By Damon Levine
Staff Writer
"The Final Crest" is about "recovery and rebirth from a tragedy."
Screenwriter Stephen Susco's simple words of wisdom on working in Hollywood could apply to most high-profile professions.
"It's not about fame. It's about liking what you do," Susco, 26, said.
And the Buckingham native's love of his jobs-namely screenwriting and film directing-have garnered him a respectable amount of fame and critical acclaim.
Doylestown's County Theater, 20 E. State St., will host a private screening of Susco's student film "The Final Crest" at 11 a.m. Sunday. The 12-minute short film, produced while Susco was a student at the University of Southern California film school in 1997, is about "recovery and rebirth from a tragedy," according to an associate of Susco's.
The screening is limited to Susco's family and friends, said Jim Sanders, director of outreach and development for the County Theater.
"We shot it in five days in the summer of last year. We shot it at the Santa Monica pier," Susco said. "I remember pulling into the parking lot the first day and having 30 people standing there waiting for me to tell them what to do."
"The Final Crest," however, was not the young screenwriter's first creative effort.
"My teachers at (Central Bucks) East and Holicong (Middle School) were really into creative writing, which got me writing at an early age," he said. "I started writing fiction when I was twelve."
Susco also acted in plays in high school and college.
"At East I did one play every year for three years," he said. "At Notre Dame, I was in 44 shows.
The University of Notre Dame also was where Susco had his first brush with critical acclaim.
He won a student Academy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1993 for a film he wrote, directed and produced.
The film, called "Faith," "is about faith. Not necessarily religious faith but faith in yourself," Susco said.
After graduating from Notre Dame in 1995, with three bachelor's degrees in philosophy, communications and theater and computer applications, respectively, Susco enrolled in USC film school.
Susco continued his winning ways in film school, winning another Student Academy Award in 1996 for a student film he produced called "Mr. October."
In 1996, he also co-wrote, with John Weidner, the film "Bone in the Throat" for New Line Cinema and Ted Demme's Spanky Pictures.
The film, which currently is being cast, is set for production in early 1999.
And then, of course, there is "The Final Crest."
Susco, who graduated USC with a master of fine arts degree in May, said Sunday's movie screening is a way to thank his family and friends for their support in his creative endeavors.
"Shooting 35mm film is really expensive and my parents and other relatives sort of chipped in for it," he said. The screening "is really a way for me to say 'thank you' to everyone for everything that's happened."
And there are more things happening for Susco.
He and Weidner are working on the screenplay for a movie called "Ghosting" for Dimension Films.
The movie is described as a "supernatural horror film," which takes place on a college campus, in which a process called 'ghosting' replaces hazing for fraternity and sorority pledges. According to press reports, a pledge that gets killed comes back to haunt the campus. "'Ghosting' now is moving very quickly," Susco said. "Everyone seems to like it."
Friday, November 27, 1998
Daily Intelligencer, Page 1