Joanne Williams
Editor
(Courtesy photos- on the left is Actor Chris Studenka and on the right is Trent Tollstam, in character)
They were just two kids, hanging out in Lansing in the 1970s. Delinquents? Maybe. Friends for life? Definitely. One went into law enforcement; the other is a marathon runner.
Almost sounds like a movie script.
In real life, they are both in an award-nominated film premiering in a Los Angeles, California festival this weekend. The film is call “Down Radical.”
Trent Tollstam is the hometown Charlotte actor. He recently moved from the area. He is a corrections officer with the state.
Christ Studenka attended Sexton High School and went on to graduate from Central Michigan University. He worked in higher education with universities around the nation.
Their meeting is also a story for the screen.
“Our mothers were in a bowling league together,” Studenka said. They lived within a few blocks from each other, and the boys became best friends and partners in crime. There was that time they escaped the nursery/day care together….
But the story is the movie, one Studenka not only has the lead role in, but is listed as executive producer and casting director. That’s where Tollstam enters the picture.
“I thought that Trent would be perfect for this role, so I called him,” Studenka said.
Tollstam trusted his friend and flew out to Arizona where the film was being shot and where Studenka now lives.
“I saw Chris’ previous movie (“Run Rabbit”). So, I flew out there. I was nervous, but I thought I would go for it,” Tollstam said.
It is a rough and tumble movie, full of bad guys and guns. In the previews, you can tell Studenka is the worst. The word “smarmy” comes to mind when you see his character.
The film is directed by Justin Rose, whom Studenka met right out of film school and jumped at the chance to make movies with him.
Before that, Studenka was a sportswear model and did music videos and television pilots.
The has made entertainment his life now.
He and Tollstam laugh when they think of their younger days, hanging out near Gaylord and making VHS videos. “We were just knuckleheads having fun,” Studenka said.
Tollstam was grateful to experience the professional side of film.
“I never experienced anything like it,” he said of his days in Arizona. “There is so much that goes on behind the scenes, setting up, needing shots from different angles. It was exciting and a great opportunity.”
He and Studenka will be walking the red carpet together at the Tarzana International Film Festival. Their film will be shown first on Oct. 2. It won’t be Studenka’s last. Tollstam’s? “It was a lot of fun,” he said.
