8A
KULTURE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
PRODUCTION
Student director's feature film places Satan in business world
Jeremy Riggs, Desoto senior, directs a rehearsal of his film "The Devil is an Ass." The opening scene featuring Ryan Meharry and Justin Knubsen was shot Friday afternoon in the Centennial Room of the Kansas Union.
Katherine Loeck/KANSAN
'The Devil is an Ass' play adapts on-screen
BY SARAH NEFF
sneff@kansan.com
Jeremy Riggs hushed the noisy crew so Satan and his demon Pug could rehearse before they started shooting a scene for the film "The Devil is an Ass."
Riggs, De Soto senior, adapted the 17th century play by Ben Jonson for his first feature film. He also produced and directed the film. The crew set up Satan's office in the Centennial Room in the Kansas Union on Friday. The room was filled with huge lights, and cameras focused on Satan's desk.
About 15 people were scattered about the room placing props, covering windows with red film and going over scripts.
Tony Ontiveros, director of photography and 2006 graduate, walked around the set with clothespins strapped around his body like machine gun bullets, clipping colored sheets to the lights to adjust the hue.
Riggs owns a production company called Limestone Productions. He partnered with local actors, students from KU Filmworks and recent graduates from the University of Kansas to make the film.
Riggs said the University department of theatre and film did a good job teaching theory, but because the fairly new department didn't have a lot of funding, they didn't offer a lot of hands-on experience for film students.
Riggs' film depicts Satan as the CEO of a company that's going out of business. The script illustrates humankind as so innately corrupt that Satan will soon be out of a job
"We are giving them an opportunity to use this as a learning tool," Riggs said. "To practice what they've learned and to use the theory that they've learned in a practical application."
Ryan Meharry, University of Missouri-Kansas City senior, played Satan. He said he wanted to avoid common cliches like playing Satan
as cool or mobster-like.
"He's just at his wits end." Mehary said of his character. "He's irritable and he smokes a lot. He's a very frustrated kind of a loser, or an ass."
Riggs said his main motivation for the film was his love for classic theatre. He said he wanted to
make it more accessible for a modern audience. He used the original language of the play, but changed the setting to modern-day London. He also added a few subtle visual effects to add satire.
For example, a book of vices, basically a yearbook for demons, rests on Satan's desk. One of the
vices, corruption, has a photo of George W. Bush next to it. Riggs said he didn't add too many current topics; he wanted to keep the focus on the general existence of corruption over time.
Riggs said he was originally working on a horror movie, but he came across this play and decided
he wanted to make a more meaningful film.
"It's such a great social commentary," Riggs said. "A movie is fun, it's just entertaining; it doesn't say anything. A film causes a reaction. A movie is just a movie but a film can change someone's life."
ished by May 2008. He said he will send it to various festivals in hopes of getting picked up by distributors. He said he would like to work out a private screening with the University so students can have the chance to view the film.
Riggs plans to have the film tin
Edited by Meghan Murphy
Horizontal timeline for"The Devil is an Ass"
1616 Ben Jonson writes the play "The Devil is an Ass"
January 2007 Riggs finishes writing the script and hires a casting director
December 2006 Jeremy Riggs decides to make the play into a feature film
April 2007 Rehearsal begins, start building sets and costumes
March 2007 Casting call
December 2007 Finish editing film
June 1 to Sept. 30
2007
Film shot, two to three days per week,
10-12 hours per day
May 2008 Estimated release
January 2008 Start sound work, voice-overs, sound effects and music composition
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Katherine Loeck/KANSAN
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The opening scene of "The Devil is an Ass" was filmed Friday afternoon in the Centennial Room of the Kansas University.
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