Film links love, Chinese food

For four years, Josh Styne has entertained countless Penn students with his acting skills as a member of the performing arts group Mask and Wig. But if the 22-year-old College senior has his way, he'll soon be taking his talent to Hollywood. Styne showed his 24-minute feature film, Moo Shu, to a crowd of around 150 friends and acquaintances -- including many fellow Alpha Epsilon Pi brothers and Mask and Wig members -- in a packed auditorium inside Logan Hall last night. Styne wrote, directed and starred in the short film, which he later submitted as part of his film school applications. Moo Shu, a romantic comedy featuring 10 Penn students, is the story of several young Philadelphia twentysomethings drawn together by their mutual love of moo shu, a popular Chinese dish. College freshman Joshua Brenner, a fellow Mask and Wig member, plays the character Elliot, a young man struggling to maintain a relationship with his melodramatic, nagging girlfriend Liz, played by College junior Debbi Bauml. Things improve for Elliot when his friend Bob, played by College senior David Baronoff, advises him to find a woman who enjoys "making moo shu" -- an activity that he deems "better than sex." "You use [moo shu] to get the girls, and once you get them, you use it to keep them," Baronoff said. Baronoff shares a humorously passionate "moo shu-making" experience with his on-screen love interest, College junior Kim Bardy. At the end of the show, Elliot does succeed in finding the right woman --Debbie, played by College senior Liz Franklin -- who also adores moo shu. College seniors Rich Hollman and Francis Englert, both Mask and Wig members, make cameo appearances in the film, as do College seniors Julie Fitzpatrick and Lauren Smith, a 34th Street features editor. Styne appears on screen as well. After the film, the audience members enjoyed some moo shu chicken of their own -- provided by the restaurant Beijing -- and praised Styne and his cast. "Considering the resources he had, I thought he did an amazing job," Brenner said. Filmed on a digital camera, Moo Shu was written, cast and completed over a two-week period in late November and early December. Styne sent the film to prestigious film schools at New York University, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Los Angeles and the American Film Institute. "If that's his application for film school, I can't see him not getting in," said Craig Leoce, a College junior and AEPi brother. And Baronoff, a fellow Mask and Wig performer and AEPi brother, said Styne "constantly impresses with his talents." Styne began making films in the sixth grade. In eighth grade, he made a video montage of his older sister's senior week at Penn. By ninth grade, he had started his own company, Fast Forward Video Productions, where he made videos for weddings and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. "I'm overwhelmed. I didn't expect the turnout to be like this," said Styne, in between hugs, kisses and handshakes from his friends and family. A beaming Ted Styne, Josh's father, said he is "waiting to sit in the Academy Awards 10 years from now as a proud papa."

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