The Academy Awards are less than two weeks away, and the best movie of 2024 will soon be decided, with cast and crew members being awarded for their efforts. However, one name absent on the ballot is Nate Rodriquez.
As a senior at Norwalk High School, Rodriquez is pursuing his passion as a movie director. Over the summer, he directed his first short film: “A Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse.” The film, clocking in at around 25 minutes, follows a group of friends who unsuspectingly get caught up in the path of a serial killer in the woods.
The film was shot over the duration of a week in July and was filmed at Brown’s Woods near Des Moines. The cast includes former Norwalk students such as Quinn Scallon, Wyatt Black, and Dylan Forget, all of whom Rodriquez is friends with. His latest film, “The Cold Kill,” is in post-production and is slated for a release later this year.
“I would consider my first film a success,” Rodriquez said. “I wouldn’t say that it’s the greatest, but it did get a lot of views, so it would be a success in that regard.”
Rodriquez stated that he found the filming of “A Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse” to be a good learning experience for him.
“I learned how to manage people and how to use practical effects, along with editing videos,” Rodriquez said. “I think the special and practical effects were the hardest to do, but during ‘The Cold Kill’ the weather got pretty cold and the climate was bad for some of the effects.”
Jayzic Landucci, a drone operator and additional actor in “The Cold Kill,” says he was very glad to be working on this film.
“Overall, the experience was great,” Landucci said. “I loved the people I worked with in this movie and overall, being in ‘The Cold Kill’ is an experience I won’t forget.”
When asked if he’d collaborate with Rodriquez in the future, Landucci said, “for sure.”
Rodriquez’ first film is available to watch for free on YouTube, and has currently amassed nearly 130,000 views. Reception of the film has been mostly positive, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on the film website, Letterboxd.
“I thought it was interesting,” freshman Hunter Dixon said about “A Deadly Game of Cat and Mouse.” “I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to go out into the woods and film all that. I also thought the guy who got dragged around did a good job.”
“Move over Spielberg. There’s a new goat in town,” said Colin Randolph, who played the character Logan in “The Cold Kill.” Many think that the young director has a bright future ahead of him. He plans on majoring in film in college, but for now, he is anticipating the release of “The Cold Kill,” which will be premiering in the near future.
