From Script to Screen: The Mercury Cycle

On a cold New England night in March, the spacious, gated house on Circular Ave. in Hamden, Conn. looks like it should be in a movie. And soon it will be: the Quinnipiac University-owned house is the set of "The Mercury Cycle."

"The Mercury Cycle" is a full-length feature film, being produced primarily by Quinnipiac students and featuring cast members from the Connecticut area.

Graduating Quinnipiac senior Vincent Grippi, who wrote the script, said the obstacles and stress while making the film have been immense. "Looking at it on paper, this movie shouldn't have worked out," he said. "There were times I felt I was going to catch fire and explode, and there were other times I felt like I could fly."

Grippi said his work is "just about telling a story." He added that the two most important themes of "The Mercury Cycle" are the two-sided nature of every story, and the idea that it's never too late to turn a life around.

According to a synopsis, the film follows a socially anxious college student who finds himself immersed in a "mysterious underground cult." That cult has produced the "Mercury Cycle," a "mysterious pill-induced visit to the past."

Grippi classifies the film as a "psychological thriller/drama." He wrote the script last summer, hoping to win a Quinnipiac Film Society (QFS) competition. The 90-page script was too long for the competition because most scripts were only 30 pages.

However, QFS members Cody Hoerig and Zach Salsman knew they had read something special. 22-year-old graduating Quinnipiac senior and former QFS president Hoerig said in November, "It's so well written, and I was like, 'We can't do it for the contest but let's do it.'"

And so it began. "We all knew it was going to be extremely hard and time consuming," Hoerig said five months later. The well-built, blond-haired and outgoing Hoerig is directing and producing the movie.

Last fall, a cast and crew were recruited and a filming schedule was drawn up. As early as November, the team was considering legal issues and determining the best way to market their work.

According to Grippi, legalities have included the necessary removal of "The Little Mermaid" from the film at the orders of Disney, as well as the re-designing of all brand names that appear in scenes. "The Mercury Cycle" also earned a copyright from the U.S. government in April, after first applying in September.

Filmmaking requires release forms from cast members and permits to film in different locations. "If there's any little thing that you're not sure of, get it in writing," Grippi said.  In addition to writing the script, Grippi is the executive producer of "The Mercury Cycle."