Film being shot in Amsterdam to star Nicholas Cage's son

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Amsterdam music producer is breaking out of his comfort zone by making his debut in an upcoming comedy-horror film. Tony Sturdivant, also known as TNet, is producing music for Amsterdam native and filmmaker Jeff Knite's movie, "Krazy Klowny."

The clown-gone-serial-killer film is Knite's third film, following "The Omicron Killer" and "The Covid Killer." Sturdivant and Knite connected through Bruce Wendell, owner of the Madison Theater in Albany and the now-closed Emerald Cinema in Amsterdam.

Wendell, partnered with Sturdivant, works on freelance Jazz instrumentals at his studio in Amsterdam. During one of the sessions, Wendell took a cigarette break and spoke with Knite about needing a theme song for the character Krazy Klowny, bringing up Sturdivant and his work.

After the film's music score was situated, Sturdivant and Knite met in person. It was during their first time meeting that Knite offered Sturdivant a role in the movie.

"My main reason for doing it was I've never been a camera person, not even for regular pictures," Sturdivant said. "It's a milestone for me to step out of my comfort zone."

Knite said his new film isn't the first time viewers have seen Krazy Klowny, as he made his first appearance in "The Omicron Killer." However, the third movie will dive into Krazy Klowny's backstory.

The film focuses on Melvin O'Malley, also known as Krazy Klowny, who loved clowns so much as a child that he had a dream of being a party entertainer when he was older. Knite said as O'Malley's entertainment business grows, the parties get bigger, and the spoiled rich kids he performs for push him to his breaking point.

"When he would tell the parents, they would do the same," Knite said. "They would humiliate him and say, 'Oh, shut up, those are our kids, do your job,' so he started to hate to be an entertainer."

Slotted to play Krazy Klowny is Weston Cage, son of actor Nicholas Cage. Also included in the film is Danny Trejo. Knite said the budgets for each film keep getting bigger, which allows them the ability to cast Screen Actors Guild (SAG) actors.

Cage got in contact with Knite after reading the script, and Knite said he was thrilled to find someone who is just as ambitious and excited about the film. Knite noted Cage's enthusiasm from the beginning.

"If somebody is going to play a part in the movie, the fact that they want to play it means I feel like they're going to do something good."

Knite said the third film has been a lot of work with the addition of SAG actors, as there are taxes, incentives, insurance, and more to handle. "The film will look better, and it's going to feel better with the better actors, too. But, it's much harder to create," Knite said.

"Krazy Klowny" is set to begin production on September 8 and film through October 27. A release date is still in the works.