I recently had the chance to see Peachtree City native Matthew Quandt’s first film “Dinner with Fred” at an early test screening a month before the official Los Angeles opening. Quandt, a graduate of Starr’s Mill High School, and a senior majoring in film studies at USC, has put a fine first rung on the ladder of his career.

When he invited me to the test screening, I assumed it would be shot similarly to “Paranormal Activity,” using hand-held cameras for an amateur, found-footage type of film. I was very surprised that the 23 minute short film was actually shot professionally like a full-length movie. It’s based on a true story of the director’s grandfather and how a chicken saved his life during World War II (see the website below for the full description). The film is a fresh, clean drama with comedic elements that was enjoyed by the large group of family and friends who gathered in support of Matthew.

The story was simple and entertaining, something very rare in films concerning war. The comedy was well done by the actors, all members of the Screen Actors Guild, who I’m sure will go somewhere in the years to come. The original score in this early, un-mixed version of the film was a bit loud in some spots, thus the dialogue was sometimes hard to understand, but my mom loved it and Matthew said it was one of his favorite parts of the movie.

The scenery was brilliant, especially the scenes in northern California, which was apparently the only place they could find a working 1940s steam locomotive. Quandt and his colleagues plan to submit it to a variety of festivals in the coming months.

The day after the screening, I interviewed Matthew at Mike & C’s about the project, a conversation that showed me his deep determination to accomplish his dream. He explained that a producer doesn’t just supply the money that the film needs, but he/she picks the director, picks the script, and is there from the beginning of the film process to the end, much like the relationship between a mother and child.

I’m very impressed with the effort he put into his “baby.” The film was well beyond the scope of the average student-produced film; it carried greater financial risk, had professional actors, and was filmed on Panavision 35mm film, all because Matthew and his team wanted to present the best film possible the first time out. This was a good move because this short film will represent his business card well in the movie industry. Having an expensive but excellent production is better than having a cheap stinker on your resume.

As we continued the conversation, I discovered that Matthew wants to make two kinds of movies. The first type is a “clean” film (movie that has no objectionable content.) He thinks there are not enough family films these days. If a film of his has objectionable content, it will have something to do with the plot of the movie, it won’t just be thrown in for a higher rating (i.e. random sex scene, overuse of profanity.) I agree with him on all counts.
There are some people in the film industry Matthew hopes to work with in his career. He would love to work with Doug Liman, director of his favorite film, “The Bourne Identity.” He admires Matt Damon, star of the “Bourne” trilogy as well. When asked who he looks up to as a producer he said “Well, the only picture I have hanging on my wall is one of Walt Disney. Disney showed his personal qualities in his cartoons and would have been happy with the content even if they didn’t make a lot of money.”

When asked if he wanted to work within a particular genre, he said he didn’t want to limit himself to just one but will branch out with themes that provide positive messages. Along those lines, Quandt readily gives credit to God for helping “Dinner with Fred” pull through to the end, something he says that most Hollywood people are afraid to do. If Matthew continues to produce films as good as “Dinner with Fred” I hope I get invited to see him accept his first Academy Award.

For more information about the film visit www.dinnerwithfred.com/ .