Professor Ed Simpson, performing arts chair, works in his office at High Point University.
Ed Simpson, chair of the Performing Arts Department and professor of theatre at High Point University, penned the play “Elephant Sighs” in 1998. The well-received production has since been performed in theatres across the country, and it now will be made into a feature-length movie with Hollywood actors.
The production will be filmed in High Point and Thomasville from Jan. 3 through Jan. 24. Indoor scenes will be shot in a studio in High Point, and scenes taking place outdoors will be shot in both cities.
“I love the look of Thomasville as a town, and a lot of the buildings and streets,” Simpson said. “In parts of Thomasville and High Point, the architecture looks a lot like what you would find in western Pennsylvania, which is where it takes place.”
The film will star Ed Asner, a seven-time Emmy Award-winning actor known from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” “Roots,” “Elf,” “Up!” and more.
The production also will feature Tony Award-nominated John Cariani, of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “NUMB3RS” and “Law and Order”; Jack Kehler, of “The Big Lebowski,” “Love Liza,” “Dudley Doright,” “Waterworld” and “Men in Black II”; David Wells, of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “Basic Instinct,” “CSI” and “Dragnet”; and Mark Fite, who has voiced characters on “SpongeBob SquarePants” and appeared in “Independence Day,” “Fight Club,” “Seinfeld” and “Friends.”
Wells and Kehler have previously taken on their roles in productions of the play, and they were both eager to participate in a movie version, Simpson said.
“One of the things that helped us in casting was that the actors liked the story, the characters and the roles,” he said. “I think that that was what really sold them on the idea.”
The film is the first project of new production company New Garden Media. Simpson says that its theme fits nicely with what the company hopes to produce in the future — films that celebrate human beings.
“Elephant Sighs” is a story about loss, loneliness and the power of friendship and perseverance. It focuses on a young lawyer named Joel (Cariani) who is invited by an older man named Leo (Asner) to meet with a group of friends. Each of the five men is dealing with some kind of struggle, including the recent loss of a member named Walt. As Joel gets to know each of these very different men, he begins to realize why he is there himself.
“It’s a comedy, but it’s got some heavier moments, too,” Simpson said. “The basic idea behind it is that there’s a secret life of men that, in our popular culture, we’re not always aware of.”
Simpson says that a premiere likely will be held on campus in late spring or early fall, before the film is released to theaters. Despite the project’s low budget, he thinks it will turn out to be a very good movie.
“I think one of best descriptions of it is a blue-collar fable,” Simpson said. “It’s blue-collar, because these are all working, average sort of guys. It’s a fable, because there is a little bit of an element of magic. It’s very unexpected, and it’s sort of whimsical. There is a little bit of a moral embedded in there, too, with a positive message.”
The screenplay, published by Samuel French Inc., will be directed by Simpson, and produced by Les Butchart, David Wells and M.L. Carr. HPU professors Matthew Emerson and Ami Shupe will be in charge of production design and costume design, respectively. HPU students Courtney Ziegler, Nathan Ruffin, Maggie Jo Saylor, Rankin Willard and Matthew Kniffen will serve as interns.
Staff Writer Karissa Minn can be reached at 888-3576 or newsdesk@tvilletimes.com.
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