Pictured (is): Ariana Tagg and Luke McCraw as Rita and William Clements
By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
The trailer of the film of Honors Northeast and the NTCC Webb Society on oil and politics is now in the public domain. It features several honors students in key roles, the musical artistry of Kenny Goodson of Hughes Springs, and the picture editing of a first-year honors student from Mount Pleasant, Yahir Garcia.
The trailer anticipates the first film directed by NTCC’s Russell-Mowery Scholar, Skylar Hodson. Titled Crude Conquest, the film story begins with the regulation of oil that occurred in the 1930s, and ends with the victory of oil man William Clements for Governor in 1978, and subsequent deregulation of oil in Texas politics.
The feature-film project is the thirteenth in as many years by Honors Northeastand the NTCC Webb Society. Honors students have performed the original research that has grounded each of the films, and each effort has focused on a previously un-filmed story of Texas history. This year’s film is derived from the award-winning scholarship of NTCC’s Texas Heritage National Bank, Scholar, Vanessajane Bayna. First year Presidential Scholar, Isabel Tresidder was the chief script writer.
Besides being premiered at NTCC in the spring, honors students have presented their film work at several venues including meetings of the State Walter Prescott Webb Society, the Great Plains Honors Council, and the East Texas Historical Association. This fall, on 1 November, NTCC honors students, Vanessa Bayna, Skylar Hodson, Alison Majors, and Monse Rivero will compose a panel in Kansas City that will feature the film culture at NTCC in a general session of the National Collegiate Honors Council.
Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox, notes that “the film series is beholden over the years to Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Mount Vernon, but also to many other generous donors of Honors Northeast as well as above and beyond support within the college. This past fall, we were emboldened still further by a very generous contribution bestowed by the David Stevenson family of Longview.”
Other students appearing in the trailer include Andrew Perez as Texas Governor James Allred, Remington Covey as Texas Senator, Ralph Yarborough, Noah Pettey as Lyndon Johnson, Alison Majors as Lady Bird Johnson, Madeline Simmons as Opal Yarborough, Kaden Groda as Clint Murchison, Tristan Dierflinger as Leland Olds, Ariana Tagg as Rita Clements, and Luke McCraw as William Clements.
The trailer (and previous film projects and trailers) is available here: www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms
