Hollywood Comes to Henrietta
NTID News - September 11, 2009
Collegiate championship wrestler Matt Hamill, who graduated from RIT/NTID in 1999, is the subject of a film to be shot on campus and around Rochester in the coming weeks. See full-size photo
A Los Angeles-based film crew is in Rochester to make a movie based on Matt Hamill, the RIT/NTID championship wrestler who has since gained fame in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
"Hamill" was written and will be produced by Eben Kostbar and Joseph McKelheer of Film Harvest, an independent film production company. A cast of 20 and production crew of 30 are expected to film the movie entirely in the Rochester area, including scenes of a home in Macedon, classrooms at Rochester School for the Deaf and several places on the RIT/NTID campus in Henrietta.
Hamill, who graduated in 1999 with a degree in electromechanical technology, won three NCAA Division III national wrestling championships. He was a three-time All-American, New York State Champion and RIT Invitational Champion. He achieved a career record of 89-3 and was undefeated in his senior year. He also holds the all-time RIT record for the most tournament wins (71) and was inducted into the RIT Athletic Hall of Fame.
Filming is scheduled to begin Sept. 15 and continue through mid-October. Kostbar, McKelheer and several others have rented a house in Rochester where they are accumulating props and wardrobes, scheduling film locations, renting equipment, casting actors, hiring crew members and sleeping when they have the time.
Kostbar says he was inspired by Hamill's story as a deaf wrestling champion and accomplished UFC fighter. He contacted Hamill four years ago and arranged for an interview. "I thought this guy's got an absolutely amazing story as an underdog who became a champion," Kostbar says.
Once a script was written, fundraising needed to be done. They had a setback in their casting, when members of the deaf community protested the lead actor originally intended to play Hamill was hearing. "We are thankful for this protest because hiring a deaf actor for the lead is the right decision and gives the film more integrity," McKelheer says.
Now the title role will be played by Russell Harvard, a deaf actor from Texas. RIT/NTID graduate Michael Spady, who graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in applied science and technology, also has a leading role as Hamill's friend and roommate.
"Most people don't have exposure to the deaf community at all," McKelheer says. "We've met a lot of wonderful people who were supportive and embraced us. The culture itself was eye-opening for us. We knew going in we were going to be learning about the deaf community. There was a huge learning curve to get it right."
Kostbar has even taken several sign language courses and isn't ruling out a career as an interpreter some day. Both Kostbar and McKelheer say they continually have asked for advice from the deaf community. But they say the movie won't be about whether a mainstreamed or residential school is better, or whether it is better to use sign language or be oral.
"What the story is really about, is that Matt Hamill doesn't have any boundaries, whether it's wrestling or being hearing or deaf," McKelheer says. "He never wanted to be defined by a culture. It's about overcoming obstacles. His deafness wasn't a disability."
While in Rochester, the crew hopes to use RIT students as volunteer extras in the movie.