麻豆影院

Striving to stand out as filmmakers in the immensely competitive city of Los Angeles,听Nick Loritsch听(贵颈濒尘鈥�03),听pictured left, and听Joshua Dragge听(Film鈥�99), right, have made a giant leap in the industry with the successful debut of their independent film听Born & Raised.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not these L.A.-Sunset Strip guys,鈥� Nick says. 鈥淲e just want to make good films.鈥�

Born & Raised听premiered last spring at the Miami International Film Festival. The movie is an emotional coming-of-age drama centered on a small-town young man and his outlaw grandfather and highlights themes of love, family and forgiveness. Nick wrote the screenplay 鈥� many of the characters are loosely based on people in his life 鈥� and starred as the main character Bubbs. Joshua directed and edited the film. Both were producers.

Born & Raised听was shot in 2009 in rural areas of Panama City, Fla., and the next two years were spent in post-production work. Working with a limited budget was always at the forefront of their minds, Nick says.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a character-driven piece about relationships,鈥� Joshua says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about the spectacle.鈥�

The movie has been well-received, appearing in such festivals as the Sonoma International Film Festival, the Bare Bones Film Festival and the Breckenridge Festival of Film. In addition to working on his own films, Nick is an assistant for Jeffrey Katzenberg, cofounder of DreamWorks Studios and CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG. Joshua was an assistant for director Antoine Fuqua, known for such films as听Training Day听and听Shooter,听but works as a freelance film editor today to spend more time with his wife and daughter.

Nick and Joshua weren鈥檛 film majors when they enrolled at CU-麻豆影院 but quickly changed their academic paths to follow their passion for film. The two met when film professor Jerry Aronson, pictured above with Nick and Joshua, paired them to work on Nick鈥檚 senior thesis project,听Vogue Models and Beer Bottles. After the humorous short film was screened at the Los Angeles International Film Festival, Jerry encouraged them to move to Los Angeles. In honor of their mentor, Nick and Joshua named their production company Jerry-Rigged Films.

鈥淐U was such a wonderful place to lay the foundation to what would become a career in the visual arts,鈥� Joshua says.

The duo has several more projects in the works with the intention of attracting investors for money and obtaining big-name actors to reach a wider audience.

鈥淚t all comes back to telling a good story,鈥� Joshua says. 鈥淗opefully for an hour and a half or two hours we can give people a journey into a life they don鈥檛 have.鈥