those of his friends that work under Cobra Productions will appear. Rickert-Epstein's films will have the name ajjax44 in the right-hand corner of the description box.