Los Angeles, CA. (04/12/24) - Crowd-funded independent film is alive and well in Hollywood, and The Star City Murders is chewing up bandwidth to prove it. The gripping thriller about a down-and-out detective who gets a second chance at redemption when a serial killer with an appetite for flesh terrorizes his city is coming to a streaming platform near you. Distributed by Gravitas Ventures, The Star City Murders will be available on April 16, 2024, on multiple platforms spread throughout the internet, cable, and satellite for rent and purchase. The Star City Murders follows veteran detective Frank Brody and his rookie partner, in the fictional town of Star City, trying to track down a serial killer, whose calling card is unlike anything they've ever seen before. Brody hasn't closed a big case in a long time, but when he is handed a case with a mutilated body, everything changes. Soon a second homicide is reported, with another mutilated body. Using old fashioned legwork, Brody discovers the case could be connected to somebody's past in the department. The mystery that unfolds hits very close to home. What started out as a desire by writer/actor/producer Heath Centazzo to bring back the kind of independent film he enjoyed in his youth became a reality through a combination of interested investors and a successful Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign in 2020. Now completed and ready for its debut, The Star City Murders was acquired by all-rights independent film distributor Gravitas Ventures in January of this year. "I really want to find the right fit for our little film," Centazzo says. "Gravitas Ventures was always my first choice. They have a great reputation, and I knew some filmmakers that had their films picked up by them. In November 2023, we had a meeting with Bill Guentzler, VP of acquisitions for Gravitas. Immediately, I knew Gravitas would be the perfect home for our film and I'm very excited to get our film out to the world." Rating in the top 20 for pre-orders, the film will be released as a rental on VOD platforms, rent-on-demand, Comcast, Affinity, Spectrum, Altice Cablevision, Cox, Dish Network, Verizon FIOS, Frontier, Sudden Link, Media Com, Armstrong, iTunes, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, VUDU, Google Play, Youtube, Microsoft, Vimeo, and Rogers in Canada, with a Blu-ray/DVD release as well. Featuring a cast of fresh faces alongside familiar talents, including Michelle Lukes (Strike Back, A Christmas in New York), Austin Highsmith Garces (Dolphin Tale, Scream: The TV Series), Jason Graham (The Outsider, Kingdom Business), Charlie Farrell (Roger Corman's Death Race 2050, American Horror Story), Amy Motta (9-1-1 Lone Star, Grey's Anatomy) and Tim Russ (Alien Nation, Star Trek: Voyager, The Orville), director Giles Andrews delivers a film noir-esque thriller with nods to such great crime dramas as Seven and Mindhunter. "It's a true-crime drama with interesting characters," Centazzo says. "Anybody that likes Mindhunter, True Detective, and other detective film noir crime dramas, would be the main audience. With a low budget, we concentrated on strong characters and storyline, since we don't have things blowing up. We shot it locally in LA for under 100k, but it looks like a million dollars." For those looking for more backstory to this incredible journey, Centazzo's production company CE Productions has launched its Star City Murders Podcast to the public. Originally recorded in 2020-2022 for Kickstarter backers, the podcast chronicles the process from script through production, with discussions by members of the crew. New podcasts are being produced currently to welcome the actors and those who helped with the distribution, bringing the backstory to completion. THE STAR CITY MURDERS PODCAST can be found here. For more information on The Star City Murders visit the official website here. Contact Joe Venegas (inquiries@ctc-pr.com) for more details, or to discuss potential story ideas for this thrilling addition to the horror noir genre.
Police station briefing: Amy Motta, Tim Russ, Heath Centazzo, Michelle Lukes.
Amy Motta, Charlie Farrell, Jason Graham. Night of drinks after Ed Hirsch winning big case.
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