Synopsis
Jackrabbit follows the story Danai, a kind man from the Eastern United States, and his fight to survive in the Wild West.
After being arrested in a small town for claims against his character (and his sexual preferences), he must escape from his captors and flee back East to avoid torture and enslavement.
Pain and Death lie around every corner, and with the Sheriff and crew in hot pursuit, Danai must fight to stay alive.
Why This Story? – A Note from Will Dziuk
This film features a perspective on weakness and oppression that is under-represented in story-telling today. The story is a message to those, like myself, who have felt their sense of self and innocence threatened by abusive relationships. In its exploration of the Western genre, the film tries to prove to its viewers that no matter what happens to you, you willalways be who you are.
Current Team
Screenwriter
Executive Producer
Marketing Manager
First Assistant Director
About This Team
Our team is a collective of Emerson College VMA and Colombia College Chicago Cinema Art+Science majors that have assembled together in order to make this project a success.
Will Dziuk
Role: Writer, Executive Producer
Previous Work: Sonny (Executive Producer), Places (Executive Producer, Writer), Through the Veil (Executive Producer)
Favorite Films: Lawrence of Arabia, Ex Machina, Locke
Quote to live by: “So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
Gemma Gamberdell
Role: Producer
Previous Work: Speechless (Executive Producer), Arco (Executive Producer)
Favorite Films: Mad Max, Star Wars, Episode VII, Moonrise Kingdom
Quote to live by: “Work hard, know your stuff, show your stuff, and then feel entitled.” -Mindy Kaling
Alice Airoldi
Role: Associate Producer
Previous Work: Flowers (Director, Writer), Time Loop (Director, Writer)
Favorite Films: Magnolia, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Apocalypse Now
Quote to live by: “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
Adam Katzner
Role: Cinematographer
Previous Work: My Village Bells (Cinematographer), Places (Cinematographer)
Ruby Huber
Role: First Assistant Camera, First Unit
Aaron Trujillo
Role: Second Assistant Camera, Second Unit
Jeremy Germain
Role: Co-Director, Blood Lord
Previous Work: The Kevin Conundrum (Director, Writer), Blood (Director)
Peter Clark
Role: First Assistant Director
Previous Work: My Village Bells (Assistant Director), Tears (Assistant Director)
Cassidy Vogel
Role: Second Assistant Director
Beau Petit
Role: Script Supervisor
Amy Patterson
Role: Production Assistant
Alex Hoffman
Role: Marketing Executive
Phil Tice
Role: Makeup Artist and Marketing Assistant
Previous Work (2 or 3): Ghost in the Machine (Writer/Director/Actor), S.S. Bowie (Writer/Director), See No Evil (Writer/Actor)
Favorite Films (top 3): Lawrence of Arabia, Spirited Away, The Road
Quote to live by: “You’re not the king of Dirk. I’m the boss of me. I’m the king of me. I’m Dirk Diggler.” Dirk Diggler/Mark Wahlberg, Boogie Nights
Camille Speer
Role: Marketing Assistant
Hunter Dimin
Role: Production Designer
Emily Dunbar
Role: Set Decorator
Casey Shatraw
Role: Assistant Editor
Previous Work: Children of War (Assistant Editor) Good Morning Emerson (Episode Editor)
Favorite Films: Drive, Inception, Titanic
Quote to live by: “The chief enemy of creativity is being safe, with good taste.” – Nicolas Winding Refn
Nick Chieffo
Role: Makeup Artist
Lyndsay Tucker
Role: Makeup Assistant
Christopher Marino
Role: On-set Sound Mixer
Darrin Smith
Role: Boom Op
Previous Work: Zoo (Sound Designer), Off Frame (Writer, Director, Producer, Sound Designer, Cinematographer)
Favorite Films: Eraserhead, Brazil, The Shining
Quote to live by: “You’re on earth. There’s no cure for that.” -Samuel Beckett
Amy Almeda
Role: Sound Design/Re-Recording Mixer
Previous Work: Sonny (Re-Recording Mixer), A Movie and A Midnight Stroll (Re-Recording Mixer), Final Fantasy Crisis Core English Remaster (Sound Designer/Dialog Editor)
Favorite Films: How To Train Your Dragon 2, Rosenberg’s The Amittyville Horror, Rainbow Bright and The Star Stealer
Quote:” … And may the odds be ever in your favor” – Effie, The Hunger Games
Samantha Pavich
Role: Storyboard Artist
Michael Vitz Wong
Role: Gaffer
Devon Juaire
Role: Best Boy Grip
Prince Aibangbe
Role: Set PA/Grip
Previous Work (2 or 3): House on Hayfield, Sunny, Kingdom Coming
Favorite Films (top 3): The Informant, Whiplash, and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Quote to live by: “I figured any god that wouldn’t let me have a wank was no god worth worshiping.”
-Anonymous
Christopher Mullen
Role: Grip