Class Note 1997

Congratulations to Julius Ramsay on the release of his debut feature Midnighters. The thriller, now available on demand and cable, centers on a young married couple who hit a mysterious stranger driving home from a New Year’s Eve party on a dark New England road. The film is truly a family effort by the Ramsay brothers: eldest brother Julius directed and produced, middle brother Burke was executive producer, and youngest brother Alston ’04 wrote the screenplay and served as a producer.

The film premiered last year at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was named best feature and best feature screenplay at the 2017 Ravenna Nightmare Film Fest. The New York Times called Midnighters a “twisty thriller with horror movie flourishes,” and The A.V. Club named it “a new addition to the realm of juicy pulp puzzlers.”

In an interview with his hometown newspaper The (Asheboro) Courier-Tribune, Julius revealed that he discovered a love for filmmaking at the College. After taking a film studies class, he began reading books on screenwriting and biographies of famous directors. A film studies professor became a mentor, and Julius said he realized that he might be able to make a career in filmmaking. He spent a year on campus after graduation working as a teaching assistant in the film studies department and began shooting and editing his own films. “That was kind of like my own film school,” Julius said.

Julius has found great success in television editing and directing, working on the reality shows American Idol, The Bachelor, Fear Factor, and The Contender, and drama series The Walking Dead, Scream, Outcast, Alias, and Battlestar Galactica. He has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy awards for television editing.

Julius said some of the inspiration for Midnighters comes from his childhood, in which he and his brothers played in the woods during the day and watched scary movies at night. “We decided to collaborate on a throwback to thrillers and mystery films we liked as kids.”

The Ramsays shot Midnighters over 22 days in Rhode Island in early 2016. When asked to name his favorite part of the film, Julius responded: “It’s such a part of me. I spent almost four years on it. Every bit of me is all over every millisecond of that movie.”

A big shout out to Nate Rugg for completing the Boston Marathon in April. The weather was particularly harsh this year with heavy rains, wind gusts of more than 25 miles per hour, and the coldest temperatures in the three decades. “The best race of my life in the worst conditions!” Nate wrote on Facebook. “The course and people of Boston delivered despite nonstop rain and ridiculous wind. 3:06:41 is a personal record by 3 minutes! The last five miles I was running on air.” A bankruptcy attorney in Chicago, Nate ran his first marathon in 2003. He often runs for charities such as World Bicycle Relief. Thanks to his efforts, the charity has been able to donate more than 110 bicycles.

Look for lots of updates about your classmates from our 20th reunion in the next column. Take care, everyone.

—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com