Morristown native Eric Ruhalter makes a serious message fun for Friday’s Morristown Film Fest
Posted by Nayna Shah on August 16, 2010 · Leave a Comment
By Nayna Shah, MG correspondent
For Morristown resident Eric Ruhalter, making videos is a job and a hobby.
By day, Eric works for AMC television as the senior producer/writer of on-air promos. He pulls shots from, and writes commercials for, shows and movies to be aired on the AMC channel. You know, the ones that get us all hooked so we DVR every episode! He has made promos for shows like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, as well as for the AMC Fearfest, a week of horror movies in October.
“I love my job,” says Eric. “This December will mark my 12th year working for AMC.”
The hobby part will be on display Friday, at the Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Festival.
Eric Ruhalter's short comedy, 'Good for the Earth,' will premiere at the Third Annnual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest on Aug. 20.
Eric’s short film, “Good for the Earth,” will be vying for Best Picture with other home-grown entries. Viewers will cast the ballots.
The film takes a wickedly offbeat approach to raising environmental awareness.
“Not all videos have to be dark and serious. I wanted to be silly about it and make people laugh. I hope this way everyone will be encouraged to help out a bit,” Eric explains.
The film features Eric’s former neighbors, Margaret Noonan and Max Huber, and a song by a local teenage band, the Members.
“I tried to make everything about the video very ‘Morristown.’ The exterior scenes all take place in the Cutler Park neighborhood and the interior scenes were filmed in my house.”
Eric and his co-stars worked intensely on the video, as they were pressed for time. As the director/editor/writer/camera man, Eric definitely had his work cut out for him. He accomplished much of it on his train rides into the city.
Margaret Noonan in scene from 'Good for the Earth,' an Eric Ruhalter comedy that premieres Friday in the MorristownGreen.com Film Fest.
Born and raised in Morristown, Eric pursued an economics degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. During his senior year he interned at an advertising company. After working for a while in Hoboken, he moved back to Morristown and commutes to AMC in New York.
Eric also is the author of The KidDictionary, a gift book series that gives new words to parents attempting to describe their kids.
It’s a “book of words parents need but don’t have,” inspired by experiences with his own kids, Jaxen, Maya, and Crosby, Eric says.
Each page contains one new word and the equivalent of a dictionary entry, with a black and white picture from Eric’s collection. He has published two 90-page volumes and is working on a third. “It seems like there is no end in sight; there are so many new words to create,” he says.
Most of Eric’s videos promote the book series. Surfing, ping pong and family round out his spare time.
Nayna Shah will be a sophomore at Morristown High School this fall. The Third Annual MorristownGreen.com Film Fest kicks off around 6:30 pm on Friday, on the lawn of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. Admission is free. The popular kids band Boys Nyte will perform, with home-grown movies to follow at dusk. The audience will vote for Best Picture. If it rains, the show will move into the church hall.
