Fomer McMurray man makes movie “Checkmate”
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A promotional poster for “Checkmate”
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A still from “Checkmate”
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A still from “Checkmate”
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A still from “Checkmate”
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A promotional poster for “The First Seal,” Lucarelli’s next film
Courtesy of Mountain Wind Productions
A still from “Checkmate”
Have you ever watched a movie, looked at the anonymous souls wandering in the background and wondered who they were?
Giuseppe Lucarelli has been one of them.
The former McMurray resident was contacted by an agent to be a background actor in the 2000s, and from there, he caught the moviemaking bug. Lucarelli appears in the background in the “Law and Order” television series and the short-lived NBC series “Lipstick Jungle.” Now, however, Lucarelli is moving out of the background and into the foreground with his own movie, “Checkmate,” which he wrote and directed, and appears in, portraying a medical examiner.
Independently made under the banner of Lucarelli’s own Mountain Wind Productions, “Checkmate” bowed online in June. It can be rented for $4.99 or purchased for $9.99 from Vimeo On Demand. Half the profits from viewings of “Checkmate” are earmarked for World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit launched by celebrity chef Jose Andres that provides meals for people impacted by natural disasters.
Lucarelli won’t say how many viewers “Checkmate” has snagged, but did say that it has received “incredibly positive reviews and compliments from those who have seen it, and had more sales that expected.” It won an award for editing at the International Action on Film Festival and was nominated in other categories, including best action sequence and best supporting actress.
In the works for four years, “Checkmate” is a Pittsburgh-set story with a serial killer kidnapping the daughter of the city’s police chief after the chief starts aggressively combating human trafficking. Originally titled “Bystander,” it was inspired, Lucarelli explained, after he was in a coffee shop and witnessed an old man fall to the floor. Two nurses in the shop hid their badges and did not intervene, saying they were off duty, and it was not their problem.
“It made me wonder how I would react,” he said. “The older gentleman fell to the ground, light-headed and began bleeding from the nose. I overheard the nurses justifying to themselves not helping.”
To tell his story, Lucarelli gravitated to locations familiar to residents of Washington County and the Pittsburgh area. The Canonsburg borough building turns up in the movie, as does Southpointe, Pittsburgh’s South Side and Market Square.
“I know the area well and lived in the Strip for a couple of years,” Lucarelli said. “The locations came very naturally.”
The process of making “Checkmate” was slow, given that Lucarelli and the members of the crew and cast all have day jobs. These limitations meant that scenes had to be shot quickly, with a minimum of fuss.
“If you know what you want to do and are efficient, you can get the shot and move on to the next thing,” Lucarelli said. “We knew what we wanted. We knew we didn’t have a safety net.”
Lucarelli, who turned 40 in June, graduated from high school in Illinois before moving to the region. He and his wife now live in Vienna, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C. Lucarelli’s Mountain Wind Productions also produces other fares, including commercials. The company wrapped up work on a three-commercial campaign for Arthur Murray Dance Studios before the lockdowns for COVID-19 kicked in earlier this year.
Despite not being a native of the Pittsburgh area, Lucarelli says, “he always feels local,” and that the region “feels like home to me.”
He counts filmmakers Ridley Scott, Michael Mann and Christopher Nolan as influences. With “Checkmate” now out, another film, “The First Seal,” will quickly follow. Shooting on it is complete, and Lucarelli is in the process of editing it. Another thriller, it stars Rachel Keller, who appears in the FX-TV series “Legion” and “Fargo.”
Lucarelli’s favorite part of moviemaking? Writing the script.
“I love screenwriting more than anything,” he explained. “Don’t get me wrong, I love directing, too. I’ve enjoyed almost every day I’ve been on set, especially troubleshooting without the proverbial ‘net’ big budget films provide. But, there are no bounds when creating the story. You see it play out in so many different ways as it develops.”
He added, “I love the whole screenwriting process. You are only limited by your imagination.”