Local artist to make film debut in ‘Aladdin 3477’

Tony Miello grew up loving toys. One of his favorites as a kid was the Micronauts Space Lab.
Not much has changed for Miello, a Wyandotte resident who is acting in his first movie, he still gets to play with that toy. Just in a slightly different way.
Miello’s eyes lit up for a second when “Aladdin 3477” director Matt Busch pulled out the futuristic handcuffs that would be used in the scene they were filming.
“That’s the Micronauts Space Dock,” he bellowed at Busch. “I loved that when I was a kid.”
This revelation leads the pair off on a tangent talking about toys, and eventually “Star Wars,” for a few minutes before they get back to work on the movie.
Miello, 46,  has a “significant” role in the film that Busch wrote and is directing. He’s on the top of the call list for the day, and the only actor needed on the set. The crew is filming a scene in which his character, Harshad, appears as a hologram to plead for help and the kindness of his captors.
PHOTOS: Behind the scenes of "Aladdin 3477"
“Make no mistake this is all Matt’s vision,” Miello said, “but he’s great at integrating others ideas if it makes for a better take on a scene.
“He’s been working on this for years, and he really knows what it is he needs out of a scene.”
For Miello, acting is just the latest of many ways for him to express his creative outlet.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” he said. “As chaotic as it is at times, everyone is very disciplined and they are all very professional.”
Miello got involved in the project after becoming friends with Busch on the comic book convention circuit. Both are artists by trade and they often frequent the same shows.
“He said to me, ‘hey I’m writing this movie and you have an ethnic type look, you should read for a part,’” Miello said. “I didn’t think anything of it. But then he sent me an email and we set up an audition. I read for like four parts and got this one.

“I was really quite impressed that he gave me such a role. I started shooting on location out in Silver Lake Dunes, and have been shooting here for awhile.”
Busch said he cast Miello in the film initially because they were friends, but he was given a larger role after proving to be a good actor.
“I promised him a role, but I had backup plans to make it a small one if he couldn’t act,” Busch said, smiling. “He’s done really well with the role so far. Tony’s a pleasure to work with.”
For the background of the movie, you have to travel back more than 20 years. Busch was just starting out as a professional artist, and was working for George Lucas himself on some Star Wars related projects.
That’s when the ideas for the project began to develop, though they were initially going to be turned into a graphic novel, not a movie.
Busch was living in Los Angeles at the time, and eventually started working on multiple film and television projects such as “Con Air,” “The Devil’s Own,” “Hard Rain,” Melrose Place,” “Cosby,” “Murphy Brown,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond” to name a few. The film industry had bitten him, and eventually led to his project moving in that direction.
In the 21 years since he started in California, Busch has only fallen more in love with moving pictures, so when the opportunity arose to make a movie he jumped on it.
“My career has never had me busier,” he said. “I love it.”
The project is a family affair though, as his wife Lin Zy Busch serves several roles on the film too, including acting in a role, doing the costumes and makeup and producing the movie to name a few.
The movie itself is based on the “Arabian Nights” story of “Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.”
Once the familiar plot is established, however, Busch’s version of the story soars to new