Lights! Camera! Action!

These are the stereotypical words a director should shout when filming a feature-length film. E’xander Young’s wish to shout those words has finally come true.

As an intern for MTV Networks in Los Angeles over the summer, the junior in Media was going about his daily routine when the idea came to him, both literally and figuratively.

“As a giveaway from MTV Networks during one of our meetings, I received a free deck of cards,” Young said. “It just struck me there that I could make a film about this deck of cards.”

Taking his deck of cards, he sat down and let the story come to him.

“There are 52 cards in a single playing deck, and there are also 52 kinds of people on the planet,” he said. “The film is about what happens when you combine them both, the deck and the people.”

So, his process of creating a script began.

“I read a lot of scripts and researched a lot of future films that would come out, which inspired me to create my own,” Young said.

Young, however, didn’t go on by himself.

“There was a large amount of talented individuals that I communicated and connected with out there that helped work on the script,” Young said. “I had input by some of the executives of MTV Networks on how the script should be written and the kinds of things that mass media and the audience looks for in modern-day media.”

Young said he took the executives’ advice and incorporated their suggestions to improve the script.

Entitled “The Royal Flush,” the film follows the lives of seven unique individuals who have their lives played out like a deck of cards. Given certain powers, these characters’ lives intertwine by deceptive means that lead to a climactic battle.

“The film is an incredibly interesting concept,” said Victor Abson, a graduate student who works as the camera crew operator.

With a script finished, Young has begun the tedious process of filming his movie at various locations on campus. He said the first shoot took place Oct. 3 to Oct. 5 on the Engineering Quad and the Arboretum. The next shoot will be at the Illini Union in one of the ballrooms from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.

“It’s going to be a pretty big project,” said Mark Hendricks, junior in FAA and lead character, the Ace of Spades, in the film. “But with E’xander and the places he’s been, it has the potential to do really well.”

Young realizes the difficulty in breaking into the film industry but likes his chances with the early experience he received working for small independent media companies around him before his jump to MTV Networks.

“As long as you have a positive attitude and a willingness to learn, you will be well on your way,” Young said. “I’m in a good position to build (my career).”

With his unique vision, he hopes to add more creativity to the way the film is created.

“Hopefully, I can take the human mind and eyes visually into a new realm of entertainment experience,” he said.

With filming only having just begun, Young can only wait for its release at all of the major media outlets, including the Illini Union.

“Everyone should be looking out for it soon,” he said. “It will be a very unique film to witness that people don’t normally see. It will be a blast, and I’m looking forward to the day it’s released.”

And if the student film is as good as Young envisions, there is a chance that he can break through in the film industry.

“As the director of the film and in conjunction with the people at MTV Networks that I am talking with,” he said, “I hope to possibly get MTV to adopt the film or possibly attract high-ranking people of the film industry.”