Local actress, Kelly Buterbaugh, on the set of Bloodrunners, a locally-filmed movie.
Blood. Prohibition. Vampires. Speakeasies.
These are the themes that run thicker than blood through the new, locally-filmed movie, Bloodrunners. The film, which features Ice-T, the legendary gangsta hip-hop emcee and Law & Order SVU actor, will be shown this weekend in Philadelphia at a private screening for the actors, cast, and crew.
Bloodrunners, an original script written by Dan Lantz and Michael McFadden of Malvern and Adam Danoff of Norristown, is about a corrupt cop who discovers that the popular speakeasy in his 1930s prohibition-era town has been infiltrated by vampires. Lantz directed the film, Danoff is the producer, and McFadden is the lead actor.
The film is expected to have a public premier at a later date.
Philly Happening caught up with Kelly Buterbaugh, of Wilmington, DE, who works at Temple University, to discuss her experience acting in Bloodrunners and why the film has something for everyone.
P.H.: Tell us about your character in the film.
K.B.: I play Lilly. She is a prostitute in a whorehouse called Rose’s Thorns. I’m kind of Rose’s second-hand. All the girls that work there have flower names: Violet, Rose, Lilly. My character has a little bit of a romance with one of the cops. My character witnesses a lot of violence and I end up helping Rose at the end when all the drama starts happening. There was some screaming involved!
P.H.: How did you originally get involved with the film?
K.B.: I’m a theater kid, but I’ve done some film work before. I’ve been doing commercial-work. I’ve been wanting to do more film for a long time, but it’s hard to get film work around here. I was modeling a bit, and the director, Dan, found me on the Website modelmayhem.com.
P.H.: What was it like filming locally?
K.B.: It was really cool! The scenes showing the outside of the whorehouse were filmed showing the outside of an old farmhouse, owned by Mike Harvey, who is a makeup artist on Law & Order, who is a friend of the Dan Lantz’s (the director). Mike is how we got connected with Ice-T for the film. The house is located in Souderton.
For the inside of the whorehouse, Dan rented out a bed and breakfast in West Chester. The women who worked there told us that it was definitely haunted!
P.H.: How would you describe the filming experience?
K.B.: It was definitely a lot different than my other experiences. I didn’t really know what to expect because this was my first principle role in this kind of realm. Dan is a different kind of director. He’s really hands-on. The whole experience was exciting—Dan wanted to get everything absolutely perfect. He takes a lot of retakes of the same scene to get it just right.
P.H.: What can people look forward to when it premiers for the public?
K.B.: It’s got everything that is awesome: it’s got violence and sex, and all kinds of things! The plot has a little bit of a twist. This is a period piece, so I loved the costumes and the props. And the old cars! We rented antique cars to use for this film and it was amazing!
The biggest thing I want to sing praises to are the actors. The acting was great. It was an awesome group of people. They reminded me of theater in the sense that everyone was fully-committed and not too big on themselves.
P.H.: Are you looking forward to today’s private screening?
K.B.: I’m really excited to see it! It will be nice to catch up with everyone and see what they’ve been up to. I’m looking forward to it!
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