Wizards of Waverly Place actress, Jennifer Stone is one of the handful of celebrities who recently partnered up with Sprite Refreshing Films on a very inspiring short film project. She took some time to talk about the short film that she worked on in a brief interview below…but first, a little bit about the project:
Sprite has given the next generation of creative minds the opportunity to bring their innovative talent and bold imagination into the spotlight. Six teams of film students and teens collaborated to create short films on all-youth film sets in major cities nationwide.
60 teenagers from all over America along with 24 interns, who represent some of the country’s top colleges and universities, had seven days to bring their original 6-2 minute screenplays to life. Throughout the week the youth film crews replaced the on-set roles typically filled by industry veterans as they coordinated every aspect of production, including: casting calls, location scouting, storyboarding, rehearsals and directing celebrity talent.
Each original film features one of the following celebrities: Jennifer Stone (“Wizards of Waverly Place”), Christopher Gorham (“Covert Affairs”), Donald Faison (“Scrubs”), Grammy nominated singer, Natasha Bedingfield, Emmy award-winning choreographer, Mia Michaels (“So You Think You Can Dance”), and RocNation recording artist, Alexis Jordan (“America’s Got Talent”).
More from Jennifer Stone below…
How did you get involved in the Sprite Refreshing Films project?
It was brought to my attention by someone close to me. It seemed like such an amazing program! I couldn’t not be a part of this.
So what element in the script of the short film that you worked on intrigued you the most?
I liked that “Fresh Studio” delved into the natural competition that comes with college life.
The theme was “ingenuity takes the unexpected path and is rewarded for it” so how have you seen this theme play out in your life?
Well I love taking risks in art. And I think as an artistic person, the best thing you can do is trust your instincts. So every time I have relied on where my heart was it has paid off in one way or another.
Can you talk about your experience working on the all-youth film set and what you learned from your peers?
There was such a great energy on set. You could feel the excitement in the air that day for sure. All the kids taught me to never lose that spark of why you love what you do.
What was your favorite part about collaborating with your peers who worked on every single aspect of the film making as opposed to working with just a few peers on Wizards?
It’s always nice to be amongst people your own age that love film as much as I do. So I was able to geek out on movies with everyone on the Sprite set.
Is there a specific job that you found you enjoyed the most when the younger individuals took on the job and would like to see more younger people take on right now in the industry?
I would love to see more young screenwriters. They bring such a fresh take with their views of the world. I loves that Sprite Refreshing Films allowed these young people to showcase their scripts.
There are so many aspects that go into creating a film including casting, writing, producing, and directing. After Wizards, are you interested in taking on different roles in the future aside from “actress?”
(laughs) I don’t know. I would love to learn about cinematography. I’m fascinated with the art of the shot. I don’t know if I would do it professionally though. Acting is my main entree.
Is there something that you are really glad that you learned young and also on the set of Wizards that has changed the way you take on acting or the industry as a whole?
I’ve been doing this for almost ten years now and I have definitely learned a lot. Learning acceptance of the sometimes not so pleasant things that happen in this industry has been very helpful. You have to know how accept your circumstances and move on.
How to Vote For Your Favorite Short Film:
You can watch all six short films at SpriteRefreshingFilms.com now until May 31, 2011. During the first round of voting, April 1 through May 2, America can view and show their support by casting SMS text code votes to 777483 for their favorite Sprite Refreshing Film short film.
America’s top three films will advance to round two of the competition held from May 3 through May 31, 2011. During this timeframe a Green Ribbon Panel of industry professionals will weigh in on judging. The panel will score the films based on entertainment value, casting and performance, production quality and originality. The Green Ribbon panel’s score will be added to the America’s vote which will continue through May 31 and the winning film will be determined by combining both votes and the scores.
The winning film will be screened at a film festival screening event to be announced soon in June 2011. The winning film crew, screenwriter and staff interns will also be awarded a trip to the movie screening.
Note: The Sprite Refreshing Films program was formerly the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker’s Award, which was presented annually by Coca-Cola beginning in 1998.