VOX MAGAZINE
30 under 30
These young Columbians prove that ambition is ageless
In seventh grade, Randy Prywitch made videos in the living room with his sisters. He has made progress since then. The MU senior now makes feature-length films with acting students from NYU and Loyola University and an actor from the Screen Actors Guild.
Prywitch made his first film, American Gothic, in the summer of 2008. The 99-minute dark drama about the heart of teenage suburbia first played in St. Louis.
In total, Prywitch has made three feature-length films before his approaching May graduation from MU. He will earn a degree in communications with a film studies minor. In his opinion, each has improved upon its predecessor. "When we shot American Gothic, it was a bunch of kids over the summer saying, 'You want to shoot today?' 'No, let's not shoot today,'" Prywitch says. "We always took it seriously, but we were never as prepared." In contrast, he says his most recent film, Loss for Words, a comedy about a struggling writer and his protégé, has a more refined script, stronger acting and better preparation.
The filmmaker says it's important to be realistic about your limitations. "Do something within your means," he says. "If you try to make a movie with big explosions and your budget is less than $1,000, there is no way you're going to make that look legitimate."
In terms of productivity, Prywitch has bested a few Hollywood hotshots. By age 22, M. Night Shyamalan and Ron Howard had each directed only one feature film, Praying with Anger and Grand Theft Auto, respectively.
Prywitch's most recent film, Loss for Words, will premiere at The Blue Note on May 4 at 7:30 p.m. If he continues on this track, even Hollywood blockbusters could become a possibility.
