Watch Richard Grieco in Minutes to Midnight

If you're a fan of independent movies, you know the wheels turn slowly in that industry--so slowly that you may sometimes forget about a film you'd heard referenced or assume that it wasn't moving forward.

It's been more than five years since I first talked to writer Christopher Don about his film, Minutes to Midnight, and the role he reformulated specifically for Richard Grieco. (Here's a refresher, in case you've forgotten what this film is all about and why you want to see it.)

Since that time, the film has gone through some cast changes, a change in production companies, and more. But, it's finally here.

Here's the new trailer:

   

You can watch Minutes to Midnight TODAY on iTunes or Amazon, and a DVD version will follow in September. There's no reason to hold back: if you're eager to check out Don's New Year's Eve-based horror film, go ahead and rent it. Now. You can still buy the DVD when it becomes available.

Minutes to Midnight Trailer

I've been unforgivably delinquent in bringing you this one, which has been out for nearly a year.

 

The delay is especially bad in view of the fact that I've talked to writer Christopher Don about this film multiple times, through a false start and then the actual shooting. Don even talked about how he'd long wanted to work with Richard Grieco and had tailored the role for Richard.

The trailer, with its bright, sunshiny opening scenes and a bunch of pretty young people arriving for a stay in the woods brought A Cabin in the Woods to mind, but Don set me straight on that in no time. Minutes to Midnight is no parody: Don is an old school horror fan and that's the kind of film he's going to bring you.

The cast has changed a bit since the first iteration, losing Kane Hodder and gaining William Baldwin. No worries, though: the hot wrestler is still with us. And, of course, the man you're all here to read about, playing the Sheriff.

Minutes to Midnight Movie Poster

The official movie poster for Richard's upcoming movie, Minutes to Midnight, was unveiled today.

I'll have more information for you soon, but wanted to make sure you didn't miss this.

Minutes to Midnight Wraps

On April 9, Minutes to Midnight screenwriter Christopher Don reached out to let me know that filming had wrapped on the film. I know I've been remiss in getting this news out to you, but I have a very good excuse--that very same day, my little town was hit by a tornado.

Having missed the "big reveal" moment, I thought today would be a good day to share the news, since it's Don's birthday. (I won't tell you how old he is because I don't want you to feel as old as I do.)

There have been some changes since I first talked to Don about Minutes to Midnight in 2013. But, we'll get to the details a little later. I know what you really want to hear about is Richard's role, and I think you're going to love what you hear.

Richard Grieco in Minutes to Midnight

Don told me that he was pretty confident this would be Richard's best role in 20 years. If that sounds ambitious coming from a guy who is just seeing his first feature film come to life, consider the history. First, as you may recall, Don is something of a Richard Grieco fan. In fact, I've heard a rumor (okay, I heard it from him) that in those pre-show-biz days when Don was parking cars on the graveyard shift, he'd watch 21 Jump Street on his laptop and think about working with Grieco one day.

M2M Screenwriter Christopher Don with Richard Grieco

He's also called Richard "the ultimate bad-ass" for his ability to both be tough and show an emotional side; in other words, he has a solid understanding of and appreciation for Richard's strengths as an actor. And, the role was beefed up and adapted to take advantage of those strengths after Richard came on board. I'm very interested to see where that takes us.

But, Richard isn't the only reason to watch out for this movie.

Other Reasons You May Want to See Minutes to Midnight

1. The production brings Richard back together with director Christopher Olen Ray, producer Gerald Webb and writer Victoria Dadi, who previously collaborated on A House is Not a Home--"Best Horror Feature" winner at the 2014 Burbank International Film Festival.

2. William Baldwin has joined the cast. The Baldwin boys have never been my type, but they can act. And, as an added bonus (in case you're one of the many who has trouble keeping them straight), this is the one I've recently heard referred to as "the Baldwin who's still pretty." He's the one who played Serena's dad on Gossip Girl.

3. John Hennigan is still in the cast. Okay, that's not new information, but have you seen this guy? If you're not a WWE fan, take a moment to Google him. I promise you're going to like it.

There's more, of course, but Minutes to Midnight is just days into post-production at this point and we'll have plenty of time to talk about it between now and the day we get to see the finished film. Stay tuned!

Christopher Don Talks Richard Grieco's Minutes to Midnight Character

Last week, I talked with Minutes to Midnight writer/producer Christopher Don about Richard Grieco's role in the upcoming thriller.

In case you're just hearing about the film, here's the short description:

On the countdown to the New Year, seven friends and a mysterious backpacker form an alliance at a desolate mountain ski lodge where they are methodically hunted down by ruthless, sadistic masked men with an unknown agenda.

I had some questions about Richard's character, Sheriff Wyatt. The married, long-time Sheriff described in the original script didn't exactly bring Grieco springing to my mind. He's said many times that he accepts roles based on interest in the character AND he's repeatedly asserted over the past couple of years that he's pulling back form acting to focus on his artwork...so, what was he doing in this part?

Don cleared up all of those doubts for me in minutes. First, when I asked him what had brought Grieco to mind for this part, he said, "Richard is the ultimate badass. He knows how to be tough but also show an emotional side."

I'm no wrestling fan, but there's no
denying that this guy is pretty.

He went on to say that the character had evolved a bit since Richard had come on board: Wyatt is no longer married and is "not purely good." Ah, a character with personal demons that we'll uncover as the movie progresses--that sounds more like Richard. (I mean, let's be honest...you kind of thought he might turn out to be the killer, didn't you?)

Don also said that since Richard had signed on, they'd "beefed up the role big time." And--added bonus for Grieco fans--those personal demons he mentioned earlier play a role in the sequel.

Under other circumstances, I'd say talking sequels was a bit optimistic at this stage of the game. But with loaners from two mega-franchises already on board (Kane Hodder of Friday the 13th fame and John Morrison from the WWE), those ambitious plans may just be realistic.

As you may have guessed from the design above and the whole "New Year's Eve hiking" theme, filming requires snow. Don says they'll be shooting in late February or early March, regardless of the outcome of the IndieGoGo campaign in progress.

More to come as updates are available. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this one.