OXFORD,
Miss. – An unexpected e-mail message from Amazon.com has led to an
unusual marketing opportunity for a University of Mississippi theatre
arts professor.
Jim Shollenberger, a faculty member since
1978, has written and directed multiple films over the years, but this
was the first time that he had been contacted by a major Web site to
market his films.
“I literally got a random e-mail one day
from Amazon.com, and I thought they must be trying to sell me
something,” Shollenberger said. “So I opened it up to see what it was,
and it was a letter basically saying that they were creating a new
division within the company, which was going to focus on providing a
marketing venue for independently published and independently produced
artwork.”
The letter further stated that two of Shollenberger’s films had been brought to their attention, “Southern Gothic” and “Life and Death.”
“Southern Gothic,” filmed in fall 2007, traces the intertwining stories of four members of a close-knit, loving but often dysfunctional Southern family.
“We call it a ‘dramedy,'” Shollenberger said. “If you’ve ever seen a Beth Henley play, you would recognize the sort of eccentric, dysfunctional Southern family that she writes about. What I’ve tried to do is capture that with different twists.”
“Life and Death,” filmed in spring of 2007, focuses closely on a 20-something, upwardly mobile couple who live together but aren’t married.
“Each has a very promising career; he’s in real estate, she’s an investment banker,” Shollenberger said. The story takes an unexpected turn when the couple realizes she is pregnant.
“It’s a domestic story, but it really is a story about the pressures of young couples who are trying to make it in the business world,” he said.
“Southern Gothic” is already available for purchase on the Amazon.com Web site. Shollenberger is working on submitting “Life and Death.”
“It’s not something I expect to make a lot of money on, but it’s kind of cool,” he said.
He also plans to submit more of his films to the company.
“I just finished editing a film that was shot this semester, and I’m planning on sending that to them as well,” he said.
For information about purchasing the films, visit this link .
For more information about the Department of Theatre Arts, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/theatre?arts/ .