by April Helms

Special Products Editor

Larry and his younger brother Aaron Longstreth have been working to make a name for themselves in producing short, quirky films and animated features.

They hope to take their film company, Bullcrank, to the next level in the near future by making a full-length feature film.

That dream is one step closer to reality with the near-completion of "The Wimp Whose Woman was a Werewolf," which was filmed in Stow, Akron, Streetsboro and New York City, said Larry Longstreth.

"It was filmed in Ohio and New York City both ... we even filmed in the home of Lloyd and his wife, the New York Film Commissioner, which is pretty crazy and unheard of," Longstreth said in a March 18 e-mail.

"Werewolf" is near completion, he added.

"We're actually finishing the film up this week," Longstreth said in a March 18 e-mail. "It will then be edited both here and at an editing suite at The University of Cincinnati. We're then going to hold premieres to make the money we spent back. We'll probably hold one in Stow, one at Kent State, and one at The University of Akron."

"Werewolf" features stars Big Chuck" Schodowksi of "Big Chuck and Little John," Lloyd Kaufman (co-founder of Troma), and Cleveland actress Marisa Tomasic, as well as Larry and Aaron Longstreth. Former WWE announcer Kevin Kelly lends his voice as the "radio man" and WWE wrestler and former tag team champion Marty Jannetty has offered his services in a brief cameo, Longstreth said.

The werewolf itself stands at nine feet tall and was created by Paul Molner, first unit makeup/effects man from the "Chronicles of Narnia" films. Playing the wolf is Clint George, "who endured over four hours of makeup/prosthetics each day and over an hour of makeup removal after each shoot," Longstreth said.

Minor make-up and post production effects are being handled by Al Tuskes, makeup/fx man from films such as "Hulk" and "Van Helsing."

The film will premiere at a to-be-announced date alongside "The Greatest Fan Film of All Time," the sequel to "Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face," animated by Bullcrank animator Jacob Drake.

"We're pretty stacked with celebrities," Longstreth said of the voice talent used in "Fan Film."

Voice actors include "Our Lady Peace" lead singer Raine Maida, James Gunn (writer of Dawn of the Dead, Scooby Doo, and Slither) and WWE wrestler Stevie Richards.

"Our goal is to finish this short film and use it along with our other works to find investors for a feature film," Longstreth said. "Films are made all over Ohio and the rest of the country but it's our goal to prove that not only can a feature film be made in Stow, but that it can be made well and that it can even find great distribution. Once the feature is completed, the gang is moving to L.A. to shop it around and attach ourselves to other projects. We've worked with some big names and there's nothing more cut-throat than L.A, but we've established a tight group of friends who plan to stick together in our little Hollywood bubble for as long as we can."

The full-length feature is still in the idea stage, Longstreth said.

"All we know so far is that it's going to be a tongue-in-cheek mock-documentary," Longstreth said. "[It's] a cross between the original 'The Office' and movies like 'Best in Show.' We want to tell the story of an individual who lived a pretty crazy life and we want to divide his life into five chapters, each at a ridiculously unique setting with strange and quirky characters. We've thrown around so many ideas but we aren't able to devote 100 percent of our time to it just yet. We have to get these short films wrapped and premiered before we move on to 'the big one.' I know that I'm probably going to aim for a budget of around $200,000 and I don't think it will be all that hard to get one, given the success of our shorts."

For details on Bullcrank and the company's other films, visit www.bullcrank.com, or myspace.com/larryfilmmaker.