Don’t Sleep on Verdi Productions’ New Film ‘Sleepwalker’
The film starring Hayden Panettiere and Beverly D'Angelo had its Rhode Island premiere at The Odeum, bringing a star studded night to Little Rhody.
(Left to right) Hayden Panettiere, Lori Tan Chinn and Beverly D’Angelo. Photo courtesy of Verdi Productions.
Since 2011, Verdi Productions has brought star studded films to Rhode Island, bringing job opportunities and Hollywood flare with them. With father and son duo Chad Verdi Sr. and Chad Verdi Jr. at the head of the company, Verdi Productions has produced notable films like Bleed for This, Johnny & Clyde and Vault, all in Rhode Island. For the smallest state, each time the production company announces a new film that will use Rhode Island as the backdrop, it acts as a large breath into Rhode Island’s artistic community. Thursday night saw the most recent Verdi film premiere at historic East Greenwich venue The Odeum.
The film, Sleepwalker, centers around Sarah, a mother processing the events that led to both her daughter Aimee’s death and her abusive husband Michaels grim coma. Staying at her mother Glorias house with her young son Holden, Sarah experiences nights filled with ghostly terrors and sleepwalking as she comes to terms with her trauma.
The cast is chock-full of heavy hitters, with Hayden Panettiere (Scream, Nashville, Bring it On: All or Nothing) in the role of Sarah, Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon Vacation films, Coal Miner’s Daughter) as Gloria, and Justin Chatwin (Shameless, War of the Worlds) as Michael. Ensemble cast members include Lori Tan Chinn (Orange is the New Black, Nora from Queens), and frequent Verdi Productions collaborators Mischa Barton (The O.C., The Hills: New Beginnings) and Eric Lutes (So Little Time, Switching Goals).
Mischa Barton and Justin Chatwin. Photo courtesy of Verdi Productions.
The Odeum’s foyer seemed to be on the cusp of bursting as members of the Rhode Island film community shuffled in to see the thriller. The premiere was complete with a red carpet where cast members and the production crew posed as fans and press alike hungrily snapped photos. D’Angelo and the films child actors, Corinne Sweeney and Laird LaCoste, were a few of the main cast present. Due to the flu that is surging through the US currently, Panettiere and the film’s director, Brandon Auman, could not be present.
For D’Angelo, the film marks her reunion with Panettiere, who she, prior to Sleepwalker, hadn’t been in the same room with since 1998.
“I met Hayden when she was 10 years old. I was renovating a house and I hired her dad as a local contractor, and he said ‘my daughters an actress I’d love you to meet her.’ He brought her over and she was only 10 years old,” says D’Angelo. “I kept track of her career as it grew, and then we found ourselves for the first time since that meeting at the table read in 2025. Our chemistry was built in. We just clicked.”
Their built-in chemistry was most certainly noticeable. Throughout the film, Panettiere’s Sarah is put through the ringer, and while D’Angelo’s Gloria embodies a new age, hippie persona that gets on Sarahs nerves, their chemistry comes across strong to the audience.
Photo courtesy of Verdi Productions.
Despite sharing the screen with award winning actors, Corinne Sweeney and Laird LaCoste, who play Aimee and Holden, came out as scene stealers. Aimee is seen through flashbacks and gives horrifying performances as she terrorizes her mother, perpetuating Sarahs guilt. Holden is grieving the loss of his sister as any pre-teen would, glued to his iPad, removing his eyes from the screen only to deliver angsty and emotionally charged lines. The film was both of their firsts, and it’s safe to say it fulfilled their wildest expectations.
“It was really magical, and it felt like being part of a family,” Says LaCoste. “Everybody was so nice and caring. It was the greatest experience I’ve ever lived in my life.”
Laird LaCoste and Corinne Sweeney. Photo courtesy of Verdi Productions.
Steven Feinberg, executive director of the Rhode Island Film and TV Office, attended the premiere to support the Verdi’s Thursday night. Feinberg, through his role as executive director, has worked with the Verdi’s for years to see through that their films come to fruition. While present at all major premieres in the state, Feinberg almost always is in attendance to celebrate each Verdi Production film.
“I love what the Verdi Production Company is doing. This is one of the new movies coming out from them and they’re really talented, hardworking people. They’re also employing local production staff which is a wonderful thing,” says Feinberg. “They understand the creativity and the economics that are required to make a great film. They now have developed a really outstanding crew, some of whom came from New England Tech and URI. They’re real Rhode Islanders making it happen.”
Chad Verdi Sr. definitely knows something about being a Rhode Islander. The producer was born and raised in the ocean state and considers it the perfect place to make films.
“Every premiere is a bit emotional honestly. We have several offices in this state and it’s just about bringing everything back to the community because the community makes the films,” says Verdi Sr. “On Bleed for This we had 10,000 extras for one scene. That’s almost unheard of in movies to get that many extras. Rhode Island has been so good to us we’re just trying to give back to the state and we love doing it all here.”
Sleepwalker is available in select theaters and to stream at home on Prime Video and Apple TV. See the trailer for the film below!
