Henry Ian Cusick in new neo-noir thriller

NORTHERN MICHIGAN – Leland residents Jim Carpenter, Rebecca Reynolds and Ross Satterwhite finished shooting their latest feature film, The Girl on the Train, in New York City last week.

Producers and husband-and-wife team Reynolds and Carpenter formed their company, 8180 Films, together with Reynolds’ long-time writing partner, Larry Brand, in 2007. Their first feature film, the multiple award-winner “Christina,” premièred at the State Theatre in Traverse City in 2010 and was released in 2011.

Ross Satterwhite joined the team as executive producer for the company’s newest film project.

The Girl on the Train, written and directed by Brand, is a neo-noir thriller starring Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond Hume on the popular TV series, Lost, and now starring in ABC’s Scandal), Nicki Aycox (Jeepers Creepers II, X Files: I Want to Believe, Joyride: End of the Road, and the TV series Dark Blue), and Stephen Lang (Colonel Quaritch in Avatar, Nathaniel Taylor in the Fox TV series Terra Nova, and Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals).

Aycox and Lang also starred in “Christina.” In their new film, Cusick plays documentary filmmaker Danny Hart, who boards a train at Grand Central Terminal, heading to upstate New York to interview the subjects of his latest project.

A chance encounter with a mysterious young woman, Lexi (played by Nicki Aycox), leads him on a journey of a very different sort, and within the blink of an eye, Hart is forced to leave his complacent life behind for a world in which the line between fantasy and reality is blurred.

As Hart tells his strange story to police detective Lloyd Martin (Stephen Lang), he finds himself being questioned as Martin tries to discover whether Hart is the victim or the suspect in the strange affair.

“We have a great team for this project,” says Reynolds, “including Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated designer Patricia Field (The Devil Wears Prada and Sex in the City) and Cable ACE Award-winning cinematographer Dave Sperling (Remember Wenn, the documentary Lush Life: Billy Strayhorn, and Brand’s The Drifter). Part-time Leland resident Alexander Janko (Sucker and My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is also on board as the film’s composer.

“Drew McConnell, originally from Leland, worked on the film as Ian’s stand-in,” said Carpenter, “and Alex (Alexandra) Zenn, originally from Traverse City, did our extras casting and served as the assistant production office manager.”

Read more at GrandTraverse Insider