We have finally found the perfect screenplay for Easton Reyes AKA "The Dudeinator" short film -- The Hero !
What is the story about:
The Hero, written by Ryan Costello, is a superhero story about Cody, a high school student and an aspiring comic book artist who escapes his school bully, Jessup, to his imaginary world of superheroes and villains. When Cody's friend Kylie gets into trouble, the superhero of Cody's comic book, Crossfade, helps Cody find his own courage.
The Hero will go to production in January 22-23, 2022!
How can you help?
We still need your help to make this film happen! All donations will be used 100% to finance the film (crew, food, wardrobe, insurance, props, etc)
We are so grateful for all of those who have already donated and are making it possible for us to make this film a reality!!!
Easton is also excited to announce that he received the Brandon Gruber Scholarship from the National Down Syndrome Society that will go toward the production of this film!
CAST OF THE HERO
Easton as Cody:
Easton Reyes AKA The Dudeinator is a lifelong martial artist, actor, rapper, master flosser and he happens to have Down Syndrome! Easton is a go getter and has never let having Down Syndrome stop him from achieving his goals.
Easton has been studying acting for several years at Take 2 Performers Studio. He recently signed with DDO Kids and Monroe Talent Management.
One of Easton's goals is to become a successful actor and he would love to land a role on his favorite show, Cobra Kai. Easton's latest film/tv show was Memory Lane, in which he played a nursing assistant, Daniel LaRusso (yeah, we know -- a great name).
Easton: the actor
Jasmeet Baduwalia as Crossfade
Jazz started acting and modeling when he was 13 years old. He had the opportunity to train with Anthony Meindl, Howard Fine, and Marnie Cooper". Since then he has featured in a commercial for Nike and Co- Starred in Days of our Lives. He is best known for films and TV shows Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Carp-e Diem and Four.
Jasmeet in Capture Narcos
Isaias Osuna as Jessup and Garbage Man
Isaias is fascinated by the arts and has always been intrigued by modeling, singing and acting. He is very dedicated to fitness and weight training. Isaias has been acting since high school and has been attending Take 2 Performer Studio for two years now. The Hero will be Isaias' first major project in a leading role and he is excited and ready to work hard.
Isaias
Cicely Capozzi as Kylie
Cicely has been acting for 9 years. In addition to acting, she plays softball, volleyball and enjoys horseback riding. Cicely plans to attend college and pursue her acting career in Los Angeles after high school. Cicely's latest role was in the feature film Carp-e Diem.
Cicely
Darius Devine as Mr. Farrow
Darius grew up in Reno, NV where he attended Take 2 Performers Studio. He studied acting classes with Betty "Waters" Kennedy and instantly fell in love with the craft. Darius signed with Tru Talent Agency and later moved to LA where he went on to be featured on Revolt TV's Short n Fresh, and as a solo performer on Royal-T and has worked with Liza Koshy on her hit show Liza on Demand as well as multiple print and internet ads. Darius is looking forward to returning to his hometown of Reno to film The Hero.
Darius
Production:
The Hero will be produced by Mad Wife Productions. Shooting locations include Damonte Ranch High School. Also, we are happy to welcome the Damonte Ranch High School drama class to participate in the filming as extras!
Easton: the rapper
Casting:
Casting for The Hero was done by Justine Reyes of Tru Talent Agency
Justine has appeared in numerous national commercials and print campaigns and had the #1 selling poster in the mid 80’s which led to several features on national programs like The Bob Hope Special and PM Magazine. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Korea performing for our troops. Justine is the owner of Tru Talent Agency and Take 2 Performers Studio and has been developing and guiding talent since the late 90’s. Her clients have appeared in numerous local commercials and print ads as well as many national campaigns, television and film. She has been instrumental in helping local talent connect with LA based agents and casting directors to help further their careers in larger markets. Justine has helped cast previous Mad Wife Productions films and brings the highest quality actors and actresses to any film.
FILMMAKERS
MJ Palo (producer) – MJ is an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer. After working with directors Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth, MJ moved from screenwriting to producing and directing. MJ is best known for the feature films Baby Money and Carp-e Diem, short films Mommy's Pickles, The Target List, Black Eyes and Waking Up Eighty.
Andrew Arguello (co-director, cinematographer, editor) - Andrew started his film career by working for Disney. After moving back to Reno, he found his passion for film, digital cinema, and video production. Andrew has been involved with low-budget indie films as well as high-budget internationally acclaimed films. Andrew has worked with Gary Baum (Will & Grace), James Burrows (Will & Grace), and John Ealer (Netflix’s Roman Empire). Andrew is best known for films Carp-e Diem, No Virtue, Memory Lane, Capture Narcos, Black Eyes and Waking Up Eighty.
