Although the characters in "Jump Tomorrow" postpone important decisions until the next day, writer-director Joel Hopkins realizes the value of taking action now.
Jumping upon the opportunities presented by his award-winning short film Jorge, a 29-minute black-and-white thesis film, Hopkins expanded the story and developed the character into a full-length color feature film, now on DVD.
Jump Tomorrow is an independent romantic comedy about George, an introverted African American man scheduled for a pre-arranged marriage to a childhood friend, who unexpectedly falls in love with an extroverted Hispanic woman with a British boyfriend. George meets a heartbroken Frenchman who takes him on a wild road trip to find true love.
Feature Grew Out of a Short Film
In an interview at the Florida Film Festival, Hopkins described George as a person with whom he’d like to spend time. “The feature grew out of the short because it felt like we needed to take the character on a bigger journey. He’s a shy man who wants to live a little louder.”
The cast includes Tunde Adebimpe as George, Hippolyte Girardot as Gerard, Natalia Verbeke as Alicia, and James Wilby as the boyfriend Nathan. Nicola Usborne served as producer, Tim Perell as executive producer, Jake Myers as co-producer, and Patrick Cady as director of photography.
The storybook romance is designed to be one step from reality. “I took broad strokes with national stereotypes -- the French lover, the pompous Englishman, the beautiful Spanish girl and the neurotic introvert whom the story revolves around,” Hopkins said. “Then I tried to make these characters real beneath the stereotypes.”
Jump Tomorrow Shot in Buffalo
The New York City-based filmmaker was adamant about not shooting there. “I didn’t want people to see New York City because it’s already been so well filmed and you’re pulled into reality when you see a New York taxi or other clear sign of New York. I wanted a city with an urban environment where you can’t really tell where they are and Buffalo is very good for that.”
Shooting in Buffalo, New York, also allowed Hopkins to save money. “On a logistic level our dollar went a lot further in Buffalo than it would have in New York City. For not too much money, Buffalo helped us create an indefinable city and countryside that comes out of a storybook.”
Working with a budget just over $1 million, Hopkins shot Jump Tomorrow shooting on the road, on location, and on two specially constructed sets. The production team built two romantically themed hotel suites where all four characters spent one night.
A few scenes were shot in Niagara Falls, which Hopkins used as a symbol for love and death. “I’d like to say that all the elements came together from some great master plan, but actually most decisions were made from lack of money,” Hopkins said. “We shot where we could afford and we could only pay for 10 extras in a crowded airport scene, so in our storybook world, 10 extras makes a crowd. Sometimes you’re better off with no money because as soon as you have a bit of money, you feel you have to do everything properly and pay everyone properly.”
- Jump Tomorrow
- Director: Joel Hopkins
- Run Time: 96 minutes
- Rating: PG
- DVD in English with English and Spanish subtitles
For more information on romantic comedies, read Bonus Features on Juno DVD and Lars and the Real Girl on DVD.
