‘Stomp’ Steps Into the Mainstream
“Stomp the Yard” has ignited controversy, surprised critics and launched
FAMU graduate Gregory Anderson into the Hollywood spotlight.

By Marlon A. Walker

Gregory Anderson left Tallahassee after graduating from Florida A&M University in 1996 with hopes of jumpstarting a career in the film industry.

But a trip back helped put him on the path to becoming a serious force in the field.

He was a student at the university when he wrote the script for “Stomp the Yard,” which debuted at No. 1 its opening weekend. The movie focuses largely on Greek fraternities and stepping on a fictitious Black college campus.

“It’s like a homecoming to kind of have a big introduction into the industry off the movie we dreamed of doing so long ago,” says Anderson, who is president of Tri Destined Films.

The 32-year-old Anderson grew up in the shadows of FAMU. Both his parents taught at the school, took him to the games and entered him in Baby Rattler contests. He was also reared through the college’s developmental research school, which teaches elementary through
high school.

When he was younger, Anderson and a group of friends would make personalized comic books, selling them to friends and anyone else who showed an interest. It showed his love for the arts.

“It was a part of that entrepreneurial spirit,”he says.

The arts took a back seat in high school. He ran track and developed an interest in school politics.

“I didn’t think it was cool to be in theater [in high school],” he says.
When Anderson entered FAMU as a freshman in the fall of 1991, he planned to continue on the road he’d started in high school, joining the student government association and dabbling in track. But then he heard about two groups on campus — the Playmaker’s Guild and the Cinema Club. His love for the arts had never died, but he says the two groups helped get it off life support.