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Nice, but nerdy Joe fearlessly confronts high school bullies, effortlessly proves the Pythagorean theorem and heroically wins the heart of the prettiest girl in school – in his fantasies that is. Reality, however is not on Tatooine, the rebels don’t always win, and love is not enough to defeat the evil empire… or is it?
Stumped by geometry, Joe drifts off into the recesses of his mind to a galaxy far, far away. Jolted back into reality by his nemesis – the gothically sardonic Ms Herzbacher – Joe realizes that high school is even more treacherous then the Death Star. Joe confronts Jimmy, the evil lord of the sith who rules the nether regions known as the boys’ restroom, the assistant principal (the evil emperor), and the dim-witted jock (it wouldn’t be high school without one) to win the heart of the girl he desperately loves – before she discovers his true identity.
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ONCE UPON A JEDI explores the treacherous hallways and evil villains that inhabit the strangest place on earth – high school. In this landscape, Joe Daily discovers that you cannot dream courage, you have to live it.
Director's
Bio
The year 1977 changed his life not to mention the face of contemporary cinema. Star Wars was released and helped usher in the age of the Hollywood Blockbuster. His family was bicultural and there were 14 kids. Going to the movies was like military deployment (well going anywhere actually). Going to the movies was rare treat. His love for film comes from his mother While she was pregnant with him she would spend entire days at the movies. Movies in Vietnam at the time were like traveling road shows. The print would screen in one town then be hand carried to the next town. Like a Greatful Dead groupie, she would follow the film, trekking for town to town spending the entire day in the theater. The summer of 1977 was spent with his grandparents in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Isolated and force-fed a dose of daytime television, he was bored stiff. To pass the time he read magazines and started collecting articles and pictures about a movie he had not yet seen, Star Wars. Returning to Atlanta, he saw it 10 times. In the dark, straining to see, he would sketch out these fantastic space ships and aliens (as fast as his little hands could) as they blazed across the screen. At home, he created his own Star Wars Comic book. One day when his parents bought a new refrigerator he confiscated the box, which he modeled into the landing docks of the infamous death star. This was the humble beginning of the film, “Once Upon a Jedi.” In high school he developed a sci-fi comic book with all casting his classmates as characters. Every day they would swarm around him to keep up with the latest plotlines and adventures. As he finished high school comic art seemed an unsecure career path. From Riverdale Georgia, Hollywood and New York might as well have been on the moon. Finishing architecture school and working as an intern, he still dreamed of stories and comic books. He began applying for positions at computer animation firms. Sneering, they advised him to get the sacred all-important degree in film. The following fall he shocked his parents by announcing he was going to quit his secure professional position at a prestigious architecture firm and move to study film at New York University (NYU). “Do you hate us that much?” was their reply. Guilt was a big thing in the Bolia family. Upon graduation from NYU, he worked as a cinematographer. The promise of access to a high definition camera drew him to the holy filmmaking Mecca of the south - Georgia State University. Returning home his dreams of Star Wars resurfaced and he began developing “Once Upon a Jedi” originally named Doodles. Feeling it was too big and expensive, he shelved it. It was only when Caroline Gallrein, his Research Assistant, told him he could find every location on the Georgia State campus that the realm of possibility emerged. The Red Sea parted and there was light. This bit of advice and a grant from the University pushed the entire story forward. Atlanta isn’t exactly known for an abundance of professional actors, so the casting sessions were difficult. Hopelessly, he had to consider flying to LA or New York. Late in the game, a kid Sheehan O’Heron changed everything. Ly could build the movie around him. The entire cast consisted of local talent. The two leads were both kids who had never been on camera. The film would be shot on a Sony state of the Art High Definition camera (similar to the ones Lucas used to Shoot the last two Episodes of the Star Wars Saga.) The crew consisted of two or three professionals but the bulk were students. Twenty-five percent of the budget went to feeding this army. While developing the story, he was inspired by an article about how George Lucas dreamed up his ideas for Star Wars then had to find ways to create them. Then it really dawned on him “My God,” His dream was coming true: He was making a Star Wars film. Things didn’t really sink in until he came on set with the storm troopers. This was the coolest thing in the world. It was great discovering things like Storm troopers have limited mobility and like babies could barely get up if they fell. The armor rattled so terribly that it was challenging recording sound, especially the dialogue. Limited visibility in the helmets would cause them to run into things or each other. The helmets also made it hard for them to hear so he was constantly yelling at them. He was thrilled to death because he was making Star Wars. The tedious job of animating space ships and laser blast slowly paid off. Seeing the results was the ultimate rush. After putting the sequences together I he would watch them again and again. Just a short five years ago all this would have not been possible In 1977 Star Wars ushered in a new age in cinema. The advent of cheap editing systems and better digital cameras is ushering in a new age of digital filmmaking. Spearheaded by none other than George Lucas. Lucas has made Digital acceptable enabling the average Joe to make films. This is evident in his generous sharing of his characters and stories. Star Wars fan films abound. The only stipulation Lucas has put on them is that they not include actual footage from the movies themselves. George Lucas wants deeply to allow us to share in his adventure; he encourages filmmaking. ABOUT
THE PRODUCTION Because of time constraints most of the shots were done under available light. Only half the shots were lit. CAST
Aliens Star
Wars characters Stormtroopers
Crew
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