Low budget . . . high praise
Hollywood director, US novelist applaud teens’ film adaptation
‘‘I literally jumped up and down, then we were spamming our group chat, we were so just in awe that it happened.’’
Liz Wyatt
What started as a joke in a Paraparaumu College classroom has led to a film project applauded by Hollywood director Wes Ball and American novelist James Dashner.
A group of 13 teens has created Low Budget Maze Runner, an hour-long comedic adaptation of the 2014 sci-fi original.
Writer and director Liz Wyatt, 18, said the friends had laughed about the concept, but the following school holidays she decided to write the script.
The film was uploaded to YouTube four months later.
Through Twitter, Wyatt got the attention of Ball, the original film’s director, and Dashner, writer of the novel series.
‘‘I literally jumped up and down, then we were spamming our group chat, we were so just in awe that it happened,’’ Wyatt said. ‘‘It was amazing.’’
The film also featured actor Blake Cooper, who played Chuck in the original. The teens got hold of him via Cameo, an online platform allowing people to request videos from celebrities.
Rather than sending a message of support, Cooper went a step further and acted out a scene that was used for the film.
On top of writing and directing, Wyatt, who is originally from England, also played the character Newt.
‘‘I kind of felt like the British Taika Waititi, because he stars in things he directs,’’ Wyatt said.
‘‘It was really easy because we had a lot of respect for each other already, we’re all friends.’’
The group used social media to build hype for the project.
‘‘We did several days of just commenting on fan accounts being like, ‘oh, you should check this out’,’’ Wyatt said.
‘‘And then through that, it kind of got talked about.’’
The YouTube video has been watched more than 4000 times by people as far away as Brazil and Ukraine.
Shot at Paraparaumu College, the only expenses were a few costume and prop items, said Wyatt.
Media studies teacher Matt Cowens, who Wyatt described as a massive support during the project, said the group initially kept their work under wraps.
‘‘They didn’t want to tell me why they wanted to borrow cameras and microphones and tripods every week and what they were doing exactly,’’ Cowens said.
‘‘They eventually revealed they had a goal to get a certain number of followers for their [Instagram] account before they announced to me what their project was.’’
The students are very supportive of each other, he said.
‘‘They started off a little quieter in the class, but as they found each other, their friendships, and their passion for filmmaking, they came out of their shells and became increasingly gregarious and having a lot of fun in class. I’m incredibly proud of the whole team.
‘‘It’s taken a lot of commitment, time and creativity and the final product is very, very funny.’’
Two of the students, including Wyatt, are now studying film at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, and Cowens said it was delightful to see them following their passion.
‘‘It’s lovely to have played a little part in that journey,’’ he said.
The sequel, Low Budget Scorch Trials, is currently being filmed in locations across the Kāpiti region. It will be released in June or July.