L.A. Chapter Outing Celebrates
Premiere of Film by Alumnus

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Claremont McKenna College Alumni Association is invited to attend the Friday, March 14 premiere of Little Chenier, A Cajun Story, a feature film written and produced by Jace Johnson '97. The premiere will be held at the Laemmle Sunset, 8000 W. Sunset Blvd.
Set in the bayous of Louisiana, the film tells of the tragedy that befalls two brothers, one of them mentally challenged. To date, the moviestarring Johnathon Schaech and Frederick Koheler as the ill-fated Dupuis siblingshas won nine best-picture awards at film festivals throughout the world.
Johnson wrote the original story for the film and then co-wrote the screenplay with his sister, Bethany Ashton Wolf. In fact, Little Chenier is a family affair: Wolf directs the movie and, along with Jace, also serves as producer. In addition, Johnson's younger sister, Amy (PIT '99), is an associate producer.
"In our co-creating process, Bethany and I were able to express our opinions to each other, without regard for feelings, which I think resulted in a refreshingly honest collaboration of two very different individuals," Johnson says. "When it came to tweaking the dialogue, we often brainstormed together. As far as the structural writing, we would take turns writing the script since it's very difficult to devise strategy with someone reading over your shoulder."
As far as the fictive material is concerned, Johnson comes by that naturally. Although New Orleans-born, he's practically a child of the bayou. "After my parents divorced, we left New Orleans for Lake Charles, Louisiana, and my Dad returned to the land of his familyLittle Chenier, about 45 miles directly south of Lake Charles.
"Every other weekend, I would visit dad in this magical wonderland of crazy hurricane-gnarled oaks, funny accents, large reptilians, foreign musical instruments, and the most unusual foods you could ever imagine," Johnson recalls.
Although he was a city boy out of his element, Johnson came to realize before long the fortune and fulfillment to be discovered in the bayou. "After a few years, I was decoying mallards, trapping nutria, running jug lines for alligator gar, poling pirogues, netting shrimp, and hooking speckled trout," he says. "I couldn't imagine a better life."
During Johnson's college years, he says he could never muster the bravado to pursue a writing career. But after graduating from CMC, he found the courage and moved to Hollywood.
"Although I was not a literature major, I respected assistant professor of literature Carol Carney's adoration of classic literature," Johnson says. "She helped me discern the difference between good storytelling and good writing. That helped me rediscover my love for classic Southern literature (William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams) and find my niche as a writer."
Johnson also credits Stephen Davis, the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy at CMC, as a big influence. "He is a man of great moral integrity and unparalleled drive. His unyielding faith in humanity and God provided me with the guidelines necessary for having faith in myself.
"CMC provides an environment that foments a thirst for knowledge and encourages academic diversity," Johnson continues. "I believe just about every CMC graduate is capable of doing the things I'm doing today. That's what makes a Claremont McKenna education so unique." Little Chenier's distributor, Radio London Films, has released the movie in several larger cities, including Houston, Austin, New York City, and in parts of Florida, with a wider release planned if the film does well.
After a cycle of hurricanes immediately following Katrina devastated several of the film's location sets in Cameron Parish, Johnson's family created a nonprofit organization called Rita Remembered, an organization designed to facilitate the reintroduction of Cajuns into the area. Radio London Films agreed to donate a portion of the profits from ticket sales to the organization and Johnson hopes that the effort will shed light on the continuing plight of the residents in this hard hit area of Southern Louisiana.
Johnson's future plans include developing three more of his screenplays: the first is a New Orleans-based political thriller named A Draconian Utopia; another explores the oppression of Irish and Italian Catholics in the predominately Protestant South, immediately following World War I; and the third script, Southern Rocks, exposes the horrors of methamphetamine use via the life of a simple rice-field cowboy of the South Louisiana plains.
"I have written a dozen screenplays," Johnson says. "Little Chenier, A Cajun Story,' is the first to be made into a feature film. All of my writing has smatterings of those classic Southern authors which influenced my childhood, and you'll recognize that in Little Chenier as well."