Columbia grad shoots dinos

January 11, 2005

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN RED STREAK

Columbia College grad Jason Klamm almost lost control of a bodily function when director Martin Scorsese walked by the set of the Howard Hughes epic "The Aviator" outside the Mann Grauman's Chinese Theatre in L.A.

"I nearly wet myself," said Klamm, who was sardined with 300 other tuxedo-clad extras for the "Hell's Angels" premiere.

The 24-year-old aspiring film maker may not trigger the same dramatic reactions as his hero, but thanks to a Website designed for budding artists, he's headed in the right direction.

Klamm's seven-minute student film on dinosaurs, currently one of Knowitallvideo.com's most popular clips, is airing on Frontier Airlines free in-flight TV network's "Cloud 9 Short Film Festival".

"Dinosaurs: They Certainly Were Big," which Klamm wrote, directed and acted in for a science class at Columbia two years ago, uses dry humor to spice up the subject of paleontology.

"It's a combination of being serious, informative and funny at the same time, and that's hard to do," said Eric Alterman, founder of Knowitallvideo.com, which accepts submissions from registered users.

Klamm wrote "Dinosaur" in two hours and shot it in five hours with his cinematographer and friend Chad Newman.

Mostly shot along the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and at the Field Museum, it features Klamm as an egghead host who ponders how the 14th century Chinese believed dinosaur bones were left by dragons and why the massive beasts became extinct.

In one scene, Klamm takes two dueling plastic dinos named "Donnie" and "Marie" to demonstrate how fossils are created.

After "Donnie" kills "Marie," Klamm deadpans, "Little Marie here would soon begin to decompose, her bones being the last remaining evidence of her once shining career."

Alterman contacted reps from Mphasis, the marketing firm that created "The Wild Blue Yonder" channel for Frontier, and directed them to the most creative videos on his site, including Klamm's.

"They liked it ("Dinosaur") because it's a cleverly made, well-produced 'mockumentary' of the kind of education films you saw in high school," Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said.

Klamm, who now lives in Hollywood and has appeared in TV's "Alias" and "Crossing Jordan," says the screening is "exciting" because it will reach thousands.

"That kind of exposure is next to impossible without a production company," said Klamm, who credits his Columbia instructors for teaching him how film making can be both "painful and fun."

And although Scorsese hasn't called, the attention hasn't hurt.

Alterman has drafted Klamm to do a weekly video segment for Knowitallvideo.com and the Laurens, N.Y., native has gained at least one prominent fan: paleontologist Sue Hendrickson. She called the video the best piece done on her famous T. Rex discovery "Sue," which has a cameo.

"He made science palatable to the public, which is the mission of scientists that they seem to fail at and he succeeds. I hope to shake his hand someday," she said.