The easiest way to go through the history of the project is by semester:

Summer 1995

Accepted students arrived at testing day at Susquehanna University.  They received packets containing a variety of papers.  One of them was if they wanted to enroll in a film/video project class.  Some students responded...

A group of 12 students was the first that bravely entered the Film/Video project realm.  This semester consisted of learning how to create a scenario, translate the scenario to a screenplay, and the pre-, in-, and post-production stages.

Each member of the group was to then write his or her own scenario and present it to the class.  Two were chosen, and screenwriting was to begin in the spring.  Robert S. Brown's 'A Tip for the Pizzaman' was one of the two selected.

Only five of the original group remained, and they were joined by five newcomers to the class.  One half of the group was to begin writing 'A Tip for the Pizzaman', while the other half was to work on the other screenplay that had been selected the previous semster.

Dr. Diers, whom the students referred to as Dean Diers, would occassionally help with the writing process, as well as evaluate what had been accomplished independently.

Now only four members of the original group remained, and that was it.  Everyone else had either lost interest, graduated, or been swallowed up by the Earth, never to be seen again. The group members were Robert S. Brown, Mike Graham, J. Tom Hnatow, and Michael S. Krcil.

Meeting for class time twice a week, one day was spent dedicated to 'A Tip for the Pizzaman' while the other was meant for concentration on the other script.

Once in a blue moon, the group would meet independently of classtime to work on the projects.

The Film/Video 'Fab Four' reunited for yet another semester of screenwriting mayhem.  This time, newcomer Amanda Zentz joined the troupe.  The same system of alternating scripts per meeting was still in place, and with the help of a female in the ranks, characters became more real.

During this stint, the wonderful "Paul Gets to Know Shannon" scene from 'A Tip for the Pizzaman', one that everyone thought was going to make the project really take off, was lost in the bowels of Hnatow's computer.  The scene was best remembered for the ability to make Zentz say, "Aaaaw!"

It was either during this semester or the following that Jon Pontius joined the scriptwriting brigade before transferring from the university.

Fall 1997

Exit Zentz (no time for project) and Graham (Gettysburg College), with his script.  Enter T.J. Martin.  With Martin's help, the script for 'A Tip for the Pizzaman' was completed by the end of the semester.  During this semester, the four took a weekend to attend a seminar at Penn State University's main campus.

The seminar was run by a man by the name of Michael Hague, a man who had published books on how to write screenplays that sell, but it could not be discerned if Hague had actually published a screenplay of his own.

The seminar was semi-informative and seemed to explain more about resorting to formula than creating something truly original.  It was inspiring, however, as an idea for a new screenplay was hatched.

Finishing the script was one goal accomplished that semester.  Real revision wouldn't begin until...

Spring 1998

A week before the semester actually began, Brown, Hnatow, Krcil and Martin, rejoined by Graham (for this week only), went on an all-expense paid excursion to Los Angeles, California.  The educational purpose of the trip was to meet with screenwriters who had been sent copies of the two scripts for evaluation.  As with Hague, it could not be discerned whether these screenwriters had actually sold a screenplay...

Time was also spent touring Paramount Studios and getting a feel for the Los Angelic atmosphere.  Thank God for California emission.

The revision of 'A Tip for the Pizzaman' took virtually all semester, and was aided by the acquisition of some scriptwriting software.  It was during this semester that Krcil discovered he could graduate college early and Diers was pondering taking a job in Florida (there was also a private matter involved, so it wasn't as though Diers was going to just abandon Susquehanna for his own reasons).

Fall 1998

Exit Diers.  Enter Dr. Catherine Hastings as Adviser.  Martin began working on his own separate project.  Brown, Hnatow, and Krcil were left to complete 'A Tip for the Pizzaman.'  A formidable task as they had only some vague notions of how to create a film and no budget save for the money in their wallets or bank accounts (if applicable).

Hastings played a crucial role in inspiring the project.  She provided the three with a copy of "Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade," a feature-length short of the Academy Award-winning film 'Sling Blade' which had been made a couple years before the full-length version.

The group shortened the script to an appropriate length, finding a place within the script that would provide closure without giving away the ending, as "Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade" had done.

Then the process of making 'A Tip for the Pizzaman' began.