For over a century, directors have transformed the written word, lifting compelling characters, lively dialogue and stunning landscapes from typed pages and bringing them to life on the big screen. Francis Ford Coppola’s film, “Apocalypse Now” (1979), was based on Joseph Conrad’s novel, “Heart of Darkness” (1899), Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age film, “Little Women” (2019), follows the lives of the four March sisters from Louisa May Alcott’s 1868 novel of the same name, and “After” (2019), a sultry college romance, borrowed its plot from a fanfiction. But Billy Park (25B) found inspiration in an even more peculiar place — a viral meme.
One day, while scrolling on his phone, Park came across a meme called “The Group Chat Got Leaked.” This popular post features FBI agents arresting men, others posing for mug shots and some even suiting up for war. Park, who had been searching for a film topic, knew he had struck cinematic gold with this trending joke.
“By how viral it was, you can tell that a lot of people tapped into this universal thing,” Park said. “It was such a relatable situation, right. It was so comedic. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool. That could be a cool idea to make a movie out of.’”
Although Park is studying business administration and marketing at Emory instead of film, he is no stranger to filmmaking. He has directed many shorts and declares it his “dream” to become a director. His first project, which he recorded at just seven years old, follows a miniature Lego basketball game and has garnered over 700,000 views on YouTube.
“Ever since I was a kid, I was just making movies with my Legos and then eventually evolved to making it with my friends,” he said. “I just kept making stuff, making silly videos, posting them on YouTube.”
Now, over a decade later, Park has taken on his most ambitious project yet, a full-length feature film — which was not his initial intention. After discovering the meme, or the “inciting incident,” as Park describes, he knew he could create a larger story. Eventually, he decided to put a murder-mystery twist on this viral sensation. And the murder? It is not the death of an unsuspecting victim but of the reputations — and potentially relationships — of four friends from high school. It is “The Big Leak.”
“That’s how I started writing, and then for some reason, the writing became from 30 pages to about 90 pages,” Park said. “At that point it was just too late. I was like, ‘I guess I’m just going to make a feature film.’”
After finishing the script, Park sought a cast and crew. He assembled a team of friends and friends-of-friends until he found what he needed. First, he recruited the actors who would portray the “Mischief Makers,” a group of high school friends whose adolescent group chat leaks, forcing a reunion after seven years apart to unmask the culprit. Second, he hired a crew who could help oversee filming, which ran from August to November 2024, and contribute to the post-production tasks.
Max Yates, a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, plays Grayson, the charming leader of the group. Park describes Grayson as an “average Joe,” who, despite missteps, is undeniably likable. And according to Park, Yates was the perfect fit for the role.
Yates feels that being older than many of the other cast members gave him a valuable perspective on the plot and his character’s motives.
“It just really was attractive, because it’s a story about when you leave home, or when a friend group separates, and that feeling that some people experience more than others, of ‘I have to be the one to get everyone back,’” Yates said.
According to Park, this feeling — of losing community and growing into adulthood — is one of the primary themes of the film. While it is a murder-mystery comedy, he recognized that there needed to be more thematic depth for audiences to engage with and relate to the project.
“Something I really wanted to explore with this movie that goes beyond just the silly comedy aspect of it is ‘How do we deal with that situation?’” Park said. “How do we deal with [people we loved] moving on with their lives and not being a part of our lives anymore?”
Ava Sandstrom (27C), who plays Grayson’s ex-girlfriend, Amy, admires Park’s balance between the comedic plot and the often unfunny reality of aging. When reflecting on the themes of the film, Sandstrom mentioned “trusting yourself,” “growing up” and “honesty.”
As the only female member of the cast, Sandstrom said she admired Park’s flexibility in building her character, who she worried might appear like a “prop.” Throughout the entire production process, Park incorporated Sandstrom’s advice about how Amy should approach a reunion with her ex-boyfriend and his friends.
“During filming, [Billy was] energetic, excited, very clear about what he wanted, and from the get-go he asked for my input on Amy’s character,” Sandstrom said.
Another character, Eli, played by Rayvant Sahni (25G), ran the risk of appearing one-dimensional. According to Park, the meme exaggerates certain archetypes, and the “Mischief Makers” must “border on being unlikable” without being unwatchable. Sahni, who calls his character the “comic relief,” battles this tension by having empathy for his eccentric energy. With a bashful smile, he theorizes that Eli, a member of a cult, might have a few conspiracy theories to share.
“I want to say he brings a lot of heart because he is doing his own thing,” Sahni said. “He is in his own world.”
When filming concluded in late fall, executive producer and editor Matthew Paulin (27C), a Film and Media major, undertook the responsibility of linking the scenes and making necessary cuts. Paulin has worked on shorts with Park before, but, like many of the students involved in this project, he had never worked on a film of this length. Nevertheless, while living together this summer, Paulin and Park got to work. In April, the crew hosted a test screening of the movie from which the pair took audience feedback and made adjustments accordingly.
“We had conversations about how to restructure the edit of the film, and it was a very nice dialogue,” Paulin said. “Being able to have that back and forth with him was very nice during the post-production process.”
This September, the final cut of “The Big Leak” will be shown in Goodrich C. White Hall across eight days. For Park, these screenings are not just the culmination of over a year of work but a lesson for his peers.
“The movie is really endearing, it shows a lot of ambition, it shows a lot of passion,” Park said. “Hopefully, other students can get inspired by how we were able to come together as people who are not professionals in any way and just had fun and made an actual feature film. The movie is a demonstration of how that can be possible.”
Catherine Goodman (26C) is the Managing Editor of Arts & Life and Editorial Board. She is a double major in English and Art History. She plans to pursue arts and culture journalism, with a special interest in criticism and feature writing. When she isn't listening to music or writing her column, you can find her baking specialty cakes or playing with her dog, Apollo.
