Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Cooney.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Anthony. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started to get into film making in 2003 with a friend of mine. One day, we were hanging out watching movies and were kind of bored. So, we started to discuss movie ideas and thought well, why can’t we make a movie, it can’t be that hard especially for all the low budget horror films we watch. So, we wrote a script which only took about 3 hours. The ideas were flowing through our heads. Next thing, we got our video camera and got some friends together and told them to bring over some different options for wardrobe and we will pick and choose what we think would be best for this short film. We came up with this movie called Paranoia about 2 friends that go cruising the Chicago streets for some cocaine (their first time using it, no real drugs were used either) and go back to one the buddies apartments and then they start to hallucinate hours later. Each one started seeing something different from a midget who wears a kiss mask to a psycho selling Milkman who chases them around the city.
Then, after that short film, I myself started taking film classes at Northeastern university basically introduction to film. During that time, I noticed in Chicago there were some film festivals at the Portage theater on Milwaukee Ave and thought well, why not go to the film fest and see what it’s all about. I spent the entire day watching horror films one after another and was immediately hooked. Then, I started to go to horror conventions all over from Chicago to Kansas City, Florida, North Carolina. Indiana. I then came up with a idea for a horror film called Leaf Blower Massacre. The story is about a young child who was abused when he was toddler and witnesses his father being murdered and 20 years later, decides to become a serial killer in Chicago. I wrote the script in 1 week and told some friends about it and then we began shooting it in the Fall of 2012. I made copies of the film and started to give them out to people at film festivals and even submitted it to them as well. Next thing I knew, people wanted a full length feature film of Leaf Blower Massacre.
I was really shocked by this thinking, wow, one of my ideas people actually like. So, I went home and thought well, I should continue the story, so I talked to my friend, Josh Stephenson and Michael Wade Johnson and asked if they would help continue this story. It took about 3 months to write it and go over it and finalize it. Then, in the fall of 2015, we started to film Leaf Blower Massacre 2. It took 2 and half years to film the project because of such factors as cinematographer moving and then hiring another one to complete the project and also composers and a couple editors to finish the project the right way.
I have to say it was a eye opening experience with what happened with this film. It really taught me who to trust and who not to trust when making a movie. I must say, the reason why it got completed was because of my good friends Derek Braasch (Cheevies productions and my high school friend Josh Studebaker helping me through the way . So, as of this year, the film is completed and out on DVD and can be purchased through the website www.leafblowermassacre2.com
The next project I’m working on is a short film called Redder (written by Christopher Siaens) which Derek Braasch and I are teaming up to film this project . Derek and I are also teaming with the director and produce a new horror feature in 2019.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Scheduling actors, sfx crew, locations, money (funding), post-production and promotion.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about T-Nasty Productions – what should we know?
I myself direct and act in some of the projects I produce. And also, some of the projects Faux pas (Candies Harem, Ovulation, Hematic web (post-production) and Cheevies productions has worked on such as clown dies at midnight, mutilation massacre, I would say. I’m most proud of the friends and associates I have made through out the years while making films. These are the people who will be honest on ideas and how to handle things in a project and will support you through the good times and bad.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Honest, trustworthy, loyal, dependable, hardworking, funny, supportive.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.leafblowermassacre2.com
- Phone: 773) 712-9069
- Email: Nailgunmassacre187@gmail.com
- Instagram: leafblowermassacre
- Facebook: http://leafblowermassacre2.com
- Twitter: leafmassacre
Image Credit:
Anthony Cooney, Sandra Cooney – Mother, Adam Green, Tina Boivin, Derek Braasch, Nina Trader
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