Four “Conrad” crime drama episodes comprise pilot

CONRAD,” A CRIME DRAMA SERIES produced by Chicago-based Conrad, LLC, has completed the pilot episode of a proposed 10-episode series.

Created by Ryan Atkins and written by Jennifer Goodman, who also stars, director is filmmaker John Wesley Norton of Boomstick Films of Downstate Maple Park.

The plot concerns a young woman (Goodman) determined to prove the innocence of her deceased father, a former police chief (Edward Dennis Fogell) and becomes victim to her own troubled past as she discovers her father’s death is more twisted than she could have fathomed.

Also starring Harold Dennis, Walt Sloan, Shannon Brown, Brian Barber and Trey Waldman, among a cast of 35.

Production began in August has thus far shot 15 days on Chicago locations. The producers (Goodman, Atkins and Kelli Tidmore) are seeking $10,000 via a gofundme campaign to shoot four additional days on the pilot, budgeted at $49,000. To date, $4,000 has been raised from the crowdsourcer.

COMEDY WEB SERIESTHANKS A LATTE,” from Megan St. John’s Third Wheel Entertainment, has produced three 22-minute episodes, for a budget of $15-$18,000, and is planning on a March shoot, with the goal of releasing four 22-minute episodes as season one on YouTube.

“Thanks a Latte” is about a trio of twentysomething baristas (St. John Brian Walsh and Jack Dwyer) who find temporary escape from the boredom of their daily grind in the form of various shenanigans.

Production that started in late September involved 13 shoot days at the Jupiter Outpost Café in Fulton Market and other Chicago locations. Produced by St. John, Kelley and Smith; DP, Tom Kinstle, sound mixer Ryan Harden; music composed by Jake Kinstle.

A TRAILER GARNERED 3 MILLION VIEWS when it went viral a week ahead of the Jan. 20 release for horror film “Dead Story,” that follows a young married couple (Kelsey Deanne and Chase Austin) who discover their first new home is haunted.

“Dead Story” is the producer / director feature debut of DePaul grad Suneel Tripuraneni, written by Bruce W. Durbin for production company Texas-based Twister Entertainment LLC. It was shot in Celina, Texas with a cast of 17.

Using grassroots marketing efforts, family and friends of the cast and crew shared the trailer on social media and eventually it was shared within the horror-fan community as well.

INDIE FILMTHROUGH IT ALL,” a dramatic non-union feature from Daniel Sprouse’s The Drama Family and Quietly Outspoken Productions, is currently casting and will start shooting in April. The inspirational coming-of-age story is about a young man growing up in Gary, and the conflict between his Christian upbringing and connections to inner city life.

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