Heroes Don't Come Home
Written and directed by Jake Hulse. Produce by Mike Haas and Kelly Henshaw.
Heroes Don't Come Home
“A genuinely moving story...”
“Every shot framed perfectly to capture the moment...amazing performances by Casanova and McElroy... ”
“Authenticity that was earned....ambitious”
Deep in the woods of Maine, a broken promise made after the September 11th attacks forces two friends to confront the teenagers they were and the men they’ve become.
A Happy Wasteland Production, Written and Directed by Jake Hulse, and Produced by Kelly Henshaw and Michael Haas. Starring Andrew Casanova, Tyler McElroy, and Robert Schorr.
Tim and Ben grew up together in small town New England - they’re practically brothers, and then their teenage lives are shattered by the events of 9/11, which claims the life of Tim’s father. Both vow to enlist and fight in the War on Terror, but Ben wavers and Tim deploys with the U.S. Marines to Afghanistan. Reunited years later, on a fishing trip in the remote woods of Maine with Ben’s father, an unexpected event forces the two, who have now become strangers, to confront the teenagers they were and the men they’ve become. A moving story of broken promises, shredded friendship, family, and who we would have been.
Andrew Casanova, who plays Tim Estey, is a graduate of the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts. His film and TV appearances include: Netflix's "Luke Cage" (2016), HBO’s “Codes of Conduct” (directed by “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen); the feature-length film/documentary “Audition”; and the teaser trailer for the feature film, “An Evening with Donald Kempinski” (executive produced by Mark Foligno of “The King’s Speech”). He has appeared in commercials for Verizon, Budweiser, TripAdvisor, Bojangles’ Chicken, Kyocera (alongside Bear Grylls), Daily News and Go Go Squeez. Andrew is also part of the thriving Latino sketch group, Room 28 Comedy, which specializes in live and filmed sketches, music videos and commercials.
Tyler McElroy, who plays Ben MacDonald, is a graduate of New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Tyler McElroy has appeared as the lead in the feature films, “Border Break” and “Bright Ideas,” starring opposite Jeremy London and J Eddie Peck. He has appeared in supporting roles in the Off-Off Broadway play, “Dog Sees God,” as well as the short film, “Halina,” which has been accepted into the Long Island Film Festival. Tyler writes, directs and appears in comedy sketches on YouTube under the “ProDucks Media” channel. He is a former professional wake boarder whose sponsors included H2O Clothing, Texas Mastercraft and Spy Eyewear.
Robert Schorr, who plays John MacDonald, is a graduate of the Actors Studio Drama School where he received his MFA in Acting. Originally from California, he has a B.A. in Cinema from CSU-San Francisco and is an alumnus of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has appeared in various theatrical works in and around New York, including “The Wild Duck,” “Three Sisters,” “Six Degrees of Separation” and “The Laramie Project.” He has also appeared in two web-series – “Into Girl” and “Ringer$” – and the SVA short film, “Gloaming Almost Invisible.”
Written and Directed by:
JAKE HULSE is one of the founding members of Happy Wasteland Studios. He has been writing and directing films since his first claymation movies in middle school. Jake started his filmmaking career at the concession counter of his local cineplex. He’d begged them to let him be an usher, but he wasn’t old enough and the closest he ever got to working in the theatre was shelling out bags of popcorn in the main lobby. A graduate of Northeastern University, he originally pursued a career in law enforcement, before switching gears to focus more squarely on his filmmaking career. He served as Director of Photography for Happy Wasteland’s first feature film, “The Answer,” directed by Wade Wofford, which was an official selection of the 2016 Canada International Film Festival.
Produced by:
KELLY HENSHAW has an Associates Degree in Visual Arts and a BA in Liberal Arts from Baypath University. Kelly Henshaw first worked with Happy Wasteland Studios on a short film entitled the “Iroquois Project.” She continued to support them as they worked on Wade Wofford’s feature film “The Answer.” As the company wrapped that film Kelly offered to step in and produce “Heroes Don’t Come Home,” on which she wore a number of hats including production designer, UPM, and location scout.
Produced by:
MICHAEL HAAS is another of the founding members of Happy Wasteland. He is heavily involved in all phases of pre-production, production and post-production on the company’s short and feature films. Michael created the visual FX for Happy Wasteland’s first feature film, “The Answer.” He also worked as the VFX artist on “Dark Origins” – which won “Best Narrative Short” at the Fright Night Film Fest and the LA Cinema Festival of Hollywood. For “Heroes Don’t Come Home,” he served as both producer and VFX artist.
Director of Photography:
WADE WOFFORD is the remaining founding member of Happy Wasteland. Born and raised near Atlanta, his passion for film work began with self-made pinhole cameras and his father’s Vietnam-relic Nikon F. A graduate of the Los Angeles Film School, the University of Georgia and the Meisner School, he has worked on independent and full-budget TV and film productions in Atlanta, New York and L.A. Wade’s first feature as a writer/director, “Perception,” won the “Royal Reel Award in Filmmaking” at the Canada International Film Festival. The most current film he wrote and directed, “The Answer” is currently on the festival circuit.