A movie that promises action, terrorists, kidnapping, romance and surprise plot twists? Sound like a Hollywood blockbuster? It’s not … yet.
“Agent,” a film produced and directed by Ouachita alumnus Daniel Santoy, premieres Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at Dino’s Main Street Café.
“’Agent’ is not traditional student film fare by any stretch of the imagination,” Santoy said. “It is unapologetically an action movie, and I’m thinking that most of the people that come will enjoy that.”
According to Santoy, the movie is set in the future, where terrorism is monitored by an agency called the Global Alliance. Skilled operatives known as “GAgents” carry out missions to defuse terrorist situations before they become public threats. The story follows two agents, Kevin Fry and Patrick Fry, in their attempt to stop a terrorist leader known as the Ringleader. Tracy Watts, the Ringleader’s second in command, kidnaps Patrick’s love interest and Kevin’s student, GAgent Rebecca Bunn. It’s a race against time to see if the Fry brothers can stop the Ringleader and save Rebecca before it’s too late.
Senior Mike Kizzar has a role in the film.
“I play Patrick Fry, younger brother to Kevin Fry,” Kizzar said. “He’s the more emotional of the pair, though he’s considered to have as much talent as, if not more than, his older brother.”
Kizzar sees parallels between himself and his character.
“I’m like Patrick in that he and I are both driven by emotion more than reason,” Kizzar said. “Especially when someone we love is in jeopardy. There are many times in the movie where I let my emotions override sane thought and I pay for it.”
Lurelee Doleshal, a former Ouachita student, doesn’t see such a connection with her character, GAgent Bunn.
“I wish I had half the confidence and coordination she has,” Doleshal said. “I’ve been known to match her temper, however.”
“Agent” was shot over the course of last year, and has taken about a year to finalize.
“Putting the special effects in, coordinating the soundtrack and wrapping up all of the other loose ends has definitely taken Daniel some time, but it’s all been worth it,” Doleshal said.
Kizzar anticipates the premiere.
“This is the culmination of all our work, so I want to see it totally finished and shown to a wide audience,” he said.
Cast members haven’t seen the final product, and Doleshal is also excited about the outcome.
“I’m really looking forward to being able to finally experience the film as a whole,” she said.
According to Santoy, Dino’s was chosen as the premiere location because of how helpful the people at Dino’s has been.
“They provided us with the only non-OBU shooting location we had,” Santoy said. “[They] actually shut down the restaurant so we could come in and shoot for several hours.”
Dino’s was used for a fight scene, and Santoy wanted that to add to the experience.
“You’ll be sitting in the room where we shot a pretty major fight scene [while] watching that scene,” Santoy said. “I don’t think too many people will actually notice it, but it might lend a bit of a surreal feeling to the thing.”
Two trailers have been posted on YouTube, for those who want a sneak peak. The total running time will be an hour and 22 minutes, which includes the movie, blooper reels and a teaser for senior Rance Collins’ “Another Movie Musical 2.”
“I hope not only that the people who come Tuesday are entertained,” Santoy said. “But I hope that all of my cast is entertained by what they’ve come together to build.”
Santoy, who graduated in May, is engaged to be married in November, and now lives in Little Rock, where he works at Fox 16.
