“Looks like they’re gonna need a bigger gallows”
Back before Todd Wade was in the running for Mayor of Oxford in 2013, he starred in his own short film, written and directed by Micah Ginn. If you missed this local gem in the 2011 Oxford Film Festival (like I did), don’t miss it now. If you’ve seen this before, see it again, I would bet there is something you missed the first time. There really is some clever humor here unique to the Oxford community, and its chock-full of the folks we know.
The 13-minutes of footage is the first Community Film project produced by the Oxford Film Festival. The point of these projects is to involve local faces and names in the films, both in front of and behind the camera. With cameos from local favorites like Wade’s arch nemesis Pat Patterson, and the always-smooth Robert Khayat, you’re bound to get a good laugh out of this.
Ginn, who is now the Director of Creative Services for the UM Athletic Department, says he grew up watching Monty Python and Airplane! These classic childhood favorites are the inspiration for most of his quirky humor. He says the whole idea started around the big joke about the difficulties in hanging the tallest guy in town. One of the first names that came to mind was former NFL lineman, Todd Wade.
Ginn says everyone involved had a blast making the film, and that they all volunteered, doing it for free. Slade Lewis did a fantastic job building suspense with the musical score. Wade was a huge sport to participate, allowing his fellow amateur actors to slap him in the face on a very cold Mississippi winters day. It was Zach Scruggs who came up with the funny idea to throw the snowballs at Wade. Ginn thought Wade ended up being the perfect star for the short film, and at times he even seems like a real professional.
Watching with a 2013 perspective really makes you wonder, what is the big joke here? I wonder if Big Todd would be interested in making a sequel? –– William Fowler, junior Integrated Marketing Communications Major, Meek School of Journalism and New Media
Email William Fowler at wdfowle1@go.olemiss.edu
William Fowler is a junior Integrated Marketing Communications Major at the University of Mississippi. Originally from Hattiesburg, MS, William grew up in Destin, FL and has been visiting Oxford ever since he can remember. He has fourteen family members total who have attended school at Ole Miss including his parents, grandparents, sister, aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is involved in student government and Greek life on campus.
