Mere months after graduating from Pepperdine Bobby Arnot is already working on major motion pictures. Most recently he spent two months in South Africa assisting with a movie titled “Machine Gun Preacher which was directed by Marc Forster, the man behind the lens on the latest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace as well as Monster’s Ball Finding Neverland” and other notable films.
Arnot said Forster’s recent project stars Gerard Butler as an ex-convict who finds God changes his life and feels a calling to build orphanages in Sudan. He eventually uses skills from his dubious past to combat the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) the militant group notorious for human rights violation on account of abducting children to become soldiers sex trafficking brutality and other atrocities.
Making a film so powerful in scope is no easy task. Arnot was one of eight Americans on set but having been to Africa during his time at Pepperdine he said he felt more at ease with the way of life.
“We were dealing with a hard subject and it was a big movie with 900 extras many of whom were kidsArnot said. I was in charge of 400 of them so I had to learn some of the language to communicate with the cast crew and extras. With so many people sometimes we’d film one scene in three days so the language used to give directions became repetitive. They’d give me a ‘phrase of the day’ to learn so I did all right.”
Though he was faced with a multitude of unique experiences on set in Africa Arnot’s youth does not translate to inexperience in film. A theater major at Pepperdine Arnot concurrently took classes in Los Angeles where he honed the trades of writing directing and acting—all of which he said are necessary to succeed in any aspect of the entertainment world.
“If you’re directing you need to know good acting and how to capture that emotion Arnot said. Writing well helps with directing and acting and so on so it ends up being a full circle of creativity.”
Early in his Pepperdine career he began interning with Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation the successful independent film and television distribution company headquartered in Santa Monica. He credited a mentor at Lionsgate as well as his Pepperdine professors for crucial opportunities afforded throughout his college career.
“I took every class Tom Shadyac taught Arnot said. Pepperdine classes helped me a lot. At other schools they don’t have so many respected professors who allow you to do so much.”
During his second year at Pepperdine Arnot was able to work a variety of jobs— everything from production assistant (PA) to director’s assistant and craft services— on a Lionsgate film with Kevin Spacey. In Forster’s film in Africa Arnot was a PA paid intern assistant director or any job where he could be of help.
In reference to these varying job descriptions Arnot explained that a job title or a lack of a definitive title is not necessarily indicative of how much work one does.
“You can have connections but a director will look at you and say ‘OK this kid doesn’t know anything’ and doesn’t expect much Arnot explained. It’s up to me to say ‘I do know and I’ll show you.’ It really comes down to your talent and how hard you’re willing to work.”
In fact Arnot’s already impressive resume and connections were not simply handed to him because he was at the right place at the right time.
“It wasn’t easy Arnot said. Before this movie there were five movies and a TV show I might have worked on that got canceled or didn’t work out. I was scared and I was still worried at the end of college but I want to be here because in the end it’ll pay off.”
Since the project in Africa came so soon after college Arnot has not gone on to a film school but he is learning through hands-on experience unparalleled in a classroom.
“All of this is like my film school. I’m getting paid to work watch create films and make connections like Gerard Butler most recently Arnot said.
Set to be released in 2011, Machine Gun Preacher” is a Lionsgate film though Arnot currently works freelance. Now home in New York City Arnot has the next couple months off during which he is writing and auditioning for plays as well as lining up prospects for upcoming cinematic work including a potential job on a George Clooney movie.
“If I was in film school now that’d be taking time Arnot reflected. It was time to take a leap of faith.”