Midwest Movie Maker

AI imagines the characters from 'Arnie' >>   The next juicy horror feature is about to creep onto the streets of Cleveland, and it comes from Chris “Casper” Kelly, creator of the cult classic Too Many Cooks . The feature, Buddy , is tentatively shooting from July through August in the Cleveland area, according to a casting call from Angela Boehm Casting . (It's a live-action film. We don't want our AI interpretation confuse you!) Buddy  was one of 14 projects awarded more than $26 million of $33 million in tax credits from the Ohio Department of Development’s Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit Program (OMPTC) aimed at boosting production and infrastructure across the state. Northeast Ohio’s Low Spark Films will produce. Filmmaker Casper Kelly Who is Casper Kelly? Kelly is an American writer, director, and producer known for his work in television and film. His work often blends humor, horror and absurdity. He gained attention with the viral short Too Many Cooks and ...

The idea for Obstacle Corpse , Hope Madden’s directorial debut, came almost fully formed - and much of it had to do with death waivers. “A few years ago, I was set to run one of those Tough Mudder-style obstacle course races with my husband, George,” the Tiffin, Ohio, native explains. When foot surgery kept Madden from competing, she went along to support her husband. “The race handed out T-shirts that read ‘Remember, you signed a death waiver.’ Because you do, in fact, sign a death waiver,” Madden says, “and I saw how easy it would be to kill someone on these obstacles. “By the time we were home, I had the plot just about figured out.” That plot? A young woman, trying to prove herself to her father, accepts an invitation to run in an exclusive obstacle course race. To buoy her confidence, she enlists her best friend to run alongside her. Little do either know that one of the obstacles the race’s elite athletes must complete is the murder of a fellow racer. While steeped in horror, the...

Artwork for 'Retribution' by Alaina Tennant In Fall 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, 17-year-old Evelyn Smits and 13-year-old Camila Figueroa teamed up to write, cast, direct and shoot a short film. The Northeast Ohio girls initially set out to make a one-minute video based on the concept of “hearing the end of the world.” In the end, they produced a 15-minute horror film involving nearly 50 people, including a diverse cast and crew made up of young women.   Retribution follows the story of a teenage girl who hears a humming while with her friends. That humming turns out to be the preamble to Doomsday. The story builds as the event affects the girl's friends and soon everyone she comes into contact with. After spending three days developing and writing the script, the team used video reels to cast through NEohioPAL, the Northeast Ohio Performing Arts List .     From left, filmmakers Mia Thomas and Evelyn Smits set up a shot. “Because of COVID, we had to do everyt...