By DONNA BALANCIA
Dan Catullo of 10 Lives Studios is living a rock fan’s dream life.
A music lover who used to sneak into concerts back in New Jersey, Cattulo said that today, as director and producer of rock documentaries, his work is truly like play.
“I was a musician so I was always infatuated by the entertainment industry,” he said. “When I was a kid I wanted to be a rock star.”
He may not be an actual rock star, but Catullo does make movies about them, and “Unleashed Spirits: The Rise of the Hollywood Vampires” is a fun one. The backstory of the supergroup comprised of core musicians Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen, has been making the festival scene and captivating the audiences. The rock doc closes the Newport Beach Film Festival and from there, plays out remaining festival dates and beyond.
‘Unleashed Spirits’ is far from the only film Catullo and his 10 Lives Studios have out there screening right now. There are several on the festival circuit, including “Frampton” and a non-rock doc called “4000 Lives.” Fittingly, Catullo has always been one of those kinds of guys who likes to stay busy.
Catullo worked at The Meadowlands as a stage hand, and kept the job through college in West Virginia
“While I was in college I would drive six hours to work as a stagehand,” he said. “I loved being around that.”
He loved it so much, he stayed in the music business and put the law degree aside. As a roadie, Catullo traveled the world and worked for a ton of different bands.
“When I got back I moved to California,” he said. “I was done touring in the late ‘90s and believe it or not I bought the Ventura Theatre with partner Glenis Gross in 1998.”
Catullo and Glenis in 2000 started a movie company, the goal, he said, was to do low-budget scripted movies.
“And while we were doing this, I had a friend who managed this new band, there was a concert at the palace (Avalon) it was a band called Godsmack,” he recalled. “I went to see the show and was explaining to Paul their manager what I was doing, I’’m going to be a movie producer,’ and he said ‘We have our first arena show in Boston in a couple of months, why don’t you film our show?’ I said yes not knowing what I was doing. Back then music DVDs weren’t selling. But we winged it, it debuted at No. 3 and all of a sudden I was a rock movie producer.”
Catullo then went to Universal and pitched to make movies about the bands with Universal.
“Next thing I knew, I was doing concert films when no one else was doing them,” he said.
Segued into 2012, he said he was looking for meaning, and wanted to tell stories with depth. He produced the film “The Square.”
“I got to work with great people, and from that point on I was a documentary freak,” Catullo said. “That’s what I wanted to do. I continued to do music docs, where my heart is. Telling meaningful stories that can change culture or cement a legacy, it’s an honor. So I ended up going into documentaries.”
Now he’s done more than a dozen high-level social cause documentaries, Catullo said. His company, 10 Lives Studios, has a very large slate and focuses on meaningful stories.
The film “4000 Days” chronicles families that lost sons to hazing. Watching them band together and how they fought the system and tried to save lives, was fulfilling, he said.
And overall Catullo’s delighted with his career choice – and film choices.
“We have a broad slate,” he said. “It’s been a helluva ride.”
Next weekend Frampton and “4000 days” will play the Naples Film Festival and the movies are together again at Rehoboth Beach International Film Fest in Rehoboth, Del.
“I worked with over 350 artists but to work with the supergroup was one of the best experiences I ever had,” Catullo said. “One, we took our time, we shot it over a 3-year period. and those guys were just a delight. I’ve been to Joe Perry’s house, I’ve texted Joe, now we’ve become friends.
“We worked a lot at Johnny Depp’s house,” Catullo said. “He gave us house to shoot interviews in, to edit in. He was ridiculously grateful and super nice.
“I can’t say enough nice things about Alice Cooper He’s a complete legend but talk about a gentleman and a nice guy,” Catullo said. “I feel like he was the original Paris Hilton, the original influencer. He was the guy in the 70s holed up in the Rainbow Room, hosting the biggest stars in the world from John Lennon and Ringo Starr to Keith moon and he was the guy everybody wanted to hang out with, he was the epicenter of the whole scene.
“Originally on Vampires we were just going to document a concert,” Catullo said. “I called Paul Geary the manager and said ‘We should film a concert just to get it in the can.’ But then I started spending time with Alice and I realized the origin of the Vampires and how it morphed from a drinking club in the ‘70s to this supergroup that was headlining arenas. I said, ‘There’s a great story here, I’d love to tell the whole story’ and that’s how we morphed into that. There were so many fun stories. It’s a great feel good movie, if you’re a rock fan it’s fun to watch.
“There’s a scene in the movie when they’re at Johnny Depp’s house playing and they invite Paul McCartney to do a song with them,” Catullo recalled. “Imagine if you’re a pizza guy that day and you delivered pizza and you open the door and Paul McCartney, Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper are all hanging out?”
“I think the other star of the film is Tommy Henriksen,” Catullo said. “Tommy filmed intimate scenes at Johnny’ s house. He knew to take out his cell phone out where you get to see Johnny Depp in his element. The fact that we got the fun moments where you could see what these guys were like in private, I think that’s a really great thing to see.
“There’s some really cool stuff in there,” Catullo said. “It’s a fun doc. I love the way it came together.It premiered in Boston, the West Coast premiere is closing the Newport Beach Film Festival and then there’s Naples, Rehoboth, St. Louis and the Bahamas International Film Festival.
“These guys aren’t what you’d think they are, they’re big rock star personas, but they’re really down to earth guys,” he said. “It’s a great film because they’re fans of each other. Usually these supergroups are put together by handlers, but these guys did it organically on their own. To get a peek into their world and see these guys and the respect for each other, it’s an interesting glimpse into the lives of four or five very high profile people.
“We need films like this,” Catullo said. “It’s lighthearted, and it’s nice to have something out there like that. It’s a fun, light-hearted movie.”
What does Catullo want people to take away from the screening of The Hollywood Vampires movie, “Unleashed Spirits: The Rise of The Hollywood Vampires?”
“For one, I want people to know Johnny Depp’s the real deal,” Catullo said. “He’s a musician first. I was really happy for people to be able to see that. You see the respect his peers have for him.
“Another thing is I think it’s time Tommy Henriksen gets his due,” Catullo said. “He’s the backbone of the band. When the band’s coming together you see the contributions that Tommy gave to the band, so I’m happy he’s getting the credit that’s due him. If I was in a band I would want Tommy as partner. I never met a harder worker in my life.
“I been doing this for 30 years, produced and directed over 300 films and I’ve never given an artist or musician a producer credit,” Catullo said. “The guy’s unbelievable. Tommy actually produced the film with me.
“If you’re a rock fan, we’re so used to seeing Joe Perry as the persona from Aerosmith or Alice Cooper from Alice, but it’s nice to see these guys in a different environment and it’s amazing,” Catullo said. “Alice said to me, ‘When I’m with The Vampires I can just kick back and be another guy in the band.’”
“That’s what I like, the film shows the camaraderie,” Catullo said. “There’s no sugar coating in it. When I work on these things I’m usually dealing with their stage personas but the guys in The Vampires let their guard down on this.”
Check out the Naples International Film Festival, Rehoboth International Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival and Bahamas International Film Festival.
Watch the trailer for ‘Unleashed Spirits’ here: