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| Lance Catania directing/lensing Ch. 7 promos on location. |
It was inevitable that a filmmaker who owns a library of a thousand horror films would one day produce a horror film of his own.
Lance Catania, a partner in X-Ray Productions, will direct and lens a supernatural thriller titled “Cup of My Blood,” that he said was two-and-a-years in the making.
Noel Olken, who said he gave up a paying job to produce the indie feature, raved about the script, calling it true to the genre. “People who’ve read it say it’s a great screenplay and they’d do anything, or work for nothing, to be part of it,” he said.
“Cup of My Blood” revolves around an art photographer, Jack Fender, who has been chosen to protect the Holy Grail that has been floating around from protector to protector for millennia. “Jack feels he doesn’t have the faith anymore for the challenge but rises to the occasion,” Olkin said, “when he discovers a lot of spirituality within himself.”
Local actor Daniel Sullivan portrays Jack Fender and Janina Gavankara is the female lead. Out of the 24 character roles, 19 are speaking parts.
Production on the under-$500,000 indie film will start Dec. 3 with a crew of around 40. Catania will shoot in 24P in and around X-Ray’s Grand-Ogden neighborhood.
Production is currently scheduled for 12 days, although Olkin said that could expand to 20 days, depending on whether additional financing is available at the time of the shoot.
Editor will be Joel Denbow, a freelance spot editor who works with X-Ray.
Cantania said he is “a lifetime fanatic of horror films,” who started as a little boy watching creature feature movies on Ch. 9 with his mother. “I still remember the theme song of the series, ?Experiment in Terror,’ from a movie with Glenn Ford,” he said. “I’ve watched everything in the genre since then.”
His fascination led to collecting genre tapes made in the U.S. and Europe in the early ?80s. “My children grew up reading my horror magazines,” he said.
Cantania, who spent two-and-a-half years writing his screenplay, started X-Ray in May, 2000, with partner/producer Gene Cosentino. in X-Ray. They both had worked for the predecessor company to Broadview Media, and then were partners in Renaissance.
X-Ray is located in at 5,500-sq. ft. facility that includes a 35×45-ft. stage and a shooting kitchen. Shooting most of all Ch. 7’s promos and producing satellite feeds for video tours are two major parts of their business. They are also currently producing pilots for their own TV show ideas.
Catania and X-Ray are located at 1400 W. Hubbard; phone, 312/738-9729.
