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“Ohio-Made Independent Film to Debut on Big
Screen with Cincinnati Sneak Preview”
Columbus, Ohio - 2006 The feature length independent film
“Horrors of War” will have an exclusive sneak
preview screening, open to the public on Sunday April 23rd,
2006 at 7:PM at The Esquire movie theatre in Cincinnati. The
film, co-directed by John Whitney and Peter John Ross, was
shot and produced entirely in Ohio.
“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 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 Ohio, 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 Esquire Theatre is located at 320 Ludlow Cincinnati Ohio
45220 (go to www.esquiretheatre.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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