Scene And Heard

March is a month for madness, no? From the weather to the films being made, you’ll see we have things going on here in RI and beyond that celebrate the mayhem. From wax museums to crime dramas to the apocalyptic future Earth, these films will be sure to capture your attention. We have documentaries, love stories and even films gleaned from paintings. There’s a little bit of everything to whet your appetite, a perfect mix to showcase the talent that surrounds us.
Students continue to amaze me: take Ashton Avila, a senior from Glendale, California who studies film at the University of Rhode Island. Avila’s short film “Needless Wait” has been accepted into the Los Angeles Women’s International Film Festival. She wrote, directed and produced the film based on the true story of her friend Leighana Marsch, whose life changed after she was diagnosed with a rare disease that demanded a kidney transplant. The film stars Kati Salowsky and was filmed in RI. Since her freshman year, Avila had written, directed and produced many of her own short films as well as received credits on other student projects. During the second semester of her freshman year, she took her first production class where she made a short on 16mm film titled “If I Only Had A Bicycle…” It went on to win the Fred Joyal Film Prize at The Harrington School of Communication and Media. Her past films can be seen on youtube.com/ashtonavilafilms.
When she graduates in May she will have completed two more films: “Two Strike Park” starring Aidan Milsted and Matthew Masse, and produced by Molly Costa; and her last film as a URI student, a comedy titled “Shotgun Wedding.” That film is currently in pre-production, but will be screened alongside other student works this May. To get involved in one of her projects, email her at ashtonavilafilms@gmail.com or check out facebook.com/AshtonAvilaFilms.
“Newport: The Series” brings to life the paintings of world-renowned, local artist William Heydt. Heydt has produced hundreds of watercolors of the people and landscapes of Newport over the past 12 years in his series called Newportant People. Tom C. Erb conceptualized the idea into a TV pilot, which premiered in the fall of 2012, and he will soon be pitching to national networks including TLC and AMC. Erb says, “I took a look at the paintings and realized each had a story behind it.” The series will take Heydt’s paintings and assign fictional scripts to each image. In addition, his landscapes will be a part of every episode so that the story fades in and out of his paintings.
The pilot consists of six images that tell fully scripted episodes. Each episode will end with short interviews with the people in the painting; they’ll discuss their experience of being immortalized by Heydt. In addition, the very talented and immense musical community of Newport will be composing original music for the show. The “Newportant People” include firemen, cobblers, docksmen and even Survivor’s Richard Hatch, who appears in every episode. We’re looking forward to the stories, scenery and music that will bring our Newport to our living rooms.
Those zany folks behind Scorpio Film Releasing, the Rhode Island-based production company responsible for “Nun of That,” “Exhumed” and “The Disco Exorcist,” are set to premiere their 13th feature film production, “Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead” on March 24 at Cinemaworld in Lincoln. There will be two screenings of the film – 7pm and 9pm – and tickets will be $10.00 at the door or online. A celebration of horror and the genre’s greatest personalities, the film is terrifying but often humorous. A group of teenagers who spend the night in a creepy wax museum in Salem, MA only to find out that it’s the secret lair of Dr. Frankenstein, who has been performing profane experiments on the town residents to create, piece by piece, the ultimate nightmare. Dr. Frankenstein’s stars Michael Thurber (“Murder University”) and is directed by Richard Griffin from a script by Griffin and Seth Chitwood (there he is again folks). Griffin says, “I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this movie turned out… a wild, gory ride that pays loving homage not only to the Hammer horrors of the late ‘50s and ‘60s, but also to the more freewheeling movies of Jess Franco and the blood-soaked films of Herschell Gordon Lewis. I think audience members are really going to eat up this kinky mix of horror and humor that we’ve served up!” See the trailer here: http://vimeo.com/60532699.
Future happenings for Scorpio Film Releasing include the upcoming DVD releases of “Exhumed” from Wild Eye Releasing, production on the dark psychological drama “Normal,” written by Lenny Schwartz and the late 2013 production of “The Disco Exorcist” sequel, “Brother of the Disco Exorcist,” written by Tony Nunes. For further information on Scorpio Film Releasing visit scorpiofilmreleasing.net.
If you don’t know who Seth Chitwood is by now, take a look below to see what this young man has done, and what he is in the midst of doing. It never stops! I had the pleasure of making a cameo appearance in his “World’s Worst Director” and am now cast in his drama web series, Red Circles. Take a look at what’s coming:
“Family Problems” (a web series), created by Chitwood, aired its first episode on Feb. 17. It’s scheduled to air 12 episodes. The series stars Theresa Chiasson, Peter Morse and Natasha Hatalsky. Production has begun for the 2nd season, which will air next year. Paula Dellatte, Lorrie Bacon and Alex Pires have recently joined the cast and several smaller roles are being sought. For more information go to angelwoodpictures.com/familyproblems.
“Red Circles” (a web series) will begin productions on its fourth (and final) season of the LA Web Fest award winning crime-drama in March. Casting has begun for a few new roles including a male leading role. Rosemary Pacheco was recently announced to be joining the cast as Detective Gretchen Lewis. www.redcircles.ws
“World’s Worst Director” (a web series) is scheduled to premiere its second season on March 24 at 8pm. The comedy series will air 13 episodes. The series stars Chitwood, Mary C. Ferrara and Erica Derrickson. The first season was officially selected to be a part of the 2013 LA Web Series Festival. It was also recently announced confirmation for a third season. worldsworstdirector.com
A weekend with Bernie? Why yes! Bernie Larrivee is a man about town, a local actor and talk show host. He recently appeared in Henry Gravelle’s Playhouse Theatre – a cable access production that’s reminiscent of the good ol’ days where plays were actually televised. Each production runs approximately 15 minutes. Larrivee also runs a cable TV show called Frame by Frame; You can learn more about his show at: facebook.com/pages/Frame-By-Frame/142467595817834?ref=hl
Mr. Larrivee also will be premiering in a new short called “A Search for Home” on March 6 at the Cable Car Cinema in Providence. The film was written and directed by Bryan Casey of BC Films. We look forward to more work from Bernie, as we try to keep up with him and his film and TV pursuits!
Cate Carson, one of my personal favorite New England actresses, who also produces and directs films with Justin Plasse at 3PASTMIDNIGHT Films, is scheduled to shoot again on the weekend of March 22 for her new film, “Watcher”. It’s an action fantasy film set in the post-apocalyptic era of First Earth, where the birth cycles of all females have been altered – creating opposing colonies. One of the much darker themes of this film is … [we call this a cliffhanger – Rosemary has a lot more film news! it’s online at www.motifri.com/scene3]the objectification and dehumanization of women. Carson appears as  “The Watcher ” opposite Lars Christensen, in his lead role as “Leader” (of the seekers). The film will be shot on RED Scarlet cameras, and it will be utilized to obtain investment and funding for the feature film. Find out more about Watcher: indiegogo.com/projects/watcher-a-short-film/x/37083.Carson is an accomplished filmmaker and has had recent success with My Pretty Maura, which is currently on the festival circuit, and has a short scheduled for release this spring called Moonflower. She also appears in Lucid, a horror short by Derek Dubois.

