Teen to star in film, Celina Record

Celina teen lands lead role in sci-fi flick Lisa Ferguson, lferguson@starlocalmedia.com May 19, 2016 By most accounts, Lincoln Carter is a typical teenager. He likes to draw, play video games and is a fan of an anime art. However, the 14-year-old Celina resident landed a part-time job last month that is anything but typical: co-starring in an independent science-fiction short film. Since early April, Lincoln has been rehearsing, memorizing lines and filming scenes at locations around Dallas for “A Summer to Remember,” a low-budget flick being produced by a company called BnTWerks Media. It is the first time Lincoln, who began taking acting classes a couple of years ago, has been cast in a lead role. “I was pretty shocked at first because I was excited that I got the part,” he said, adding that he got the news the day after his birthday in March. “It was like, `Wow, I’m an actor now. It’s official.’” His character, named Booger Machine, has the ability to travel back and forth in time and view himself at different ages and stages of life, a fact he shares only with his older sister Jenny (played by teen actress Gabby Nero). The Booger Machine part is a challenging one according to Dallas-based director and producer B. Byron Whitten, who cast Lincoln in the role. “A lot needs to be done by the actor in this role,” he said. “Sometimes switching back and forth on a moment’s notice between these images, it’s a very tricky challenge.” Lincoln’s mother, Sandy Carter, agreed. “It’s difficult for him because he’s playing an older person but it’s in a young body,” she said. He relied largely on dialogue and mannerisms to demonstrate the character’s transitions. At the director’s urging, Lincoln said, he prepped for the part by watching similarly themed movies including 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” and 2009’s “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” The teen said he found ways to relate to the Booger Machine character. “He’s funny and weird, and that’s me.” “He’s a comical personality,” Sandy explained of her son. “He’s just very comfortable in front of people.” Despite being new to show business, Whitten said Lincoln “was very professional the whole time.” Filming for “A Summer to Remember” wrapped last weekend. Whitten said he likely has several months of production work to complete before he can begin submitting the piece to film festivals around the country. Mostly, though, he said the short film will be used as a sort of calling card for himself, the cast and crew to help secure funding for and work on future full-length films. Lincoln said the experience has taught him firsthand that movie making is hard work. “It’s actually a job. … It’s not easy.” He was forced to abandon his video-game pastime for about two weeks while “struggling” to learn his lines. The teen will attend Gunter High School next fall, where he plans to take part in theater-department productions, and wants to pursue an acting career. “When you make a movie, you’re not just getting paid,” Lincoln said. “You’re making a movie for other people to watch and be entertained by, and you’re making other people’s lives a little bit more fun.”