Submitted photo Veronica B Jones is the executive producer of the film “The Awoken,” which will begin shooting Aug. 22 at The Royal Oaks in Youngstown.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Blue Cicada Films wants to have an all-Ohio soundtrack for its movie, “The Awoken,” which will be shot in Youngstown in August and early September. Bands and performers interested in submitting their music for consideration for the film should email music supervisor Tony Sabelli at tony@bluecicadafilms.com.

The director and the screenwriter are Australians, but could anything be more quintessentially Youngstown than a movie featuring The Royal Oaks, The Vindys and a Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini cameo?

The horror movie “The Awoken” will begin filming in Youngstown on Aug. 22, with The Royal Oaks as the primary filming location.

Executive producer Veronica B. Jones grew up in Wickliffe, but her husband, Kyle Jones, is a Poland native, and the time she spent in the Mahoning Valley inspired her to bring the movie here.

“When we started working on this project, we needed a dive bar,” Jones said. “I looked in other areas and I was like, ‘Why am I working so hard to find a dive bar, you know? Why not look in Youngtown.’ I flew home to visit my mother, came to Youngstown and just went dive bar hopping with another producer friend, and he took me to the Royal Oaks. I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is perfect.”

John Kennedy, co-owner of Royal Oaks, 924 Oak St., didn’t hesitate when asked to close the bar and rent it out for three weeks for rehearsals and filming.

“It’s kind of exciting plus, you know, it’s a little free advertising as well,” Kennedy said. “And anything for Youngstown. I love this town.”

It’s not the bar’s first brush with fame. Local filmmakers have used it as a location, and an episode of the reality series “Bar Rescue” was shot there in 2015. More recently, Royal Oaks attracted visitors from outside the area after being featured on the “Crooked City” podcast, which explored the Valley’s organized crime history.

“‘Bar Rescue’ was crazy,” he said. “We had over 100 people tailgating outside just to check it out.”

About 90 percent of the movie will be shot inside the bar. Written by Danny Matier with Michael Thyer directing, “The Awoken” is the story of a man who walks into a bar claiming to be Satan’s lieutenant. He’s about to end the world, and only the dive’s bartender can prevent it.

The cast features Tom Budgen, better known as professional wrestler Malakai Black; actor, singer, model and social media influencer Suanny Serpas; and Jamie Christoferson, who is featured in the “Black Mirror” episode “Playtest.”

Jones was in Youngstown scouting dive bars the same weekend The Vindys performed at Powers Auditorium with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. She didn’t go to the show, but heard enough about the group’s music while here that she checked it out. Jones then contacted lead singer Jackie Popovec via email and ultimately invited the group to be in the film.

The Vindys will play the bar band in the opening scene of the movie and perform “Bugs,” the title track to its 2021 album. Its song “Morning Light” will be used for a climactic moment near the end of the film.

“My director flew to Youngstown probably a month after me, and he did his own scout with the crew, and he met with Jackie as well and chatted with her, and he just liked her look,” Jones said.

In addition to being in the opening scene, Popovec will play a different character later in the film.

The Vindys might not be the only local band heard in the movie. Jones said they decided they want the film to have an all-Ohio soundtrack, and music supervisor Tony Sabelli is looking for music by other local and regional acts for the movie.

Sabelli’s father, who knows Mancini, helped get the former boxing champ involved. When the production team was talking about potential product placements in the film, someone mentioned that Mancini has his own bourbon. Jones reached out to him about that, and they decided to rewrite a moment early the film for Mancini to make an appearance.

“When he read the script, he loved that he had this little cameo in the beginning, right after The Vindys perform,” Jones said.

The cast will begin rehearsals at Royal Oaks on Aug. 18 with shooting scheduled from Aug. 22 to Sept. 5. Royal Oaks hosts its annual Pabstolutely festival on Sept. 7, and Jones said the cast and crew plans to treat the festival as its wrap party.

Jones described “The Awoken” as a “mid low-budget” film but did not want to reveal the exact cost. Most of the roles and crew positions were filled out of town, but there will be some local hiring. Some extras may be needed as bar patrons for The Vindys’ performance, but Jones said she may have enough extras from the folks who’ve already expressed an interest in being involved.

“Things have been really falling into place in Youngstown,” Jones said. “It’s been amazing, and everyone that we’ve talked to has been great … Even though I’m not from Youngstown, my husband is, and it still feels like home. Coming home and bringing something to your home state has been a great experience.”

Jones was a producer on “The Long Game,” a golfing drama based on a true story starring Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid and Cheech Marin. It played in more than 1,000 theaters in the spring.

It won the audience award at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, and Jones said they hope to finish “The Awoken” in time to submit it for the 2025 SXSW fest in March.

She has other projects in various stages of development, including a comedy that may be shot closer to Cleveland. But if “The Awoken” is successful, scripts for two sequels already have been written.

“Theatrical (release) is really a long shot,” Jones said. “I’d be happy if it’s streaming on Netflix, That’d be great. But we’re hoping that we have enough interest and enough fans where we are able to do the next two with a higher budget.”

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