Woodstock man produces short film, selected by two film festivals

Woodstock resident John Green “got a good grade” on a college assignment to write a play that he said he was told read more like a movie.

In 2021, he turned that assignment into a low-budget film shot in and around Crystal Lake, Woodstock and Wonder Lake.

The roughly 30-minute film, titled “Devils Income,” was chosen by Austin Lift-Off Film Festival, one of a series of online and in-person juried festivals organized by a United Kingdom-based studio. As of Tuesday, the film was in the top spot among 154 other films.

The film also was accepted into the Frankly Film Festival in Ohio.

“It’s been a great experience,” said Green, who founded Nerd House Film Production in Woodstock in 2014.

The film is the story of Sonny, an unemployed gambling addict who finds himself in a dangerous situation after losing everything in a game of Texas Hold ‘em. With only 24 hours to pay off his debt to the leader of a biker gang, Sonny turns to his ex-gang-member brother for help, the creators said.

Green, 44, and a few friends, who worked for free, shot the film in locations, provided for free, including the setting of the opening scene where the fictional Sonny loses all his money, a barn transformed into a bar and poker room.

Just go ahead and do it. You don’t want to one day look back and say ‘I wish I did that.’ Time is short. Just give it a shot and you never know where it is going to take you, and at least you can say you tried.”

—  John Green

The barn is described as ”a two-story man cave” by Scott Olson, the owner of the Wonder Lake horse farm where the barn is located.

Olson, 57, not an actor but an electrician by trade, also appears in the film as the bartender and a biker.

“It was a good time,” Olson said. “I would love to be an actor, but I’m not.”

The news release announcing the film’s inclusion in the festival praised Cameron Kivett of McHenry and Casey Sleeman of Algonquin who play the brothers in the film, saying they “bring their characters to life with authenticity and depth.”

Green said “Devils Income” was inspired by Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino-style films.

The film cast and crew comprises about a dozen people, including Danny Humphrey who directed the scenes shot on the streets around the Woodstock Square, Bob’s Motel in Woodstock, and the Crystal Lake Motel in Crystal Lake.

Humphrey, 43, of McHenry said people in the community and various business owners were “very friendly” and accommodating during shoots, including the Woodstock police who they had to notify because they would be working with pretend guns.

Woodstock City Manager Roscoe Stelford said the city, where commercials and films such as “Groundhog Day” also were filmed, welcomes the attention.

“We are a very photogenic city,” he said, adding that he has not yet seen the film.

“We are always happy to have folks filming here in our community,” he said. “We tend to draw our fair share of films here which is great.”

The first film created by Green’s Nerd House Film Production was a zombie movie called “Critical Threat,” said Humphrey, who first met Green about eight years ago through a friend. Humphrey acted in the film.

While producing that film about six years ago, the crew encountered many challenges, including the death of Darren Kravenas, a close friend who was an actor in the film, Humphrey said. But the crew pushed through to complete the film, inspiring Green and the crew to want to stick together and produce another.

“It’s mind blowing,” Humphrey said. “[The crew] was super resilient about finishing what they started. That is one of my favorite things about working with John. Not only capable and creative but he will finish the job. You push forward. You use those moments of loss and setback as motivation.”

Green, a married father whose day job is at Medline in Woodstock, said scheduling was challenging at times because everyone has jobs and other commitments.

Still, even though it can be challenging, he encourages others to explore their passions.

“Just go ahead and do it,” Green said. “You don’t want to one day look back and say ‘I wish I did that.’ Time is short. Just give it a shot and you never know where it is going to take you, and at least you can say you tried.”

Green, who also hosts a podcast called “The Game Realm,” and Humphrey are in the process of making a third film.

They have already secured Q’tiques vintage and antique mall in McHenry as a location to shoot much of the film, which is a ghost story currently titled “Antique.”

Voting for the Austin Lift-Off Film Festival ends May 1. Should “Devils Income” win this round, it would progress in the competition. To view the film and vote, go to liftoff.network/austin-lift-off-film-festival.

“We don’t really know where this is going to go, but just this whole experience is going to put some credibility on the map for us,” Humphrey said. “We originally did this just for fun, and it spiraled upward, which is awesome.”