TV Talk: 1st-time Western Pa. filmmaker enters ‘Red Woods'; CBS reboots ‘The Equalizer’

For his directorial feature film debut, Western Pennsylvania’s Nick Danko looked no further than his own backyard.

Danko’s “Red Woods” is a found footage film in the vein of “The Blair Witch Project” (minus the shaky-camera effect) that follows an urban explorer group as they tromp through abandoned houses in the woods. Much of it was filmed on Danko’s property in Lawrence County that borders McConnell’s Mill State Park.

Written, produced and directed by Danko, “Red Woods” will be available Friday for purchase ($12.99) and rental via Apple TV, Fandango Now, Amazon’s Prime Video, DirecTV, Vudu and Google Play (check specific services for rental cost). The film will be available as a made-to-order Blu-ray disc on Feb. 9 from Amazon.com and Walmart.com.

Danko, 52, is a 1986 graduate of Plum High School. He attended the University of Pittsburgh then studied film at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles before he left school to start a theatrical marketing company that made movie trailers, TV ads and bonus content features for DVD releases including “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Wonder,” the “Saw” movies and 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project.”

“I remember way back working on (‘Blair Witch’) I was a little bit bummed because I didn’t think of it,” Danko said. “Part of the inspiration (for ‘Red Woods’) is a whole generation has really gone by since ‘Blair Witch.’ Maybe we evolve that concept for the social media generation.”

Danko moved back to Western Pennsylvania in 2011 and in 2016 he and friend Ted Voron, who shares a story credit with Danko on “Red Woods,” started talking about “ideas we could shoot cheaply and efficiently.”

Danko estimates 85% of the movie was shot on his 12-acre property in May and June 2018 with a $250,000 budget. Danko did not seek out a Pennsylvania film tax credit (“I figured the budget is so low I didn’t think it was going to make whole lot of difference”); the film found distribution through Freestyle Digital Media, a division of Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios.

In the “Red Woods” end credits, Danko thanks Upper St. Clair native Stephen Chbosky, writer/director of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Wonder.” They met in college at USC in L.A. and Chbosky granted the use of his image and film credits in Danko’s investor presentation for “Red Woods.”

The end credits also list former Steeltown Entertainment Project director Carl Kurlander as a “Red Woods” executive producer. Danko interviewed Kurlander more than a decade ago when working on a bonus feature for DVDs of the original “Saved by the Bell,” which Kurlander was a producer on.

“We never lost touch,” Danko said. “He helped facilitate some technical things (on the movie), some equipment, and he helped us get a little bit of the funding.”

The 95-minute “Red Woods” is more often spooky than gory as it slowly builds to an eventful last half-hour. There’s a viable concept at play but too often “Red Woods” resorts to telling rather than showing. When a car runs off the road for no visually apparent reason, a character’s dialogue explains why after the fact.

‘The Equalizer’

CBS’s “The Equalizer” offers a welcome excuse to watch Queen Latifah beat up bad guys, survive water boarding and then beat up more bad guys.

Latifah is the MVP of this reboot of the 1985-89 CBS series. Her character, former CIA operative Robyn McCall, comes across as a magnetic, cool presence. But that doesn’t make “The Equalizer,” executive produced by “Castle” creator Andrew Marlowe among others, a show to highly recommend.

Debuting after “Super Bowl LV” (approximately 10 p.m. Sunday on KDKA-TV before moving to 8 p.m. Sunday on Feb. 14), this latest reboot continues the curious trend of cast expansion compared to its predecessor, similar to in The CW’s “Walker.”

While the original “Equalizer” had just one series regular for most of its run — British actor Edward Woodward as Robert McCall — this reboot boasts a cast of seven regulars, including Lorraine Toussaint as Robin’s Aunt Vi, who helps raise Robyn’s daughter Delilah (Laya DeLeon Hayes); Chris Noth as Robyn’s former CIA boss; Adam Goldberg and Liza Lapira as members of Robyn’s “team” and Tory Kittles as a justice-minded New York police detective.

It’s a high-quality cast of actors but they have little to do beyond dole out exposition that pushes the plot forward while supporting Robyn’s efforts to aid the helpless. Noth exudes cool boss-man vibes, Goldberg plays a cookie cutter computer hacker and Toussaint provides a sympathetic ear but the characterizations are paper-thin.

“It’s a perfect CBS formula,” CBS programming chief Thom Sherman said of “The Equalizer” last week during CBS’s portion of the virtual Television Critics Association winter 2021 press tour. That’s a problem: “The Equalizer” feels like it was formulated in a lab rather than the work of creative writers.

PBS president on Joanne Rogers

During the first day of PBS’s portion of TCA’s virtual winter 2021 press tour Tuesday, PBS president Paula Kerger paid tribute to Pittsburgher Joanne Rogers, concert pianist and the wife of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” host Fred Rogers. Joanne Rogers died in January at 92.

“Fred and Joanne believed that extraordinary possibility lives within every child,” Kerger said. “(They) encouraged us to treat each other with kindness and compassion and reminded us of our shared humanity. These qualities are needed now more than ever during this time of deep division in our country.”

Kerger said PBS is committed to fostering conversation that deepens understanding through its programming, including public media reporting initiative “Exploring Hate: Anti-Semitism, Racism and Extremism,” which kicks off with the “Frontline” broadcast “American Insurrection” (10 p.m. April 13), about political extremists.

“Tulsa: The Fire and the Forgotten” (9 p.m. May 31) examines the Tulsa race massacre 100 years ago. Filmmaker Stanley Nelson (“Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool”) will explore “Medical Racism” in a new documentary set to air in late 2022.

‘The Chair’ needs children

Filming-in-Pittsburgh Netflix dramedy “The Chair” is seeking a girl ages 6-9 with tan complexion and black hair past her shoulders to be a photo double. The show also needs a 1-year-old Korean girl (preferably twins) for a featured role. Full details on requirements, dates needed and how to submit at Mosser Casting’s Facebook page.

Channel surfing

Baseball catcher Josh Gibson, who played for the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the Negro Leagues between 1930 and 1946, will be among four Black athletes featured in animated Black History Month vignettes airing across CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports digital properties. The video features original spoken word compositions and original music by Guy and Gaston Thomas. … Nominations for the “52nd NAACP Image Awards” (8 p.m. March 27, BET and CBS) include multiple nods for projects with Pittsburgh ties including the Apple TV+ movie “The Banker” (for original independent motion picture) which has Pittsburgher Stan Younger as a credited writer, Netflix’s filmed-in-Pittsburgh “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and partially Pittsburgh-set NBC drama “This is Us.” … “Finding Bigfoot: The Search Continues” includes a search in southeast Ohio when it premieres Monday on streamer discovery+. … Upcoming “Jeopardy!” guests hosts will include Dr. Mehmet Oz, Anderson Cooper, Savannah Guthrie and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. … NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” holds east coast virtual auditions Friday; sign up at agtauditions.com. .. The CW renewed most of its lineup for the 2021-22 TV season, including recent newcomer “Walker.”