Columbiana theater hosts red carpet event for movie premiere

COLUMBIANA - It was the way going to the theater used to be.

Men in suits and shiny shoes; ladies in full evening gowns, their hair done up high on their heads.

But as the camera flashes popped across the lobby and reporters held microphones close to the mouths of anyone standing on the other side of the rope, it shone light on an exciting and unfamiliar experience at the Main Street Theater - a red carpet event.

The cast and crew of "The Last Vampire on Earth," a low budget 90-minute film California-based director Vitaliy Versace shot last year in and around Youngstown, gathered at the cinema one Thursday in late February for the first screening of the yet-to-be-released feature.

Cast with local talent out of LeModeln Inc., Boardman, Versace and company shot the entire movie in just three weeks over the course of 2009. The film highlights some familiar sights in the Mahoning Valley, such as The Lemon Grove Cafe in Youngstown and Boardman Park.

The movie follows a romantic vampire story set in modern times, similar to Stephanie Meyers' "Twilight" series, and shares more than a few similarities, including the famed "say it" scene.

Titular vampire Aurelius is a 20-year-old college student who, after 2,000 odd years of doing nothing with his immortality, has decided to pursue hematology, the study of blood, in order to find cures for diseases plaguing the still-living world of humans.

Main character Chloe differs from "Twilight's" Bella in that she is suffering from AIDS, which she contracted while rescuing a child on a mission trip in Africa, and she is hiding the fact from her ultra-conservative Christian family, who believe blood to be sacred and any medical procedures involving blood to be blasphemy.

Writer Mandie Abraham first met Versace over the summer while they were starring together in another low-budget film, "My Own Eyes." For that film, Abraham had written a series of diary entries that became voiceovers to tie the story together.

"He just liked my style; that I wrote it," she said of Versace, and he eventually came to her with an idea for a vampire movie, asking her to put together the script.

The film stays relatively true to the script, Abraham noted, although she and Versace changed a few of each other's ideas. For example, Versace had originally intended for Chloe to be suffering from cancer, but Abraham though AIDS would be more appropriate, tying in the blood-borne transmission and bringing light to the severity of the syndrome, which has faded from the public view.

Copies of the film are not currently available to the public, as Versace plans to have a Hollywood agent try to sell it to a major distributor.

LeModeln Inc. President Linda Weaver, who provided casting and was first assistant director on the film, said she was anticipating a summer release, although she was not sure whether the film would go to theaters or direct to DVD.

McKenzie Grimmett, 15, Cortland, stars as Chloe in her first film experience. She has a background in modeling and said it was a challenge to make the transition from single frames to moving pictures.

"With modeling, it's just a pretty face and you don't have to act like someone you don't know," she explained.

Her greatest challenge was portraying an AIDS sufferer, which she said she accomplished through coaching from Versace.

"I didn't know anyone that has AIDS or has a life-changing disease ... I could just imagine it would be depressing that your life would be ticking down," she commented.

Her favorite experiences were shooting the family dinner scenes, during which 11-year-old costar Justin Oliver "was just chowin' down on my chicken," and the group readings prior to shooting.

"We really just bonded with each other," she recalled. It was a fun experience."

For Michael Bole, 24, Poland, who plays Aurelius, one of the biggest challenges was portraying a romantic relationship with woman played by an actress nine years his junior. He said he didn't even learn about the age difference until the third day of filming with Grimmett.

The movie is his first as well, and although he enjoyed it, the outgoing jokester said he would hope to fill a more comedic role his next time out, as he's much better at being funny than serious.

"In our down time, we had a lot of fun," he recalled. "When it was time to work, we worked. When it was time to play, we played."

Another challenge was forcing 12 hours of work into each day of shooting and having to keep the energy up the entire time.

"You've just got to try to pull it off like you're just starting ... especially with me because I'm supposed to be a vampire. I don't get tired," he explained.

One climactic moment in the plot occurs after Chloe's little brother reveals to their parents that he knows Aurelius is a vampire and Chloe's father, the Rev. Melvin Parish, played by Kevin Glaser, leads the community in a violent revolt against him.

Glaser himself comes from a deeply religious community and background and was enthralled by the hypocrisy shown by the group of churchgoers in the film, who should have been spreading love instead of hatred.

The actor even met with opposition from his 19-year-old daughter when she discovered he would be featured in the film.

"When I told her I was in a film called 'The Last Vampire on Earth,' she said, 'What are you going to do next? Sell drugs?' " he recalled, although he noted his 21-year-old son has been more supportive.

Glaser, who has a background in design engineering, plans to continue his film career and is starring in the title role in an upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie by Anton Pictures. He is also anticipating the publishing of his first suspense novel in June.

Like any major film, music plays a large role in setting the movie's mood, and composer Dave Buker in his first film credit put the score together using original music for the film as well as previously recorded songs from three modern rock bands - Historians, The Depths and The Devotees - all of which he is or has been a member.

The Youngstown State University Dana School of Music graduate said he was given a rough edit of the film and wrote the score scene by scene.

"A lot of it is somber. There are some songs and some pieces of music that are more charming ... Otherwise, it's more ominous and sort of mysterious sounds," Buker described the score.

Experienced stage actor Terry Escaro wore a lot of hats in the film, including serving as second assistant director, locations manager and actor, playing shady Bloodmobile driver Wayne.

Associated with Trumbull New Theatre in Niles for about 20 years but having no history with film, Escaro was happy to take the leap from stage to screen. He retired from Schwebel's in May at the age of 48 and was looking for a way to occupy his time when he saw a newspaper advertisement for LeModeln Inc., which was seeking all types of models and eventually got him involved with the film.

He said working with Versace and Abraham was a challenging but pleasant experience.

"They're sticklers for certain things, but they don't make you feel uncomfortable on the set. They don't berate you," he said, noting the atmosphere on the set was quite familial.

The red carpet event concluded with a ceremony in which Abraham presented Escaro with an award as crew member of the year, which Escaro was not expecting.

"I never expected this award," Escaro later admitted, describing the John F. Kennedy style of work ethic instilled in himself. "When they ask you to do something, you just do it."

Abraham acknowledged the film is not a big-budget blockbuster, which put limits on what she and Versace were able to do. For example, Chloe tells Aurelius of the attack on the clinic in Africa, but the audience never sees the implied explosions or exotic filming location.

Most of the actors have never been in a film before, with many having a background with modeling through LeModeln Inc., but Abraham was happy to see the finished product.

"For being the first time that they acted, I think they did pretty well," she said.

Abraham herself first got into the film industry in 2009 and said this was the first script she had written. While she had viewed it before the screening in Columbiana, seeing it in a theater was a new experience for her.

"It's definitely different seeing it that big," she commented. "I almost cried."

Weaver plans to partner with Versace to make about 10 more films in the Youngstown area and noted how excited she is to bring local talent the chance to star in the movies.

"There is nothing greater to me than to get to see that 10-year-old boy smile because he got to see himself on screen," she said.

A trailer for the film and additional information in available online at www.versaceentertainment.com.

mschomer@mojonews.com