Courtney Ropp (co-director) - Courtney has been a filmmaker and performer for many years. She began her 10-year career as a Combat Photographer/Videographer in the US Army. This provided experience from documentary to narrative film and photographing on deployment all the way to the White House. Her performance work specializes in Improv having trained with the DC Improv, Finest City Improv, Reno Improv, among others. Courtney has an AA in Social Sciences and a Bachelors in Art & Outdoor Adventure Leadership influencing her passion in character development and emotions within scene work. She is a Producer and Director with Teensy Leader Pictures here in Reno, NV, who's films have won many festival awards.
Ryan Costello (writer) - Ryan is a Reno native actor and comedian who fell deep into the world of writing as a student of Theatre Arts at Southern Oregon University. He’s won acclaim and awards for his stage plays “Cody Stanfield I Know You Stole My Gameboy Color and Now the World Does Too” and “Emily Adams and Her Wonderful, Amazing, Extraordinary Death Ray”. Ryan’s gone on to write many screenplays including “Detective Noir! An Interactive Adventure” and “Ears”, both of which have been honored in Reno’s own Cordillera International Film Festival. Outside of writing, you can often catch Ryan around Reno’s growing theater community where he’s collaborated with Reno Little Theater, Good Luck Macbeth, Bruka Theater, Reno Improv, and the Reno-Tahoe Comedy Collective on multiple projects as a creator and a performer. He loves his wife Anna, his dog Jordie, and pretty much anything with Spider-Man in it.
Thank you for all your support and making this short film a possibility!
In honor of World Down Syndrome Day, let’s help Easton "The Dudeinator" raise funds to star in his own short!
All donations are much appreciated. Follow this fundraiser to get updates, including when the short film will be filmed and where to watch it.
Easton: the martial artist
Watch previous Mad Wife Productions Short films below:
The Target List proof of concept film -- feature film is currently in development
Star Wars Fan Film
Black Eyes proof of concept film -- feature is currently in development
Waking Up Eighty proof of concept film
What is the story about:
The Hero, written by Ryan Costello, is a superhero story about Cody, a high school student and an aspiring comic book artist who escapes his school bully, Jessup, to his imaginary world of superheroes and villains. When Cody's friend Kylie gets into trouble, the superhero of Cody's comic book, Crossfade, helps Cody find his own courage.
The Hero will go to production in January 22-23, 2022!
How can you help?
We still need your help to make this film happen! All donations will be used 100% to finance the film (crew, food, wardrobe, insurance, props, etc)
We are so grateful for all of those who have already donated and are making it possible for us to make this film a reality!!!
Easton is also excited to announce that he received the Brandon Gruber Scholarship from the National Down Syndrome Society that will go toward the production of this film!
CAST OF THE HERO
Easton as Cody:
Easton Reyes AKA The Dudeinator is a lifelong martial artist, actor, rapper, master flosser and he happens to have Down Syndrome! Easton is a go getter and has never let having Down Syndrome stop him from achieving his goals.
Easton has been studying acting for several years at Take 2 Performers Studio. He recently signed with DDO Kids and Monroe Talent Management.
One of Easton's goals is to become a successful actor and he would love to land a role on his favorite show, Cobra Kai. Easton's latest film/tv show was Memory Lane, in which he played a nursing assistant, Daniel LaRusso (yeah, we know -- a great name).
Easton: the actor
Jasmeet Baduwalia as Crossfade
Jazz started acting and modeling when he was 13 years old. He had the opportunity to train with Anthony Meindl, Howard Fine, and Marnie Cooper". Since then he has featured in a commercial for Nike and Co- Starred in Days of our Lives. He is best known for films and TV shows Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Carp-e Diem and Four.
Jasmeet in Capture Narcos
Isaias Osuna as Jessup and Garbage Man
Isaias is fascinated by the arts and has always been intrigued by modeling, singing and acting. He is very dedicated to fitness and weight training. Isaias has been acting since high school and has been attending Take 2 Performer Studio for two years now. The Hero will be Isaias' first major project in a leading role and he is excited and ready to work hard.
Isaias
Cicely Capozzi as Kylie
Cicely has been acting for 9 years. In addition to acting, she plays softball, volleyball and enjoys horseback riding. Cicely plans to attend college and pursue her acting career in Los Angeles after high school. Cicely's latest role was in the feature film Carp-e Diem.
