THE PRIZE 10 YEARS LATER

I can’t believe it’s been a decade since The Prize has been released. It amazes me how fast ten years have gone by, but part of that can be attributed to the happiness I’ve had travelling down the path the film placed before me.

I’ve done a lot these past ten years. I’ve started a family, achieved my other major dream of working in professional sports and I’ve continued making films. I’ve made five films after The Prize with a sixth on the way. Each one has improved on the one before, although I have yet to have one look exactly as it does in my mind’s eye (that’s due to external factors, like availability of technology and budget rather than my collaborator’s talent. Their skills far exceed mine).

That’s why I hold a special place in my heart for my first effort. Thanks to advances in modern technology (not the least of which is cheaper prices!), I’ve been able to back and finally make it the way I envisioned it. I added the Star Wars crawl and had my music man Fredrik Blom lay down a soundtrack. With some sound effects and improvements in audio, it’s exactly as I envisioned it now.

The Prize gave me something else to shoot for, a new goal and a new pastime. I have an outlet for my creativity and it’s rubbed off on my son, who’s knee-deep in his second Lego film. I’m prouder of his films than anything I’ve done. I’m also VP of the Lancaster Area Film Festival now, and meet new filmmakers all the time. I have made lifelong friends and collaborators doing this, all because of a little film I made 10 years ago. It’s changed my life for the better and will always look on it fondly.

Excuse me while I shudder to think that before I know it, I’ll be 20 years since I made this film.

PS A lot of people, especially the cast, have asked if I’ve ever thought of doing a sequel. Not only did I think about it, I wrote a script…