Honey, I’m Going to Make a Movie

Most people would feel satisfied if they reached age 29 with a sizable bank account and a company that employs 60 people. Not so for Michael Torrey.

“I looked at myself and said, ‘I’m going to get fat and old so fast if I don’t get out of here,” Torrey said. So he sold his Ohio construction firm, moved to California, enrolled in film school and dreamed of swimming pools and movie stars.

Five years later, his dreams have become a film that will premiere Thursday when Cal State Long Beach unreels student films at Reel Images, a champagne reception to showcase the film department’s best work.

Eleven comedy, drama and experimental films, all running from 5 to 20 minutes, will be shown. Torrey wrote, directed, acted in and financed his 17-minute, $5,000 color film. “Honey, I’m Going Out Tonight” explores what happens when a wife gets revenge on her cheating husband.

“In a sad sense, I was inspired by mother’s relationship with my father,” Torrey said. “It’s very black with a comedic twist. That’s my way of dealing with a serious subject.”

The student movies are made in various genres: One is an action adventure film about a town’s peacekeepers; another is a pre-Civil War piece; and another is an animated takeoff on the creation of Frankenstein’s bride.

At the reception, along with the films there will be champagne, dancing, music, comedians, entertainers, even paparazzi. “We promise everybody a damn good time,” Torrey said.

The evening’s main purpose is to raise money to defray the expense of screening these films at the Directors Guild of America in November. The cost of presenting the students’ work at the guild is roughly $14,000, Torrey said, for theater rental, programs, invitations, publicity and a reception.

“It’s real important to have the work seen by industry people. The exposure is worth it,” Torrey said.

The Reel Images reception will begin at 7 p.m. The screenings will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the party at 9:30 p.m., all in the Cal State Long Beach University Theatre, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach.

Tickets cost $35 per person and may be purchased through the Cal State Long Beach Fine Arts Ticket Office from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday or by calling (310) 985-5528. To order by mail, send checks payable to CSULB Fine Arts Ticket Office, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach 90840.