Johnny Contributes to Film by 16-Year Old Cancer Patient
A group of A-list talent came together in November to help 16-year old cancer patient Anthony Jonathan Conti fulfill his dream of writing and starring in his own film. Johnny Depp, J.K. Simmons, Laura Dern, Penelope Ann Miller, Chad Coleman, and Richard Chamberlain were joined by David Lynch, Catherine Hardwicke, Theodore Melfi, Sam Raimi, Peter Farrelly, and Sean Furst for The Black Ghiandola, a post-apocalyptic zombie story about a young man whose family has been killed and who risks his life to save a young girl he has grown to love. Filming took place November 18-20.
Anthony, diagnosed this summer with stage 4 Adrenal Cortical Cancer, stars in and co-wrote the film with Scott Kosar (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), with additional writing by Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice). The production was made possible by the Make A Film Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2007 that helps children enduring serious or life-threatening medical conditions to create short film legacies by teaming them with industry professionals who volunteer their time.