Curtis Reid, who I had the pleasure of meeting on the Barrington set of the World’s Worst Director web series, is an enthusiastic and passionate young actor from Boston. I‘d have to nominate him the world’s nicest actor! You can add producer to that as well since he just took on that role for Killing Khan, a Boston based film. Within the last year he has been involved with over 20 local productions, ranging from car commercials to web series to feature films. He is currently working on a web series called, The Cold Read with Lower End Films and recently reported that Heroin: A Love Story – another short that he worked on – was selected to screen at the Boston International Film Festival. Reid was also featured in the latest issue of Imagine Magazine, New England’s only magazine dedicated to film, production, television and media. We will also see him appearing in another Rhode Island based web series called Bennight Brothers by RL Lopez. Release dates will be announced soon for both World’s Worst Director and Bennight Brothers. Collective Anger, which he filmed in Connecticut and Rhode Island during last summer with Of The Lake Productions, is soon to be released. Lastly, Reid was recently given a leading role in the feature film titled The Last Diary of Nikita Rose. He plays Ben, the boyfriend of the title character and is very excited to be involved with such a creative project.
Email Reid at Curtis.Actor@gmail.com or check out his fan page at facebook.com/Curtisreid.actor.

Counterfeit Cow Productions is currently filming a documentary in Amherst, MA entitled Homeless in a College Town. We in RI have seen similar situations like the tent community that had formed in the recent past in Providence. These filmmakers are gaining first-hand experience of what it’s like to live without a home in a college town. They are working with local organizations that provide services for those who have been hit hard by the economic down fall, documenting the efforts the town and the citizens have put towards helping those who are struggling.“There’s a phenomenon sweeping the Nation,” says director Sari Gagnon. “Amherst, MA is home of the flagship school for the University of Massachusetts… In the recent recession, Amherst, like many other college towns across the country, has seen a rise in numbers amongst their homeless population.” Though it may sound unusual that homeless folks would flock to college towns all over the United States, that’s exactly what’s happening because campuses often offer 24-hour facilities with services already in place for students.To take on this crisis, Counterfeit Cow Productions is raising funds to donate a statue that will double as a piggy bank in downtown Amherst Center. The purpose of the statue is to raise awareness amongst college kids, and be a place where donations can be made to the services in town that provide assistance to the homeless. “We’re excited to leave an impression on this community long after we’re done filming.” says Gagnon. Learn how you join their efforts by going to HomelessInACollegeTown.com

Stay tuned folks, as we have some exciting things coming to the new film news section. Reel Kids, a section that talks about a lot of the work that our youngins are starring in and even producing, is making its way to the surface. Also, we’ll be doing features on all your favorite filmmakers. If you have film news of your own, please send to rpacheco737@hotmail.com, and put “Scene and Heard” in the subject line. See you at the movies!