One of Lower Moreland’s Finest: Harry Elfont

Harry Elfont, an American screenwriter and film director.

Before having his name appear in the credits of blockbuster films like Can't Hardly Wait,  Josie and the Pussycats, Leap Year, and Made of Honor, Harry Elfont, a film genius, was simply just a student trying to make it big one day, roaming the same halls as you and me. Having the pleasure to chat with Harry, he taught me that a dream is not just a figment of the imagination, but rather a vision that can be an actuality.You just have to try. 

Nothing short of iconic, Harry Elfont is one of Lower Moreland’s finest. On January 31, 2024, I was granted the immense opportunity to interview Harry when I reached out to ask him how Lower Moreland sculpted his notable career and how he can inspire current students and future life-long learners. 

At the start of our interview, I asked Harry how Lower Moreland High School shaped his career today, to which he replied:

“Once I held a camera for the first time, I was instantly captivated. You know, most of my friends wanted to be doctors, lawyers, or go into sports, but holding the camera really changed my perspective.” Harry continued, “I was always involved in the theater and music programs at Lower Moreland, and I think that doing that really helped me understand what it was like to put on a production, you know just being in that world.”

During our conversation, I asked Harry which courses offered at Lower Moreland he found to help him in his career, and without hesitation, he answered:

“I remember taking AP English Literature, and to this day, I still remember quotes, storylines, and the ways of storytelling.” Laughing, Harry added, “I am now remembering, I took an economics class, and we had to do a project, and for the project, I made a short video, you know, with looking back, ancient equipment, and we had people from the class be in it, and it was just a great memory. Oh, plus my teacher loved it because nobody had really done that before.”

Segueing to my next question to Harry, I asked him what was his, “A-ha!” moment that truly made him want to pursue his career in the film industry. With excitement, Harry replied:

“Now, this is back before the internet, I had seen a TV show on the making of the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and before seeing this, I have only ever seen the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of special effects and sets, but seeing the movie actually being filmed, seeing the director in action, it truly allowed me to see that someone can actually do this for a living, make movies. So, that was my epiphany, like, ‘wait, that’s a job? That seems like the most fun thing ever, and you can make money doing it!’ It sounded too good to be true, so that's when I knewI am going to do that.” 

Continuing our interview, I asked Harry why he agreed to do this interview with me. He instantly replied:

“The fact that I would be in the Lion’s Roar! I remember submitting my cartoons and photographs to the Lion’s Roar when I was a Senior, so I was like, how could I say no?”

Then I asked Harry if he could explain the different jobs he has held in his cinematic career, and how they have shaped his career. Reflecting back, Harry answered:

“I was lucky! Right out of film school, Tisch School of the Arts of New York University (NYU), I won an award for a short film I had made, and I was able to get an agent. So, I started working pretty quickly right out of college, so there was a bit of a learning curve. However, I then met my current writing partner, Deborah Kaplan, to which we started writing together, and that’s when things started to click, and we were like, ‘Alright, I think we know how to do this now!’”

Continuing, I asked Harry which of his many films was the most memorable to capture, and if he could go back in time, which would he film all over again. After some thinking, , Harry replied:

“I mean… it’s probably, Can’t Hardly Wait. It was the first movie my writing partner and I took charge of, actually writing and directing it. But, we were like, ‘how do we do this, especially inexpensively?’ The good news was we knew a lot of young actors who weren't working at the time, so we thought, let’s do something where we can have our young actors be in it and limit our location to make it simple, so we were like, ‘what if we just filmed the movie in a house?’ So, the idea was to throw a party where the entirety of the movie will be filmed. From there, that is where the movie really came from.”

Giving more background on Can’t Hardly Wait’s roots, Harry explained, “There weren't actually a lot of teen movies being filmed back then (1990s). I mean there was Clueless, and Scream, which were huge hits, so suddenly, all of these studios wanted a teen movie, and we had the script!” He then added, “The movie was so much fun to make because every day was like going to a party! It really felt that way.” 

While listening, something that I found incredibly astonishing is when Harry mentioned, “also, the town is called Huntingdon Hills because it’s not Huntingdon Valley. If anyone ever noticed, we never specifically mentioned where the movie takes place, but in the back of our minds, it would probably be Huntingdon Valley or a suburb in Pennsylvania.” 

Nearing the end of our interview, I asked Harry what it was like to work with such well known celebrities during his projects. Harry answered:

“Well, the funny thing is, when we did Can’t Hardly Wait, none of these actors and actresses were stars at the time. However, working on other projects, at the end of the day, it is just work. I mean, I worked with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, but after you meet these people, it just turns to work, but it is still fun!” Harry added when speaking about his experience with working with Liza Koshy on the comedy show, Liza on Demand, “When we were making that show we joked that she was my third daughter! She's exactly who you want her to be and more. Super talented and funny and energetic but also incredibly kind and generous and empathetic with a really big heart. As a role model, you can do a lot worse than Liza Koshy!”

One of my favorite questions I asked Harry was who he would say his role model is, famous or not. Harry, after some deep thought, responded:

“Interesting… the most well known director, which is Stephen Speilberg, that’s who I learned about when I watched the Raiders of the Lost Ark thing, so I definitely marvel over his work. I would also say that I look at people who have held long, varying careers.”

Concluding our interview, I asked Harry, if he could go back in time, what would he tell his high school self. Enjoying the question, Harry answered:

“I would tell him, you don’t know everything you think you know. I think I was very sure, and I thought I knew a lot when I was younger, and I think when you get older you start to learn the things you didn’t know from when you were younger. I also wish I was more open to doing things I didn't really think I would like because I think I was just in so much of a hurry to make a movie, direct a movie; I was just too focused on my goals to have taken more classes or have been more open to explore other areas. I would also say, confidence is just so important, too, no matter what field you go into.”

In conclusion, I would personally like to thank the iconic Harry Elfont. Thank you for tying Lower Moreland into your career, and proving to all of us that we have the power to bring our imaginations to life—or even the big screen! You have proved that our goals can become our reality, a simple yet powerful lesson, so thank you, thank you, thank you! We will always be your number one fans over here in Huntingdon Valley, or should I say, Huntingdon Hills? Thank you for everything, and inspiring the world to never stop dreaming!

Having fun during their interview together, Harry and Mia share a good laugh on 1/31/24