DeNucci envisions film making future from Cranston home

When Tom DeNucci graduated from Cranston High School West in 2002, he hoped he would never end up at the Cranston Police Station.

Now that he’s there full-time, he couldn’t be happier.

DeNucci is a writer and actor with Verdi-Corrente Productions, which is currently housed in the former Cranston Police Station on Atwood Avenue.

“It’s so crazy for me to work here. Whoever thought I’d be making movies out of the old Cranston police station? It’s all positive things for me at the police station, though,” he said, laughing.

DeNucci’s interest in filmmaking started during his childhood, and picked up after taking a film class in high school. From there, he got a degree in digital filmmaking from New England Tech and also picked up some acting training with the Gamm Theatre.

At 22 years old, he met Michael Corrente and began working as a creative assistant. That decision changed his life.

“I just kind of banged his door down. He had no choice,” DeNucci recalled of his work with Corrente, who is known for directing and producing such films as “American Buffalo” and “Outside Providence.”

After getting some experience under his belt – including a speaking role on the Showtime television show based on Rhode Island “Brotherhood” – DeNucci realized that he had found his career.

“It’s very exciting for me just to be home in Cranston making movies – doing what I love,” he said. “Going to work every day is a real pleasure, especially in today’s day and age when people are lucky to have jobs.”

From the outside, though, the average day at the office doesn’t sound much like work. In fact, the 25-year-old DeNucci jokingly refers to the building as a “college dorm,” when describing the team chemistry of the eight to 10 regulars that can be found scribbling notes, sampling music or playing with editing equipment.

“We’re just a bunch of kooky guys. There are no egos here; we’ll do anything,” he said.

But when it comes to writing a script, the atmosphere can be distracting. “Sometimes you can have so much fun it’s difficult to get to that 90-page mark,” DeNucci said.

That’s why he does most of his writing during off-hours. He says 12 to 4 a.m. is his favorite time to write, but it can take a long time to fully flesh out an idea. What starts as a few notes becomes an outline, and eventually lines. DeNucci compares it to building a house, as you start with a foundation before anything visible takes shape.

“It’s amazing how much preparation goes into these films and then you could be done with the filming in 15 or 20 days,” he said.

In the year to come, DeNucci and his colleagues hope to produce five different films, ranging from drama to slasher.

Horror is always popular with audiences, DeNucci says, which is why he’s excited for the release of “Self Storage,” a movie where he plays a security guard faced with some terrifying circumstances.

He is perhaps most excited, however, about the upcoming “Paz,” which is based on the life of famous Rhode Island boxer Vinny Pazienza whose career continued despite a serious neck injury that was sustained in a car accident. The film is in pre-production, after DeNucci developed a script with colleague Glenn Ciano. The two met with Pazienza to learn more about his life, while Corrente courted actor Peter Facinelli of “Twilight” series fame.

Facinelli signed on, and DeNucci is confident the results will be a knockout.

“We feel as though this could be one of the biggest sports movies of all time. There has never been a professional athlete to come back from this kind of injury,” he said.

Whether it’s a big hit or not, DeNucci says he’s just happy to be working. He likes to think of himself as the guy who keeps things light on set and in the office, and hopes that positive attitude with bring him far.

DeNucci’s dream role is to play Elvis, but he’s not one for setting timelines.

“I would like to go into a larger market with an established body of work,” he said. “ But really, I just want to have a career in the film business.”