Maggie Gough getting screen advice from producer Ryan Cudahy.
Herndon High School alums Ryan Cudahy and Matthew Malito recently got their first taste of stardom in a local film “Written by Mike,” a first-love story that dips into the mental health crisis that is a facet in many lives these days.
The film follows two couples as they deal with family, trauma and illness at the spark of their relationships. There are tears, medicines and young couples trying to navigate the path of being in love while facing the other
Producer Ryan Cudahy and Matthew Malito discuss a shot.factors.
“They use their own mental health struggles to help each other,” said Cudahy.
This independent feature film was shot entirely in Virginia, mostly in the Fredericksburg area where Cudahy lives now. It was just picked up by Green Apple Entertainment, and will be distributed on Friday, Nov. 15t.
“Our film will initially be released on Green Apple’s streaming channels and will be released on other to-be-determined platforms shortly after,” Cudahy said.
After Herndon High, Cudahy attended James Madison University where he pursued a degree in video and ended up back in Northern Virginia working a few jobs in the video-film field. This helped forge his way to being behind the camera in “Written by Mike.”
Using the backdrop of Fredericksburg for most of the scenes invokes the small town feel that he was going for, and then it was featured in the Richmond Film Festival.
Casting Call
Lead actress Maggie Gough got the role in a casting call by Cudahy. She navigated things on this film from her home in New York City, where she is dabbling with performances on Broadway. Aside from “Written by Mike,” her film career includes a spot in tv's "FBI Most Wanted," but it was short. "I was one of the victims that got killed in the first scene," she said.
In the film, Gough plays a main character in a romance with Mike, and added some familiarity since they both went to Virginia Tech in real life, although it was at different times. "We had so much in common," she said. She grew up in Ashburn and now works full time for a New York finance company while acting.
She ran back and forth to Fredericksburg while the film was in production over a three-week period. While the movie was being filmed, she’d jump on a train from NYC so those weekends were a bit hectic.
"I went back and forth on weekends," she said. "It was a lot; a long three weeks."
In late September, "Written by Mike," was featured at Richmond International Film Festival. Future showings include an event October 24 at Water's End Brewery in Lake Ridge and then at Red Dragon Brewery in Fredericksburg on Saturday, Nov. 16. It was recently acquired by Green Apple Entertainment, and will hit streaming platforms on Friday, Nov. 15.
Maggie Gough