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CLASS OF ’97

Three Slackers,
Three Bikes, and a Prairie

After getting fired from their temp jobs, three “slackers” named Cal, Stan, and Dave start a bicycle-courier service in Omaha, Nebrasksa. Though the enterprise would seem to have little chance on the Great Plains, the trio achieve great success through their “punctuality, courtesy, and good hygiene.” That’s when their troubles begin.
    So unfolds the plot of Nebraska Supersonic, a film that came together through the efforts of several alumni, including Jeremy Lerman C’97, who directed, wrote, and produced it, and Matt Wasowski C’97, associate producer and production designer.
    The film, which was shot in Lerman’s hometown of Omaha —with the crew staying in Lerman’s mother’s house to save money—picked up the Best Screenplay award and the Golden Orb award for the most innovative marketing campaign at the No Dance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in January.
    Hannah Miller Lerman C’95, the director’s sister, was the “PR person/chief of staff” for the film. Rob Redei C’97 [“Alumni Profiles,” January/February] and Cara de la Cruz C’95 wrote and performed the music.
    Lerman, who has made over a dozen short films, is working on two more screenplays and plans to move from Omaha to New York soon. Wasowski, who lives in Brooklyn, has written five screenplays.
    Since No Dance, they’ve been applying to other film festivals and organizing an Omaha premiere of the movie (www.nebraskasupersonic.com).
    “As to distribution,” Lerman writes in an e-mail, “It’s still quite early in the process for a film coming from the position of an unknown. The film is on the desks of a few distributors for evaluation and there’s an offer from an online distributor. Foreign sales agents are also looking at it. It’s a comedy, but it isn’t Scary Movie-type humor, and without name actors it isn’t going to play at the multiplex.” While he’s glad the film has “been received so well thus far,” Lerman adds, “the primary motivations for making it have always been to learn the process from start to finish, and to have a strong calling card for the industry.”

Copyright 2001 The Pennsylvania Gazette Last modified 5/2/01