The most disappointing thing about the trailer you're about to see is that it's a proof-of-concept trailer, which means there's no actual film yet. But the Vitale Brothers — yes, the muralists — have half the money they need to make the film, according to Johnny Vitale.
"My brother and I were traveling doing our job as muralists up in Maryland and we happened to drive down a road called Sleepyhollow. That's when we started thinking about different towns and their legends," Vitale said. "I said we should be the first ones to officially tell the story of the mini lights, at least as we knew it with input from our community."
For those of you unfamiliar with the idea of the mini lights, they're a persistent urban legend centered on St. Pete's Roser Park. You can read one account of them here , but the least you need to know is this: Mini lights, also called "midget lights," were diminutive humanoid creatures who would turn into balls of light and attack people, usually on the bridge near Booker Creek (there are also reports of mini lights near Gulfport's Boca Ciega High School and Lincoln Cemetery)."We've known about the mini lights since we moved into town back in ’88," Vitale said, and the trailer — a proof-of-concept trailer, not an advertisement — will be the basis for the movie. Vitale told CL the brothers have a treatment, have raised half the $150,000 needed to make the film and, most importantly, some experience.
"We had already done a movie with Javier Fick, who is our director of photography," Vitale said of Ignition, which he called a "fun community project." They made that film for $700, but, he aded, "it was just a short film."
The brothers also work as art directors on major films when they come through the Tampa Bay area, Vitale said:
"That's when we got our real experience to how this machine works."
Expect a crowdfunding launch soon — we'll keep you posted.
