Native Rhode Island filmmaker Tommy DeNucci talks hard work and ‘The Damned
Tall and lean with a shock of wavy dark hair. Big dark eyes and a deep voice. He’s the epitome of cool. But as cool as he is, he’s heating up the screen in myriad ways, from acting to writing to directing. Just who is this guy?
Meet Tommy DeNucci. Tommy is a producing partner to Chad Verdi of Verdi Films and The Woodha
ven Production Company. With the early release of Army of the Damned on December 3, he has just garnered a five-picture deal from Universal and Screen Media, with a Video on Demand release to more than 100 million homes. Not too shabby for this 29-year-old kid from Cranston.
ven Production Company. With the early release of Army of the Damned on December 3, he has just garnered a five-picture deal from Universal and Screen Media, with a Video on Demand release to more than 100 million homes. Not too shabby for this 29-year-old kid from Cranston.Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting with Tommy at his Verdi Films office to chat about his film career and how he got started. It’s always interesting to see a young Rhode Islander rise up and beat the odds, especially in this business. “I got hooked in high school, then I went to NE Tech for a Bachelor of Science. I started interning at Woodhaven, and I’ve been there now for six years.” And what a six years it has been. He’s gone nowhere but up!
Tommy is Woodhaven’s resident director, and advises, writes, and mans the helm of the creative process. He tells me that he is part of a team with his sidekick Sam Eilertsen, a 23-year-old computer wiz and DP on Army of the Damned. He also mentions something else I find interesting. “I don’t have an artist come in and do expensive storyboards. I take out my action figures and set them up, then shoot them with my iPhone.” Sam corroborates this and laughs. Sam and Tommy also credit Danielle Corsa of Verdi Films, who was the executive producer of Inkubus, as a driving force at the company. She handles contracts and all the paperwork and helps things move smoothly through the company.
It doesn’t surprise me that he does not do things in a conventional way. Woodhaven Production Company is not a conventional com
pany. Eight months from shooting Army of the Damned, and it can be seen VOD. No one does that. It’s almost impossible. But this company has done it with Tommy and his Woodhaven family of focused and creative team members.
pany. Eight months from shooting Army of the Damned, and it can be seen VOD. No one does that. It’s almost impossible. But this company has done it with Tommy and his Woodhaven family of focused and creative team members.Tom appeared in many productions as an actor while learning the ropes of the business. He cites his first speaking role in “The Brotherhood” opposite Annabeth Gish in a scene that challenged him with some very heavy material. “It was definitely a milestone in my career,” he said. After that came roles in Tanner Hall and Inkubus, a Woodhaven film, where Tom played a police officer opposite some of the biggest names in the horror movie world, Robert Englund and William Forsythe. Then came Loosies. Tommy got to “rock a cool suit” and play opposite Peter Facinelli and Jaime Alexander. In Infected, another Woodhaven film, Tommy act
ed alongside Michael Madsen, and served as second unit director.
ed alongside Michael Madsen, and served as second unit director.Then came Self Storage. It was literally his first screenplay written right out of high school. “Chad Verdi really had my back and believed in the material, so that meant a lot to me. I got to work with some of my dearest friends, like production designer Jonathan Del Ponte, producer David Gere and actor Nick Principie. Those two guys later went on to be part of the core of my next film, Army of the Damned. Writing, directing and acting was extremely challenging and I made plenty of mistakes, but I learned more from this film than any other project I’ve ever been involved in.” That’s another thing I like about this guy. He’s willing to work, to learn, to really pay his dues.
And it’s paid off immensely for him because this is where we go back to Army of the Damned and his five-picture deal with Universal. Chad was so thrilled with the way Self Storage turned out that he went ahead with producer Seth Rosenblit and gave the project a go. Tommy immediately wanted to shake things up casting wise, so he went after Sully Erna of Godsmack, who he met years ago when he was just an intern, and reached out to him. He believed in the script and jumped in with both feet, working hard, becoming one of the driving forces behind the film. Ben Bornstein (who is an amazing SFX creator), Jonathan Schermerhorn and Branden Maxham came in on this one and formed a strong core to their crew along with Del Ponte, Gere and Principie. They all had so much fun making that film and really pushed it to the next level. He says that he can’t wait to work with those guys again soon. The film pre-sold more than 100,000 copies, so the hard work really paid off.
We talked about hard work. Tommy says that for all the people he hears talking about wanting to be in the film industry, he does not see a lot of young people willing to put in the time it takes to do what he has done. “For all the success this company has had, we don’t get a lot of people knocking on the door asking to do something, anything to learn the business. Sweep floors, make coffee — sure, there’s no pay, but you do what you gotta do to get in the door and learn. If you prove yourself, you will move up quickly.”
I chatted with Seth Rosenblit, of Hartford, CT, a producing partner of The Woodhaven Company, who met Chad Verdi last year at Rock and Shock (see how fast these guys work?) and he told me that the Woodhaven Company is simply amazing at doing what they do. “I have had the most rewarding experience in working with them. Tom DeNucci is multi-talented and an excellent filmmaker. Chad is a master at executing a plan and doing so within a timely manner. They are a tight knit family, and it’s a really good working relationship with a talented team.”
So what’s next for Tom DeNucci? Well for starters, he is filming right now opposite John Savage in a sci -fi film called Sensory Perception, produced by Seth Rosenblit and producer/actor David Gere. He is also shooting a mockumentary called Special Feature, a hilarious film in which I have the privilege to work with Tommy, directed and written by Raz Cunningham and Mel Hardy. Tom played a character called Ricky Ramm, a douchebag DJ who just sort of levels people live on the air. The cast and crew had a difficult time being quiet on set while watching Tommy do his thing. He was that funny, and his background in comedy and training with Fred Sullivan Jr. ( actor and instructor at Gamm Theatre, RISD and Trinity Rep) has obviously paid off.
Tommy seems to be able to do it all and he is very proud of the fact that he has been a huge part of putting Rhode Island on the map in the film world. He is passionate about what he does. He loves using RI talent and bringing them together with some big stars, as well as big talent behind the lens. You can bet on more stories from Tommy up on the big screen, and in record time. That just the way he works. He’s a connector and is clearly becoming a big star himself. He’s also a very nice guy, and we are extremely proud to call him one of our own.
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