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“Ohio-Made Independent Film to Debut on Big
Screen with Columbus Sneak Preview”
Columbus, Ohio - March 14th, 2006 The feature length
independent film “Horrors of War” will have an
exclusive sneak preview screening, open to the public on Saturday
March 25th, 2006 at 7:PM at The Screens movie theatre at the
Continent on the north side of Columbus. The film, co-directed
by John Whitney and Peter John Ross, was shot and produced
entirely in Ohio. An additional screening is set for April
23rd in Cincinnati at the Esquire.
“Horrors of War” takes place in Europe in World
War II, centering on a group of GIs that encounter science
fiction and horror based phenomena in battle. Crossing genres
like “X-Files” and “Saving Private Ryan,”
the storyline follows Lt. John Schmidt, played by Columbus
actor Jon Osbeck, as he comes face to face with a horde of
Nazi nightmare secret weapons. “Horrors of War”
was made in a B-movie style, yet with a dramatic grounding
and an eye for bigger production values.
“We’re excited to be able to show the film for
the first time to central Ohioans,” said says producer/co-writer
Philip R. Garrett, formerly of DreamWorks, who left a job
working on Disney animated features to work in independent
film in Central Ohio. “Shooting in Ohio was a dream
come true for us. We shot as far away as Athens County and
Youngstown, as well as all over Central Ohio. The cooperation
from local law enforcement to property owners and local businesses,
made it easy for us.”
“Ohio has all the talent and resources to be the ‘Hollywood
of the Midwest’,” says Peter John Ross, co-director
of the film. “We were able to make something really
ambitious with a World War II setting, science fiction elements,
and special FX that show just what Ohio has to offer in terms
of various talents. I can’t wait to show it on the big
screen to the public. We hope people like what we’ve
done.”
Many local filmmakers teamed up to raise the bar for this
feature film. Co-director John Whitney had recent airings
of his short film “Passion” on The Independent
Film Channel as a finalist in the IFC Media Lab contest. Producer
Sean Reid, formerly with E! Entertainment Television, made
his feature “Redemption” in Los Angeles before
moving back to the Canton/Akron area.
Also from Columbus, actor C. Alec Rossel of MapTorch Films,
whose feature “Jack’s Habit” is on shelves
at Barnes & Noble, Border’s and Best Buy. Actor
Michael Evanichko of Xcursion Productions has his feature
“Ritual: Blood Bonds” coming to DVD in early 2006,
and “Pizza The Movie” from 2nd Assistant cameraman
Donald Gregory of Cleveland is currently available on DVD.
Other cast and crew include Louie Cowan of Red Key Productions
(Delaware, Ohio), Derek Rimelspach of SLM Films, Jon Osbeck
of Barking Jake Productions, Jason Morris of Klown Films,
and Peter John Ross of Sonnyboo Productions (all from Central
Ohio).
The majority of the fundraising also took place in Ohio.
Commercial production companies and professionals that contributed
to the making of the project included Greg Sabo of Sabo Studios,
who provided camera, lighting, and studio space. Lyon Video,
Mills James Productions, and Planetary Media were used as
post-production facilities to finish the film on a professional
level. Columbus-based media company Space Junk Media created
the opening title sequence and received a “Citation
of Excellence” for their work at the Columbus ADDY Awards.
Filming took place in July 2005, starting in Shade, Ohio
in Athens County, then moved to West Jefferson. From there
the production went to Mechanicsburg for a faux French Château,
and then onto Mansfield for several battle scenes with WWII
re-enactors. A factory in Youngstown stood in for a bombed-out
German weapons lab, the forests of Logan doubled for Germany,
and many interior sets were built at Sabo Studios in Canal
Winchester as well as Columbus. Other cities where the shoot
took place include Delaware and Conneaut.
The Screens theatre is located at 6360 Busch Blvd (go to
www.continentmovies.com for more information). Ticket price
will be only $5 for this special sneak preview screening.
“Horrors of War” is a co-production between Columbus,
Ohio based Sonnyboo Productions, Arbor Ave Films, and Hollywood
Wizard based in Los Angeles, California. Additional information
including multimedia clips, trailers, behind the scenes videos,
visual FX demonstrations.
Contact Info : Peter John Ross
5759 Tamarack Blvd, Apt A
Columbus, OH 43229
(614) 378-5941 / FAX (614) 863-1143
EMAIL: ross@horrorsofwarmovie.com
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