In "Loosies," Stars Keep Rising for Two Cranston Actors

Cranston residents Tom DeNucci and Tom Paolino are two rising Hollywood stars that managed to break into show business without having to move to Los Angeles or New York and chase auditions in markets saturated with hungry actors.

The lifelong Rhode Island actors’ latest jobs were starring roles in “Loosies,” the newest film by East Greenwich-Based Verdi Productions, directed by famed Rhode Island director Michael Corrente (Outside Providence, Federal Hill).

Loosies is both a romantic comedy and cops and robbers story about a professional pickpocket who finds himself at a crossroads after a one night stand leads to an unexpected pregnancy. He’s forced to choose between his fast and free lifestyle pilfering pockets in the Big Apple or settling down, going legit and having a family. The wheels are set in motion when one of his victims happens to be a detective.

“And then the chase is on,” said Producer Chad A. Verdi, who last year released , a horror film that was shot in the old Cranston Police Station on Atwood Avenue and featured Robert Englund of Freddy Kruger fame in a Nightmare on Elm Street.

The two Toms also had starring roles in Inkubus and said in an interview that they’re both duking it out for roles in Verdi’s next — and most challenging — film: Paz, a story about graduate and former world lightweight and light middleweight boxing champion Vinny Paz, who in 1991, stunned the world when he staged a heroic comeback, defeating future WBC world Jr. middleweight champion Luis Santana in a 10-round decision just three months after he broke his neck in a serious car crash, entering the ring against doctor’s orders.

Although “Loosies” is set in New York, its Rhode Island roots are deep. Along with the two Toms, the film re-features the in numerous scenes and was shot in Cranston, Providence, “all over the state,” Verdi said.

“It utilized the state greatly and employed 110 local Rhode Islanders between extras and other people working to make the movie happen.”

“Loosies” isn’t a college YouTube project or a self-financed film with newcomers and amateurs behind the camera. It’s a multimillion dollar project starring big name talent like Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Donnie Brasco), Peter Facinelli (Twilight, Can’t Hardly Wait), Joe Pantoliano (Memento, The Matrix, Sopranos), Jaimie Alexander and William Forsythe. The film was picked up by the Independent Film Channel opens in select theaters in New York City tomorrow night.

For the Toms, working on these films has been a remarkable experience. DeNucci equated it to that of a just-drafted Major League rookie walking into spring training and getting a locker next to big leaguers and childhood heroes.

“I’ve been to New York, I’ve been in L.A.,” Paolino, cousin of former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr., said. “What every actor needs is a chance to show what they can do and that’s what me and Tommy have with Chad. He believes in us. He gives us a chance to demonstrate our skills.”

DeNucci said it’s “a true test doing what we love, actually stepping in there and sharing screen time with guys we’ve literally looked up to.”

Verdi said it’s all part of his plan to attach big Hollywood names to local actors from Rhode Island. He said in an interview that it’s important for him to give local actors the chance to get some attention. And the movies he’s produced helped him learn the business himself, to make the right connections. He needed to make the mistakes he can’t make in “Paz,” which is what everything has been leading towards. Paz will be the culmination of a long effort to position the film for widespread national release. Verdi bought the right some time ago knowing that it was an incredible story that needed to be told. A story that would resonate far beyond Rhode Island’s borders.

“When the rights came up I bought them for one reason: the story has to be told,” Verdi said. “Watch the promo and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. It’s the greatest comeback in sports history.”

“Loosies” will reach 80 million homes on video on demand starting on Feb. 20. It is already available to some 50 million people on video along with tomorrow's limited opening in New York. Verdi said he hopes the film will be shown at the Park Theatre at some point this year.

Paz will be the fourth film for Paolino and DeNucci working with Verdi and said he knows how to put together a great team. They described the producer’s style as similar to Patriots Head Coach Bill Belechick: pragmatic.

It harkens back to the old Hollywood studio system that worked well in the golden era where studios had staples of actors at their disposal who were plugged into roles as they came along.

“Our confidence has been built,” Paolino said. “We now have a foothold — a place to demonstrate that we belong in the big game.”

They’ve accumulated a substantial body of work in a short period of time and “It has opened up many other doors,” DeNucci said. “It has been tremendous.”

If things continue, Cranston might have to make room for two more spots next to Vinny Paz in its hall of fame of native sons.