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Yorktown Heights Filmmaker Trapani Screens First Film

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — Gus Trapani's youthful impatience has resulted in the production of his first feature film, which will be shown at the Pelham Picture House on Tuesday.

While still a student at California's New York Film Academy in 2011, the 21-year-old Yorktown Heights native flipped $10,000 of his tuition money into a production budget, got some help from a non-profit group, gathered a cast and produced "Bad Vs. Worse" in less than 30 days over several weekends from May through July 2012.

"I can’t say attending film school didn’t help me because it gave me more time and resources to learn to make movies," said Trapani, who graduated from Somers High School. "Unfortunately though, I felt to much negativity in the atmosphere. There was a lot of 'that’s not possible' at film school."

Trapani made the impossible possible with the help of Frank Reale, the president of Peers Influence Peers, who assisted with lighting equipment and signed on as a cast member. Trapani worked with Reale while a student at Somers.

"When (Frank Reale) found out I was making this movie he was very generous and offered all the help he could," Reale said. "He also plays an FBI agent in the film. Ineeded a story that could be very contained, with only one main location and a small cast. I ended up finding incredible talent to act in the movie."

"Bad Vs. Worse" was written and directed by Trapani and is a mystery/horror color film about two brothers who plan to rob a string of homes only to find that the second house on the list is occupied by a sadistic serial killer.

"It kind of plays with the theme of you never know who your messing with," Trapani said. "It a great Halloween movie. I was amazed by the quality of the film. Video equipment is so good that it's so much easier to produce a film now."

The movie features Rick Rodgers, Stephen Velichko, Pablo Andrade, Myles Forster, Victoria Zito and Reale, and was filmed locally.

"The cast is an amazing mix of talented actors from Putnam Valley, Albany, Australia, Venezuala and Yorktown Heights," Trapani said. "This film was made with less than $10,000 and the least expensive cameras available, but it was a very positive experience for everyone. I think it happened because I believed that it could be done."

The film will be screened at 8 p.m. and tickets will be available at the door for $12. There will be a question-and-answer session following the film with Trapani and members of the cast.

 

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