I don’t think it’s possible for Cody Knotts to top Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies, his last feature film, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to try!
Local Suspense Thriller – ‘Gore Orphanage’ – Scheduled to Begin Filming in Historic Frick Mansion in July
Husband-and-wife filmmaking team announces media day event slated for Friday
A new, feature-length suspense thriller will be filmed in Henry Clay Frick’s Scottsdale mansion known as Graystone Manor – and members of the media are cordially invited to get a behind-the-scenes look at the movie, as well as a sneak peak at the long-cordoned off building at a media day Friday.
The movie, titled “Gore Orphanage,” is the brain child of the husband-and-wife filming team Cody Knotts and Emily Lapisardi of Uniontown. Knotts, a Washington County native and former newspaper publisher and Republican state House candidate, and Lapisardi, a music instructor, accomplished musician and historical re-enactor, said the film is based on an Ohio legend. Knotts is the film’s executive producer while Lapisardi is the director.
“It is a period piece that is more about mood than overt gore,” Knotts said, adding that the movie’s tagline is, “Some things are worse than losing your family.”
Set in 1934, the movie follows a little girl named Nellie (played by South Park native Emma Smith, 9) who is sent to the Gore Orphanage following the death of her family. There she meets one of the film’s main antagonists, Mrs. Pryor (played by Maria Olsen of Los Angeles, who also appeared in “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightening Thief” and the box-office hit comedy “Neighbors”) and her assistant, Miss Lillian (played by Keri Maletto of Miami) who Knotts said is “the one ray of sunshine in the horrible place.” Once there, Nellie makes two special friends, Esther (played by Nora Hoyle, 8, of Mt. Lebanon) and Buddy (played by Brandon Mangin, 9, of Taylorstown).
“They are like ‘The Three Muskateers,’” Knotts said. Throughout the movie, Nellie and her friends deal with a bully named Harmon (played by Jeremy Kaluza, 15, of Cleveland), a mysterious German immigrant who serves not only as the orphanage’s janitor but also as a mentor of sorts for the boys who live there – and more disturbingly, a series of deaths at the orphanage. Knotts said the role of that janitor, Ernst, is being played by Washington County native Bill Townsend, who is an author, motivational speaker and serial entrepreneur (Paul Walker fans will remember him as the man standing next to the actor in the last picture taken before the fatal car crash that claimed his life).
“He’s an outsider to everybody,” Knotts said of the character. “He is very child-like and gets along with children better, perhaps, than he should.”
Members of the media are invited to attend a media day scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Friday one location to meet Townsend and other members of the cast, and to see first-hand the period costumes created for the movie. And the set itself? It can’t get any more authentic, he said.
“This is truly unique for Pittsburgh, to have a historic building like Graystone Manor as the backdrop of the movie,” Knotts said. “We’re filming nearly every scene there. The space is real.” But that isn’t the only thing unique about the film. “This is going to be a character-driven, female-directed suspense thriller in which all the major roles are women,” he said. “You don’t get that in horror.”
Follow this film on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goreorphanagethemovie
