The Northside Sun from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 23

THE NORTHSIDE SUN, JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI Thursday, September 14, 1995 N'sider closer to realizing dream I -rXl Zf 1 7 i LH iXWffl Holiday Potpourri Julia Williams, printingcookbook; (front) Diane Hazard, special invitations; Mindy Tew, tasting tea; Karen Varner, chairman; Amanda Griffin, lagniappe; and Nina Johnston, cleanup. Holiday Potpourri will be held at the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Dean Fulghom, 2212 Heritage Hill and Mr. and Mrs.

Wirt A. Yerger III, 2125 Heritage Hill Dr. October 20 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Committee members for Holiday Potpourri, the annual fund-raiser of First Presbyterian Day School, Include (from left, back) Mary Scott Shepherd, silent auction; Courtney Love, signs; Patty Roper, flowers; Tricia Walters, special project; Nina Lett, garden gallery; Beverly Weeks, silent auction staging; Pamela Houchins, tasting tea staging; Robin Fiser, country kitchen; Lynn Pearson, tickets; Leila Lane, hostesses; Deetsa Molpus, staging houses; Guild opens season September 21 By JOHN DILMORE Sun Staff Writer ONE OF Northside's own is working to make his dreams come true in the city that never sleeps.

Twenty one year old Tom Rice, a Jackson native and graduate of Jackson Prep, recently wrapped production on a short film which was shot on location in New York City. Rice, who is the son of Northsiders Tom and Judy Rice, said he intends to use the film to demonstrate his capabilities as a writer and director to a number of studios interested in producing a feature-length screenplay he has written. "I have a feature-length script called 'Chasing which is a southern period piece," Rice said. "I had a reading of it on Broadway in January with some really big Broadway actors. "From that I got an agent in Los Angeles who is representing me as a writerdirector, and he advised me to complete a short film that I've written to show that I can direct." Rice's short film is the story of a nine-year-old boy who, one year after the death of his parents in a traffic accident, goes to the cemetery to visit their graves at Christmas.

There the boy meets an elderly woman who befriends him and takes him back to her house to celebrate Christmas. Upon arriving at the house, the boy realizes that the woman's husband, who has just suffered a heart attack, was the driver of the car which ran down his parents. "The theme of the movie is that God has a plan for everything," Rice said, "and that everything happens for a reason. It's a poignant drama." MASON GAMBLE, who played the title role in the film "Dennis the Menace," plays the boy in Rice's film. He said that he 1" i and Alice Drummond 'go ahead and do it.

He's a great "Also, I usually play these cute old ladies who are very funny, and this was a chance to play kind of a straight old lady, like me." RICE'S FILM WILL play in a theater in Los Angeles upon its completion, qualifying it for competition at several film festivals. "Hopefully it will get nominated for a couple of awards and maybe win a few," Rice said, "but the main purpose is to use it as a calling card." After graduating from high school, Rice completed a two-year course of study at The School of Visual Arts in New York City, which he attended on scholarship. C3 Mason Gamble, Tom Rice and Rice became friends while working on the short film. "It was great," Gamble said, "because me and him are a lot alike. We did a lot of fun stuff together.

He was a lot of fun to work with." Alice Drummond, whose screen credits include "Ghost-busters" and "Awakenings," plays the elderly woman with whom the young boy spends Christmas. Drummond said that Rice's demeanor and the opportunity for her to diversify as an actress were major factors in her deciding to accept the role. "He sent the script to my agent," Drummond said, "and then. read it and liked it very much. Usually you don't go out of town and do all that unless it's for a lot of money, but my agent said I I VI "1 ft Tjl (f iL Nine Northside residents will be welcomed as members of the Gallery Guild when the organization launches its 30th lecture season September 21 at the Mississippi Museum of Art.

Edward Reily Collins of Dorchester-on-Thames, England, will discuss "Dining through the Ages" in a slidelecture presentation in the Arts Center rehearsal hall at 10:30 a.m. The owner of Hallidays, one of Great Britain's largest antiques establishments and millwork houses, Collins is a well-known authority on antiques and architectural detailing. Mrs. Wirt A. Yerger Gallery Guild president, said new members of the visual arts support group include Mesdames Barry Aden, John Black, Carter Brown, Charles Carr, A.L.

East, Lewis Graeber, Eason Leake, Ad Orkin and Jay Travis. Officers preparing for the season's first lecture are (from left) Pat Cothren, hospitality; Merle Montjoy, acquisitions; Deery Walker, treasurer; and Preston Hays, secretary..