STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — On a cold Staten Island morning, inside a garden that looked like another planet, a group of third-graders raised lightsabers, performed their lines and made an epic movie.
At the center of it all was 9-year-old Clyde Turner — quiet, curious, bursting with ideas — and his dad, Jack Turner, a professional producer based in St. George who decided that when his son said, “Dad, I want to make a movie with my friends,” the only acceptable response was yes.
That movie became “Think Twice‚” an eight-minute, Star Wars-inspired sci-fi spoof dreamed up by Clyde and brought to life by a tight-knit group of Staten Island dads, their kids and a community that leaned all the way in. Most of the young cast members were Clyde’s third-grade classmates at PS 9 in Concord at the time of filming, with a few younger siblings also appearing in the film.
There’s a kidnapped princess, a villain named Darth Vinnie, thunderbolts and lightsabers, winking Baby Yodas, bonked heads and so much more. But beneath the space battles is a true, heartwarming story about what happens when adults take children’s creativity seriously.
“I love movies,” Clyde told the Advance/SILive.com. “And since my dad is a producer, I thought it could be possible, and I’m just very interested in movies. That gave me an idea that I could make a movie.”
Clyde Turner walking the red carpet at the “Think Twice” film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Sean Sweeney
Jack, whose recent credits include the popular 2025 Netflix film “Nonnas,” about Enoteca Maria restaurant in St. George, remembers the moment clearly.
“About a year and a half ago, he said, ‘Dad, I wanna make a movie with my friends.’ And, in general, I’ve been trying to take this perspective as a parent where when the kids have some sort of idea to just lean into it and say, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”
One Saturday afternoon in the summer of 2024, father and son sat down at a laptop. Clyde, then 8 years old, talked; Jack typed.
“I said, all right, you tell me how you want the movie to look, feel, what you want people to say, what the story is, and I’ll just basically put it into script format,” Jack said. “And in a day, we had written ‘Think Twice.’”
Jack Turner giving an opening speech at the “Think Twice” film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Sean Sweeney
The Star Wars DNA was entirely Clyde’s as well, and he knew exactly who he wanted in the movie. There were no auditions, just phone calls to parents, all of whom said yes.
“It was just so great,” Jack said. “All of them were like, ‘Absolutely, we’re in. Let’s do this.’”
What followed was something far bigger than a backyard project. The group shot exteriors at Snug Harbor’s Chinese Scholar’s Garden in Livingston and interiors at Community Media of Staten Island in Mariners Harbor. Professional cinematographers volunteered their time.
Post-production was largely shepherded by Steven Heo of Dongan Hills, a parent on the project who took on the role of editor. Heo worked closely with Jack to shape the film, overseeing edits, pacing and visual effects that helped translate Clyde’s imagination to the screen. Audio was recorded and looped in a real studio at McKee High School in St. George. Kids learned their lines, parents wrangled schedules and nights and weekends disappeared.
“Everybody came together at every moment, and it just made it so, so much fun,” Jack said.
(From left) Theo Dorian, Sylvie Turner (Princess Lylvie in “Think Twice”), Jack Turner and Michael Harwood at the “Think Twice” film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Noel Sutherland
Steve LaRocca, another parent involved in the project, said that all-in mentality was what made “Think Twice” work.
“Having all these supportive parents and other people in the community too was really, really helpful. That level of collaboration doesn’t always happen,” LaRocca, of West Brighton, said. “But I think with a person like Jack especially, he’s really authentic and really good at bringing people together.”
When asked what his favorite part of working on the movie with his dad was, Clyde didn’t hesitate.
“Seeing my friends and having a great time doing the movie,” he said. “And I really liked it when Darth Vinnie gets bonked in the head.”
Heo, whose son Lucas played Jedi Borame and daughter Amelia played Baby Yoda, wasn’t sure at first that the movie would ever actually happen.
“Even talking about it with Jack, I didn’t know what the final project was going to be,” he said. “I was like, there’s no way this is going to happen.”
Steven Heo, producer/editor/sound mixer of “Think Twice,” at the film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Noel Sutherland
But it did — slowly, painstakingly, professionally. Heo edited whenever he could, often from the Julliard cafeteria while waiting for his other daughter to finish classes at the School of American Ballet. Visual effects took weeks. The final cut, he admitted, was delivered around 10 a.m. the day of the premiere, with a few last-minute tweaks made shortly afterward.
What stood out to him most, though, wasn’t the logistics, but the relationship at the center of the project.
“That speaks more to Jack and Clyde,” Heo said. “I think they’re very collaborative, and because he’s a producer, I think it’s just kind of magical, I imagine, from the kids’ point of view, like how he gets to put a movie together.
That magic came into focus at the film’s premiere last month at Salem Church in West Brighton.
The cast of “Think Twice” posing in front of the step-and-repeat at the film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Noel Sutherland
There was a red carpet, professional photographers, a Q&A and lots of pizza. A few hundred people showed up: classmates, teachers, grandparents, neighbors and friends who had been hearing about the movie for over a year. For many of the kids, it was their first time seeing the finished film, and their first time seeing themselves on a big screen.
“I think they were really, really blown away,” Jack said.
During the post-screening Q&A, the kids spoke honestly and proudly about what they had made. When asked what their favorite part of the production was, many pointed right back to Clyde and Jack.
“I most of all liked how amazing Clyde was and the idea of like bringing us all together to make one big movie is very like, I’m very proud of him,” Lucas Heo said.
Another echoed the sentiment, adding: “How Clyde and his dad just came together to make this beautiful piece. And lunchtime.”
Jack Turner (far left), Steven Heo (far right) and the cast of “Think Twice” prepare to take a bow at the film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Sean Sweeney
Clyde eventually took the microphone himself.
“Well, I am glad that all of you support me and all of you have came,” he said. “And of course my favorite part is, well, Darth Vinnie. The heart of the story.”
For Jack, that moment mattered more than the finished film itself. Clyde is quiet, he said — thoughtful, observant, not usually the kid rushing to speak up.
“On the night of the premiere, he like, very proudly took the microphone and answered questions,” Jack said. “And that was like, for me, like, oh my gosh, this has all been worth it.”
Clyde Turner answering a question at the “Think Twice” film premiere at Salem Church on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Noel Sutherland
It’s easy to talk about “Think Twice” as a charming short film (and that it is), but the process is what made it truly special. An entire community came together to collaborate.
“What we have learned … is that when our kids have an idea, we lean into it, and we don’t go halfway. We go all the way,” Jack told the crowd at the premiere. “And when we reached out to friends and families to see if they would join us on this adventure, everyone else leaned in the same way.”
Michael Zeigler (Ghost Monster in “Think Twice”) admiring the film’s movie poster, created by Steven Heo, at the premiere on Friday, November 21, 2025.Courtesy of Sean Sweeney
As for Clyde, he already has sequel plans in the works.
“I think since all of you have loved working together in the movie, we might add some more characters and make a ‘Think Twice 2,’” he teased at the premiere.
You can watch “Think Twice” below or on Vimeo here.