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w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER W e dn es da y, O ct ob er 2 7, 2 01 0 2 2 Moon Point is the little film that could the travelling duo along the way. The film nearly did not start to begin with. It is the project of Sean Cisterna, who is directing the feature-length film and was written by him and Robert Lazar. The project initially had an allotted budget of about $1 million some four or five years ago. Over the years, the budg- et dwindled away as the money was spent on other projects. Then Cisterna called Potenza. However, Potenza, an actors' union member could not get involved with the non-union film, so with- in a weeks time it was con- verted. Then Potenza called his friends. I called all my famous Canadian friends and they all agreed to do it, he said. The film features cameos Continued from page 21 from Canadian actors such as Jane Eastwood, Linda Cash, Jane Moffat and others. Weve got a good buzz going on within the industry, Potenza said. He said people in the industry liked the script and the project snowballed from something that could not afford to pay its actors to a production with many big Canadian names. We started off small. I got on the phone and I called some people . . .and everything fell into place. This is a good thing. This is the little film that could, he said. Potenza is not the only Oakvillian in the production either. His friend and colleague Alex Verdurmen, a T.A. Blakelock High School graduate, is production manager on the film. The 23-year-old Verdurmen had been working for an advertising com- pany, where he connected with Potenza. In June of this year he took a chance and left the advertising indus- try in pursuit of his dream in the film world. He said it was a challenge at first to get the film started because of its depleted budget. It eventually got to the point that (Cisterna) wanted to shoot. The script was championed by a lot of people, they love the script. He wanted to shoot, but he didnt have the budget any more, Verdurmen said. Then, through work done by Potenza, the film became part of the ACTRA Toronto union and its Toronto Indie Productions (TIP) program, which allows ACTRA per- formers to work for minimum ACTRA rates on low-budget productions. It allows us to get top-tier talent on a very small budget and thats whats given us access to these great Canadian names. They read the script and they want to be a part of it, Verdurmen said. He noted that the big names are a boost to the credibility of the show and are a boon to work with for the younger stars of the film. Three of our principal roles are sort of up-and-coming younger guys in the Canadian circuit. It has allowed them to do this great work with established names in the Canadian film industry, he said. The film producers are hoping the film runs at next years Toronto International Film Festival and then at festivals around the world. In his career, Potenza has had roles on many productions, not just in commercials. He appeared in Jackie Chans The Tuxedo, CBC Televisions The Tournament and was the voice of Jude on the 6Teen animated series, among many other roles. NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER GOING BIG: Actor Christian Potenza (right) as Ricky with Nick McKinlay as Darryl in Moon Point.