Hillsborough Director’s Dramedy Brings Awareness To Opioid Crisis

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough director Thomas Baldinger and Lenny Venito’s dramedy "Hook'd" — which sheds light on the opioid crisis in the country — is among the films to be shown at the inaugural VilleFest in Somerville on Saturday.

"The short is about an actor named David Larino who hasn't worked in 20 years. He is at the end of his rope and decides to fake his way onto a 'Celebrity Rehab' reality TV show as he's witnessed other actors who become famous again from that show," Baldinger said.

The comedy-drama features actor Venito of Brooklyn, who has been on shows including the Sopranos, The Blacklist, NYPD Blue, Law & Order SVU, and much more.

"Lenny came up with the up the idea of the story about two years ago. He approached me with a draft and we went to work. We want to bring awareness of this opioid crisis in this country ...especially on Staten Island New York," Baldinger said.

Hook'd will be shown at Somerville's first film festival which was brought to town by Bridgewater-Raritan High School grads Steven Chiocchi and Kyle Marino. (See Related: Bridgewater Locals To Bring Film Festival To Somerville)

The film will be shown under the These Are Shorts: Some Narrative & Some Documentary category that airs from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the St. John’s Episcopal Church on W High St.

Baldinger said he is "very excited" to have his film shown at the festival in Somerville.

"We were fortunate to have our film in a few other festivals like the SOHO Film Festival in New York City and the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park. But when I heard about a festival down the road, I couldn't resist in submitting it," Baldinger said.

Hook'd is not Baldinger's first film he has produced several others including Death Trail, Who’s Jenna…?, Two Sides Of Love, The Midlifers, and more.

Baldinger has been involved in the arts since he went to Wagner College on Staten Island where he was a musical theatre actor. He then went on to Mike Nichols Acting school for one semester but soon realized he "wasn't in love with acting… but I wanted to still be involved."

He wrote his first play in 1999 and produced it off-off Broadway for a two week stint. That’s when he realized he wanted to pursue directing, writing and producing.

"I got into film in 2012/2013 with my first short film Two Sides Of Love," Baldinger said. "From there I built my production company 624 Productions and we went on to make a few more shorts and a feature."

Baldinger thanks his wife and family for their support in his film career journey.

"My wife has been with me from the beginning of 624 Productions. In fact, she was the one who came up with the name. It's after our first born," Baldinger said. "My entire family, my mother, my father, my brother, aunts, uncles, cousins — they all have come out to support my films. Without them I wouldn't be here."

To learn more about Baldinger and his production company visit www.624-productions.com. For more information on VilleFest and how to get tickets visit villefest.org.

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