Most GW graduates earning a degree in political science are more likely to aspire to take center stage at a debate than to take on the silver screen, yet 1999 alum Shane Morris has transferred his passion for politics into a big-screen career.
Morris, who got his big break last summer by writing the prequel to the 2005 "Dukes of Hazzard" movie, started out at GW with a love for politics. His career path, however, changed drastically over the years.
In the summer of 2006, Warner Bros. pitched an idea of a Dukes of Hazzard prequel based off of the popular 1970s television show to about 15 writers, including Morris, giving them only one week to come up with a script. "How do Bo and Duke get their car, the General Lee? How does Daisy Duke make her little Daisy Duke shorts?" the studio wanted to know.
Morris went home and did some research before writing, which included watching every episode of the television show.
"I used to love (the series) when I was a kid," Morris said. "I wanted to make the movie in the spirit of the TV show."
The studio eventually chose Morris to write the script, and finished shooting the whole movie in a month. The aptly titled "Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" DVD will be released March 20.
"It's incredible pressure but it's also very exciting," Morris said. "They were taking a chance on me - I was a pretty green writer and it totally opened the door for me in Hollywood."
"When I went into GW freshman year I thought I had everything planned out: I would do political science, then go to law school and eventually work in a district attorney's office," he said.
During his junior year abroad in Oxford University in England, Morris started thinking seriously what he wanted to do with his life, finally concluding that he did not want to become a lawyer.
In his childhood, Morris and his brother performed plays for his family in their house, eventually filming them and experimenting with more exotic locales like his backyard.
Morris, who got his big break last summer by writing the prequel to the 2005 "Dukes of Hazzard" movie, started out at GW with a love for politics. His career path, however, changed drastically over the years.
In the summer of 2006, Warner Bros. pitched an idea of a Dukes of Hazzard prequel based off of the popular 1970s television show to about 15 writers, including Morris, giving them only one week to come up with a script. "How do Bo and Duke get their car, the General Lee? How does Daisy Duke make her little Daisy Duke shorts?" the studio wanted to know.
Morris went home and did some research before writing, which included watching every episode of the television show.
"I used to love (the series) when I was a kid," Morris said. "I wanted to make the movie in the spirit of the TV show."
The studio eventually chose Morris to write the script, and finished shooting the whole movie in a month. The aptly titled "Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning" DVD will be released March 20.
"It's incredible pressure but it's also very exciting," Morris said. "They were taking a chance on me - I was a pretty green writer and it totally opened the door for me in Hollywood."
"When I went into GW freshman year I thought I had everything planned out: I would do political science, then go to law school and eventually work in a district attorney's office," he said.
During his junior year abroad in Oxford University in England, Morris started thinking seriously what he wanted to do with his life, finally concluding that he did not want to become a lawyer.
In his childhood, Morris and his brother performed plays for his family in their house, eventually filming them and experimenting with more exotic locales like his backyard.
