American High (company)
 | |
| Industry | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Jeremy Garelick |
| Headquarters | , |
| Website | americanhigh |
American High is a New York production company that produces sketch comedy and low-budget films set in high schools. The company operates in a former high school in Liverpool, New York after a 2017 purchase by Jeremy Garelick. It expanded into posting sketch comedy on social media in 2022, operating as American High Shorts and College Life.
History
[edit]To start American High, Garelick purchased the building of the defunct A.V. Zogg School for 1 million dollars in 2017. Before the purchase, the property was owned by a Thai businessman and served as a community church.[1] Because of zoning laws, Garelick had to also provide a trade school in addition to filming. This was pitched to the community as the Liverpool School of Cinema which attracted 200 people with Syracuse.com reporting positive reception from the audience.[2] Later, the school was renamed the academy at Syracuse Studios.[3] The company attracted initial investment from Mickey Liddell of LD Entertainment.[1] The first two films shot by the company was Holly Slept Over and Banana Split, with $500,000 and $1.2 million budgets respectively. In 2019, American High produced Big Time Adolescence, which started its relationship with Hulu and led to an eight movie licensing deal.[4][1] After the November 2022 release of It’s a Wonderful Binge, the Hulu partnership was renewed.[5]
The company is known for producing films with unique protagonists in the setting of an American high school and appointing first time filmmakers as directors. Seven of the first 11 films by the company was made by first time filmmakers. Sammi Cohen made their film directorial debut at American High with Crush.[1] According to Syracuse film commissioner Eric Vinal, the local film industry went from a gig economy to full time positions because of American High. The company also employs local college students for its productions.[1]
Social media
[edit]In October 2022, Will Phelps, the head of production at American High wanted to expand the company's social media presence with sketch comedy. Prior to this, behind the scenes videos were made on productions with little success. The company invited several comedians, filming sketches for around five days each with them to finalize a long term cast. This process resulted in Aidan and Ryan Micho, Julia DiCesare and Luke Burke, all with ties to Syracuse University and Grace Reiter, who has amassed 2 million follows on TikTok before American High. The production of the sketches mirrors Saturday Night Live and it has resulted in American High Shorts and College Life, two social media accounts.[6] Filming of social media content continued during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes and often use Syracuse University as a location.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Sperling, Nicole (2021-11-21). "How Do You Make Teen Comedies Today? Buy a High School". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ Buckshot, Sarah Moses | (2017-03-08). "Large crowd turns out to hear plan for proposed film school in Liverpool". Syracuse.com. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ "Liverpool School of Cinema becomes Academy at Syracuse Studios". Eagle News Online. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ "Production company American High creates content from shared high school, college experiences". The Panther Newspaper. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ Rice, Lynette (2023-03-01). "Hulu Originals Renews First-Look Output Deal With American High". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ Vasudevan, Anish (2023-10-05). "Abandoned high school is the comedy playground for American High". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- ^ Herbert, Geoff | (2023-12-21). "American High Shorts: Funny videos shot in CNY reach millions as Gen Z 'SNL'". syracuse. Retrieved 2025-02-03.