Rundown

In "Rundown," a 2006 MFA thesis project, a local TV news reporter looking for her big break causes a serious accident that she then has to report on the evening news broadcast. Her situation gives new meaning to the idea of covering the news.

Director

Patrick Alexander, MFA 2006

Patrick Alexander was raised in the Midwest. A native of Chicago, Patrick attended preparatory school at St. Xavier Academy in Cincinnati, OH, and stood out as a winner at the statewide creative writing contest, Power of the Pen. He received a dual Bachelors Degree in Economics and Organizational Psychology from Vanderbilt University in 2000.

Upon graduating college Patrick moved to New York City, where he worked as an analyst in business management at Goldman Sachs. Hunkered down by the towers of Wall Street during the day, he began to explore filmmaking at NYC’s School of Visual Arts in the evenings. Fueled by his writing, Patrick embarked on a creative journey through the streets of Manhattan that somehow landed him in the swamplands of Tallahassee. He joined the MFA Professional Writing Program at the FSU Film School in 2004. Upon good reviews of his early work, Patrick was invited into the MFA Film Production Program, where he soon excelled in photographing character-driven dramas with heightened emotional awareness and intense thrills. After graduating with his MFA, he moved to Los Angeles, where he is exploring the possibility of making a feature film based on the same idea.

Distinctions

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Student Academy Awards, Gold Medal

Best Student Film: Sedona Film Festival, Tallahassee Film Festival

Palm Beach International Film Festival Student Film Awards, Third Place

Producer's War Story

On our first night of production we were filming the "hit and run" segment of the film. We were shooting in Monticello [a small town near Tallahassee] on a local street. The portion of street we were shooting was in front of a bed and breakfast so we decided to rent out a room at the bed and breakfast for our lead actress. We assumed that we would then be able to use the bathrooms at the bed and breakfast as well, but the owners decided to limit the people allowed in the room to the actress and director. So we had no bathroom for the crew, and this was a problem.

During lunch I decided to drive around Monticello in the hopes of finding a Walmart or similar establishment that would be open all night. I wasn't having any luck and then things got worse -- I saw the flashing police lights in my rearview mirror. The officer explained that I was going 50 in a 25 mph zone. He asked, "What's your hurry?" I explained that I was producing a movie and that crew was about to rebel due to a lack of restrooms. His demeanor immediately changed. "You're working on the film?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, you guys can use the station if you need a restroom." I thanked him and he let me go without a ticket. Lucky for me he was one of the officers that we had used earlier that night in our staging of a crime scene. So not only did I not get ticketed, but ironically enough I found what I was looking for.

Crew and Cast