Wanna be in a movie? Wanna have a part in making a movie? Folks in the Henderson area will have their chance soon, because Bill DiNicola is looking for locals to be a part of Drive-In Movie Massacre, a comedy/horror slasher film that is going to be shot on location at Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre.
And one thing he says for sure: the world premiere of the movie will be held right here in Henderson, at the iconic drive-in.
DiNicola, who got his start right here at WIZS, has moved to television and movie production, and he can’t wait to start filming. He said filming should begin in August or September of this year, and the final product is scheduled to be ready by September 2026. He’s formed a film company, ColaNatio Films, and he hopes this is just the beginning of having movies filmed in Vance County
He’s always been a big fan of horror movies, and his work in pre-production is what helped him get to this point in his career – creating a feature-length film.
Well, not Tom Cruise-Mission Impossible length feature film, but he said on Monday’s TownTalk that, with credits, the movie will be close to 90 minutes.
DiNicola said you need three things to make a movie – “a camera, a place to shoot and a story that people might be interested in.”
Camera, check. A place to shoot – the iconic drive-in in Henderson, check. And the story that people will be interested in. Check.
The script is about 54 pages in so far, and needs to be 80 pages or so. But it’s at the point where DiNicola is seeking funding for the project.
And a little star power.
He said he’s got local newsman-turned celebrity Mark Roberts on board for the project, as well as a “soft commitment” from Darcy the Mail Girl, who’s known in the horror/comedy genre.
The movie is a movie within a movie, DiNicola said – “It’s a slasher movie about people going to the movies to watch a movie about people going to the movie and getting massacred.”
And in the case of this movie, people are coming to the Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre to see the movie.
“When you have an asset like that and you find out that people are interested in it and want to make it happen,” it’s a natural fit.
DiNicola said he sees Vance County as a great place to make movies, from the drive-in to Kerr Lake and more.
“What I really want to do,” he said, “is make movies in Vance County,” where he spent so much time as a child. “The woods, Kerr Lake…everything (is) kind of rolled into one In Vance County. The only thing you don’t have is film crews working in Vance County.”
He wants to change that.
Contact DiNicola at colanatio@gmail.com, 252.432.2235 or find him on Facebook.
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