TL20071025-01 "Oct. 25, 2007 www.thetowerlight.com The Towerlight Thursday Now on TheTowerlight.com: View video Word on the Street and send Dear Matty a letter that could be included in a future issue... Patrick Smith/The Towerlight Towson University alumnus Chris LaMartina, of Catonsville, sits on steps in Ellicott City where he filmed a portion of his movie �Book of Lore,� which he produced, wrote and directed. Part of an independent study for academic credit, LaMartina set out to film the best horror movie he could with co-writer and co-producer Jimmy George. Evoking screams on the big screen Towson alumnus Chris LaMartina premieres his award-winning film �Book of Lore� in Baltimore Published by and for the students of Towson and Baltimore -- twice-weekly The Glen Complex prepares for this weekend�s Safe Trick-or-Treat News, page 8 Guest chef Jack Osman cooks sweet potato dishes Life, page 14 Alex Plimack Arts Editor To call Chris LaMartina excited is an understatement. It�s Tuesday and he is buzzing, operating on a higher frequency than most. But it�s under-standable: in roughly three hours, he will be at the Charles Theater in Baltimore to premiere his feature-length film �Book of Lore,� which he directed, co-wrote and co-produced. �Man, I�m getting excited,� LaMartina says. He still has to go home. Shower. Change. For now, though, he walks with co-writer and co-producer Jimmy George through the wooded area of Catonsville where they spent time filming. The two bounce up the path, reminiscing about their time spent on the project, with one begin-ning a thought and the other quick to finish it. �It was like 2 a.m., we were running off two generator lights, we weren�t supposed to be here,� LaMartina starts. �And people just kept driving by and we would just throw it over the bridge,� George finishes, as they both laugh about the fake body, caked in mud, they used for the scene being discussed. And so it goes for the young film makers: LaMartina, 22, a 2007 grad-uate from Towson University and George, 27, a Towson dropout. Two years ago, �Book of Lore� was merely a bunch of ideas being tossed back and forth over dinner at the Double T Diner. LaMartina and George, who met through a mutual friend, aimed to create a movie that was based on the myriad of myths, tales and urban legends that Catonsville and the surrounding community provide. These stories would eventually comprise the titular book. �Jimmy and I set out to write a film that was, to a certain extent, personal, in respect to what we grew up on,� LaMartina says as he sits with George on the steps leading up to the notorious Hell House of his-toric Ellicott City. �The whole film is about growing up.� LaMartina wears his thick-rimmed glasses the way Spielberg would his trademark baseball cap and Lucas his flannel shirt. He speaks quickly, moving from one subject to another, often abandoning them mid-sentence See FILM, page 18 "
