World Premiere Is Here for ‘The Crusades’ As ‘Cobra Kai’ ‘Goodfellas’ Stars Lead Cast
It’s a historic week for Chicago motion picture studio Bad Little Thing, Inc. Their debut feature film, the dramatic comedy The Crusades, will be released on VOD and Digital this Friday, July 7th. The comedy will also command the big screen July 7 – 12 at the historic Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge, not far from the film’s shooting locations in the Chicagoland area suburbs of Glenview, Wildwood, and Niles.
Starring Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks), Kahlil Everage (Cobra Kai), Mike Starr (Goodfellas) Nicholas Turturro (The Longest Yard), Indiana Massara (Hero Mode), Ashley Nicole Williams (Motherland: Fort Salem), Blaine Maye (Joe Bell) and Anna Maiche (Tiny Pretty Things) and introducing Ryan Ashton, The Crusades presents a riotous tale of life at an all-boys high school.
So what can you expect when you head to the Pickwick Theatre this week? For many, high school is supposed to be defined by wild parties, backseat hook-ups and a devil-may-care attitude. But, when three friends at Our Lady of the Crusades, an all-boys high school, receive earth-shattering news about an upcoming merger with their rivals, they make a pact to have one last, epic weekend before their lives turn upside down. Along the way, however, they unknowingly make a dangerous enemy, “The Wrecking Crew,” hell-bent on settling their vendetta at all costs. While dodging the authorities, love affairs and their sadistic archrivals, the choices they make over the weekend might end up changing their lives more than they ever could have imagined.
Written by three friends who were inspired to write the script, given their own experience attending an all-boys private high school,The Crusades was filmed in the Northwest side of Chicago.
Here is your first look at The Crusades…
Collaboration Cultivated at Columbia College Chicago
After attending an all-boys private high school on the northwest side of Chicago, Leo Milano studied at Columbia College Chicago where he met producer Brent Madison and cinematographer Dillon Schneider, who he would later collaborate with on The Crusades.
While in college, Leo discovered that his high school experience was nothing like his new classmates. “I was shocked to realize that the majority of the public have never witnessed the beautiful madness that is an all-male high school and became determined to tell the story”, said writer-director Milano.
Leo then teamed up with high school friends and collaborators, Shaun Early and Jack Hussar and set out to write what they believe to be a realistic view of teenage life in the Midwest, inspired by their time in high school. Over the last decade, the trio wrote countless episodes, filmed two TV spec pilots, and shopped the concept around Hollywood, until they finally got the project made as a feature film, now known as, The Crusades.
“The Crusades was a film born out of love of story and passion for filmmaking. The film stays true to the creators original vision and that’s what we set out to do, make a movie that was uniquely ours. I know we certainly achieved that, and I couldn’t be happier with how this first feature endeavor turned out. It took everything our cast, crew, and supporters had to see this film through and I’m excited for audiences to finally share in their experience with us,” said producer Madison.
What’s next for this production company? Bad Little Thing is already out to talent and financing for its second film, Ten Cent Beer Night.
Credits for THE CRUSADES Include…
Directed by: Leo Milano
Co-Written by: Leo Milano, Jack Hussar, Shaun Early
Produced by: Brent Madison
Associate Produced by: Nadia Davari
Executive Produced by: Shaun Early, James Fraghia, David Oogie Kim,Edward R. Krieger, Jr., Tom McGregor, Gabby Smith, Jared Smith, Villam Ventures, Nicholas Turturro III, Nicholas Turturro
Director of Photography: Dillon Schneider
Distributor: VMI Releasing
For more from this production, follow THE CRUSADES on Instagram at @thecrusadesfilm or visit their online home at thecrusadesfilm.com
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