Hometown boy returns to show indie movie at OHS

Oxford High School graduate Zach Throne (far left), co-executive producer of the independent movie “Cadia: The World Within” poses with the triplets who star in the film (from left) Keegan, Tanner and Carly Sells. All of them attended a special screening of the movie at the OHS Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Aug. 4. Photo by C.J. Carnacchio.

Zach Throne is no stranger to the stage inside Oxford High School’s Performing Arts Center.

As a student, he had leading roles in memorable productions of “Dracula,” “The 39 Steps” and “A Christmas Story.”

On Sunday, the 2012 OHS graduate, returned to that same stage not to entertain with his acting, but to show his new independent movie to family, friends and residents of his hometown.

A total of 120 people attended a special screening of “Cadia: The World Within,” the first feature film released by the Columbus, Ohio-based Just a Skosh Productions (JASP).

“I thought it went great,” he said. “I was happy with the turnout. I thought it went smoothly. There were no hiccups, nothing crashed on me . . . I was pleased.”

Throne is the co-founder and financial director of JASP.

“It’s been a long time (since I’ve been at OHS),” he said. “A lot of great stuff has happened (since then). At the end of the day, I’m humbled and blessed to be back here.”

“Cadia: The World Within” tells the tale of three 14-year-old siblings – Matthew, David and Renee Addams – who get transported to the mystical realm of Cadia. There, they become involved in the struggle between good and evil. The film is a coming-of-age story that explores the concepts of grace, love and doubt.

“A lot of Facebook reviews have been positive so far,” said Throne, who is co-executive producer of the film.

“I’m totally biased, but I loved it. I thought it was great,” said Tim Throne, Zach’s dad and superintendent of Oxford Community Schools.

Tim was quite impressed with the movie’s production value.

Because it was an independent film and JASP’s first one, Tim admitted, “I was not expecting as high a quality as what I saw.”

“This is like what you would see with any other big studio (production),” he said.

Accompanying Throne for the special Oxford screening were the three actors who portrayed the Addams siblings – 16-year-old triplets Carly, Tanner and Keegan Sells, residents of Columbus, Ohio.

“The story was written around them,” he said.

Throne had nothing but praise for the triplets’ strong work ethic and expressed his desire to work with them again in the future.

“I love them. They were great,” he said.

According to Tanner, this was their first movie on “this scale.”

“We really learned a lot, (including) how draining, but (also) how exciting the experience really is,” he said. “It’s so different than so many people (make) it out to be. It’s unreal. It’s amazing.”

Keegan thinks the finished product is “great.”

“I really liked it,” he said.

“I was so surprised and excited just to be a part of it, but to see it all come together was a really cool experience,” added Carly.

Throne noted having triplets acting together in a movie is “unique” and it’s one of the reasons why well-known English actor James Phelps agreed to be in “Cadia.”

Phelps and his identical twin brother, Oliver Phelps, performed in the popular Harry Potter movies as Fred and George Weasley, respectively, from 2001-11.

“He enjoyed that so much working with his brother,” said Throne, who noted Phelps wanted to be part of that same type of experience with the Sells.

Following the screening, the audience was given an opportunity to ask questions.

“They got a little bit of a snapshot as to what it takes to make a film,” Throne said.

In Throne’s view, many people assume everything just “magically falls into place” once the cameras start rolling, but the reality is, “it’s a journey and it’s a commitment” to bring ideas to the big screen.

Throne is hoping to have another screening at Oxford’s LakePoint Community Church, one of the movie’s sponsors.

“We’re working on that right now,” he said. “We’re hoping (to have it) probably sometime in mid-to-late fall. We want to make sure that it’s after school starts just because we know that families are still on (summer) vacations (right now).”

Although he believes stage acting is his son’s “sweet spot,” Tim Throne is pleased that Zach has found another way to continue entertaining audiences.

“He’s always had a love of theater and drama, and I’m happy that he continues to pursue that passion (via film),” Tim said.

 

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