Bad Little Thing, Inc. presents a new film called The Crusades opening in early July of 2023.
The plot follows three young men at a private high school who embark on a wild weekend of adventure and drama. The Crusades' hidden truths are rooted in reality taken from the lives of the three creators, Leo Milano, who also produced and directed the project, along with co-writers Shaun Early and Jack Hussar. The trio all lived in the Illinois suburbs of Niles and Glenview then attended Notre Dame College Prep together while possibly mirroring some of their exploits within this highly charged script.
The feature film has Rudy Pankow playing the lead role of Leo Grecco and unfortunately was unable to attend the Chicago debut, but many of the cast and creatives were at the world premiere at AMC NewCity 14 on July 6, 2023. Some stopped to chat about their work on the red carpet in front of the theater.
Hussar and Early arrived early to kick off the festivities and give some behind-the-scenes information. Hussar stated that the first draft was only 10 pages long and written after high school over 10 years ago. Early said, “We were going to star in it originally and make a series, but it was too expensive. We made a movie instead with the great cast that is here today.”
Milano hopes that audiences will see the many obstacles inside a high school in The Crusades and how people can hopefully grow from it. He explained, “It was a challenge to just get the movie made. It took 12 years and it is a miracle we are here today!” This talented performer was a stand-in for Taylor Kinney on the NBC television series Chicago Fire for over 50 episodes and confessed on the carpet that he did indeed happily meet Lady Gaga during his stint on the show.
Milano had another important person to meet before that at Columbia College Chicago. Fellow producer Brent Madison began working together on The Crusades in 2018 before finding funding in 2021 to make the project come to life.