THE DOGWOOD HILLS CONNECTION

When I was in talks to make a short film with Wolf in the Grave and The Scatter Brothers production companies, there was only one person that I wanted to take the helm and direct.

“Who?” said both Eric DeWolf and Ben Daniele, respective Producers of the film.  I said, “Jeff Prugh.  I’ve known him for over twenty years.  He’s perfect for the job.” “Have you offered it to him?” they said. “No” I said. “He doesn’t even know I write.”

To make some sense out of this, I’ve known Jeff since I was a ten year old punk who loved baseball and Tony Hawk.  Jeff was a year younger than me and loved soccer and Steve Caballero.  Our common thread was skateboarding.  And Dogwood Hills, our neighborhood, was our stomping ground. Every kid who skated had a half-pipe in their backyard and everyday became routine. We had Pringles for energy and Coca-Cola for exhaustion.  Airwalk Shoes fit our feet just right and Thrasher Magazine served as our threshold to idolize the pros.  Laughter and the smooth sound of wheels-on-wood were all you could hear high above the hickory trees. 

Those sweltering summer days were filled with scrapes and bruises from attempting new tricks…all worth it for the indescribable feeling of landing them.  For a bunch of ten year olds, hand-plants and “gettin’ air” were all that mattered. 

Then, in the blink of an eye… we grew up. The kids of Dogwood Hills all went their separate ways and the half-pipes warped from non-use.

Fifteen years have gone by.

I played baseball in college and began a career in Finance, all the while teaching myself to write whenever I could afford the time. This new love I had for film kept me up at night and drug me out of bed in the morning. I wrote and wrote and wrote.  During this time, I married my high school sweetheart and we recently had our first child, a starry-eyed beauty named Ava.

Jeff played soccer in college and graduated with an M.F.A from the production program in the School of Cinematic-Television at the University of Southern California.

About two years ago, Jeff and I re-established our friendship.  His passion for art and his skilled eye for filmmaking made it easy for me to consider him for this project.  All that was left to do was to drop the news to him that I have that same passion for film as he does, but from a writer’s standpoint.  I think it worked.  Soon after, I hired him as our Director and Editor for POCKET FULL OF GOLD.

Our film is the product of a four day shoot in September of 2008. But the seeds of its creativity were planted over twenty years ago.

-Jeremy Robinson, Writer/Producer

May 1, 2009

ABOUT

Is someone watching you?

It happens when we least expect it. It happens when we want it the most. And sometimes...  when we need it the most.

It controls us and pushes us to our limits. It teases. It manipulates. It keeps us honest. It keeps us grounded. But the most wonderful thing about it, is it always leaves us wanting more. It is the most powerful drug in existence.

It is temptation.

For Ollie Oliver, on this day, he has just walked into a whole nest full of it...  and someone will be watching.