Cicely
Darius Devine as Mr. Farrow
Darius grew up in Reno, NV where he attended Take 2 Performers Studio. He studied acting classes with Betty "Waters" Kennedy and instantly fell in love with the craft. Darius signed with Tru Talent Agency and later moved to LA where he went on to be featured on Revolt TV's Short n Fresh, and as a solo performer on Royal-T and has worked with Liza Koshy on her hit show Liza on Demand as well as multiple print and internet ads. Darius is looking forward to returning to his hometown of Reno to film The Hero.
Darius
Production:
The Hero will be produced by Mad Wife Productions. Shooting locations include Damonte Ranch High School. Also, we are happy to welcome the Damonte Ranch High School drama class to participate in the filming as extras!
Easton: the rapper
Casting:
Casting for The Hero was done by Justine Reyes of Tru Talent Agency
Justine has appeared in numerous national commercials and print campaigns and had the #1 selling poster in the mid 80’s which led to several features on national programs like The Bob Hope Special and PM Magazine. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States and Korea performing for our troops. Justine is the owner of Tru Talent Agency and Take 2 Performers Studio and has been developing and guiding talent since the late 90’s. Her clients have appeared in numerous local commercials and print ads as well as many national campaigns, television and film. She has been instrumental in helping local talent connect with LA based agents and casting directors to help further their careers in larger markets. Justine has helped cast previous Mad Wife Productions films and brings the highest quality actors and actresses to any film.
FILMMAKERS
MJ Palo (producer) – MJ is an award-winning screenwriter, director and producer. After working with directors Mikhael Bassilli and Luc Walpoth, MJ moved from screenwriting to producing and directing. MJ is best known for the feature films Baby Money and Carp-e Diem, short films Mommy's Pickles, The Target List, Black Eyes and Waking Up Eighty.
Andrew Arguello (co-director, cinematographer, editor) - Andrew started his film career by working for Disney. After moving back to Reno, he found his passion for film, digital cinema, and video production. Andrew has been involved with low-budget indie films as well as high-budget internationally acclaimed films. Andrew has worked with Gary Baum (Will & Grace), James Burrows (Will & Grace), and John Ealer (Netflix’s Roman Empire). Andrew is best known for films Carp-e Diem, No Virtue, Memory Lane, Capture Narcos, Black Eyes and Waking Up Eighty.
Courtney Ropp (co-director) - Courtney has been a filmmaker and performer for many years. She began her 10-year career as a Combat Photographer/Videographer in the US Army. This provided experience from documentary to narrative film and photographing on deployment all the way to the White House. Her performance work specializes in Improv having trained with the DC Improv, Finest City Improv, Reno Improv, among others. Courtney has an AA in Social Sciences and a Bachelors in Art & Outdoor Adventure Leadership influencing her passion in character development and emotions within scene work. She is a Producer and Director with Teensy Leader Pictures here in Reno, NV, who's films have won many festival awards.
Ryan Costello (writer) - Ryan is a Reno native actor and comedian who fell deep into the world of writing as a student of Theatre Arts at Southern Oregon University. He’s won acclaim and awards for his stage plays “Cody Stanfield I Know You Stole My Gameboy Color and Now the World Does Too” and “Emily Adams and Her Wonderful, Amazing, Extraordinary Death Ray”. Ryan’s gone on to write many screenplays including “Detective Noir! An Interactive Adventure” and “Ears”, both of which have been honored in Reno’s own Cordillera International Film Festival. Outside of writing, you can often catch Ryan around Reno’s growing theater community where he’s collaborated with Reno Little Theater, Good Luck Macbeth, Bruka Theater, Reno Improv, and the Reno-Tahoe Comedy Collective on multiple projects as a creator and a performer. He loves his wife Anna, his dog Jordie, and pretty much anything with Spider-Man in it.
Thank you for all your support and making this short film a possibility!
In honor of World Down Syndrome Day, let’s help Easton "The Dudeinator" raise funds to star in his own short!
All donations are much appreciated. Follow this fundraiser to get updates, including when the short film will be filmed and where to watch it.
Easton: the martial artist
Watch previous Mad Wife Productions Short films below:
The Target List proof of concept film -- feature film is currently in development
Star Wars Fan Film
Black Eyes proof of concept film -- feature is currently in development
Waking Up Eighty proof of concept film
Co-organizers2
MJ Palo
Organizer
Reno, NV
Justine Reyes
Co-organizer