Last updated on Sep 22, 2015
By Melanie Spina
Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor
LIU Post alumni Dayna Ghiraldi, who graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, produced one of the latest horror films “OLD 37.” The movie focuses on the premises of two brothers who intercept 911 phone calls and show up to the scene in an old ambulance where they kill and torture hopeless victims. The film stars big horror film actors, Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley, as the main brothers. Miley Cyrus’ sister Brandi Cyrus also makes an appearance.
The movie was in its entirety filmed on Long Island, and there was a weeklong special screening at the Glen Cove Theaters. Writers Paul Travers and Ghiraldi gave two special Q&As after the screening on Saturday, Sept. 12, where they talked about the movie and the process of making a low budget film.
Travers started to write the script back in 2005 and it took him about five months to finalize it. “At first I didn’t even think of making an actual film. I was just kind of writing down ideas,” Travers said. “The idea first came to me after I had a nightmare and I woke up and thought that this would be a great idea for a horror film, so from there I just started to look up scripts online to follow the format and as I drove back and forth from Long Island to the city, I would just come up with the
story.” The part of Jon Roy in the movie was actually written with Hodder in mind, Travers said. “I actually met him at a Fangoria horror convention and I told him about my script and told him what it’s about and he really liked the idea so he gave me his information and asked me to send him the script,” Travers said. Hodder and Moseley were really into the characters, which helped a lot with the filming.
Travers, along the producers of the movie, raised all the money for the movie. The filming started in 2012, but needed to take a break when they realized they needed to raise more money in order to complete the film. They were able to raise enough money to begin filming again in 2013 and the movie was finally completed in 2014.
“I have a lot of ideas for a sequel, but we are hoping that somebody will come on board and pay for it, so I don’t have to spend so many years raising money for it,” Tavers said.
Ghiraldi, a LIU Post alumnus and owner of the PR firm Big Picture Media, did all of the PR and marketing for the movie. “Watching him [Travers] make something from nothing made me want to really get involved,” Ghiraldi said. “I don’t have the film knowledge, but I’ve got all of the relationships. The clothing companies, makeup companies, and all of the music in the films were clients from Big Picture Media.”
“We also started to create buzz on the film early on,” Ghiraldi said.
Brandi Cyrus was one of the first actresses attached, so being Miley’s sister, it helped the press get excited.” It was also the first time that Hodder and Moseley played brothers together, which Ghiraldi claims also helped create a buzz for the movie.
Marisa Kofmehl, a Senior Public Relations major, also helped with the movie when she interned at Big Picture Media this summer. “I got to help a lot with promoting the movie and helping with
their social media, so it was a lot of fun to actually see the final product of the film on the big screen,” said Kofmehl.
The movie won Best Feature and Best Film at Montreal Comic Con, and will be premiering Oct. 2 at the Bushwick film festival. If interested, the movie will be playing at Glen Cove Theaters until Sept. 17; it will be coming out on VOD on Sept. 29, and will be available on DVD on Oct. 6.
Be First to Comment