Local Production Company Hits The Big Time With Cult Favorite
24 Star
Remember
the look on your face when you were watching the Emmy Award winning show
24 and suddenly you realized one character was not going to make
it. He may not have been a major player, but Edgar, played by the
Bronx’ own Louis Lombardi became a cult favorite and a
sentimental hero who we all wanted to see live through the end and stake his
claim with Chloe. So, when he passed out from nerve poisoning, the
hearts of many 24 fans sank in sadness. But don’t feel too bad.
The computer geek is using his keyboard for a different reason and is turning
in his nerdy ways for a traditional Italian story and he is doing it with a
Bronx production company on the rise.
Harrington Talents, a production company on City Island, which started as wedding videographers and moved on to shoot videos for USA Pro Wrestling, the Ruff Ryders and a number of other stars and companies, is teaming up with Lombardi to film the movie The Bakery this July. Casting is already underway for the film that will seem a lot like the borough best known for such places as Little Italy and the restaurants and bakeries that make up the cultural community Bronxites love.
“Lou Lombardi is flying back from Hollywood to do this movie here in the Bronx with us at Harrington Talents,” said Frank Mosca, co-founder of the production company. “It is a major step for both of our careers and we are looking to finish casting and we are trying to keep it all in the Bronx.”
The company conducted an open casting call from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 3, at 213 Fordham Street on City Island. “We were looking for real Bronx natives, both male and female, 25 years and up,” added Mosca. “We were also looking for two heavyset males ages 8 to 12 and we had a few major roles available, especially for a heavyset Italian male in his 30s or early 40s. There were a lot of opportunities available for what we think is a great film. We are shooting in The Bronx, with Bronx natives, and the majority of the project is funded by business owners of The Bronx, it's a beautiful thing.”
The
Bakery is a film about two brothers who run the family business,
which is a classic bakery in the
Bronx. Both of their parents are gone but the entire bakery is filled
with pictures of them on its walls. One brother, Lou, always seems to get
himself into trouble, especially with his gambling. Frank is th
e
more responsible of the two, but at the same time hates the neighborhood and
resents being a baker.
Frank recently discovered he is going to be a father and his wife's father offers him a job in Florida. Now Frank has to tell Lou that he is going to leave the family business and needs his half of the money that's invested in the bakery.
According to Harrington Talents, the film is filled with many unique characters and witty dialogue, written by Lombardi, which can only come from true New Yorkers. The company is even going so far as to call it the Italian Barbershop, noting the hit film starring Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer.
"It is great to be part of a project where everyone on board is so determined to make a great movie". - Steve Franciosa Jr., a co-founder of Harrington Talents.
The project seemed like the next logical step for Harrington Talents, which recently received a lot of attention after a groundbreaking short film Even Stevens. The film portrays what happens when poetic justice meets one of society’s cruelest citizens in the form of a child pedophile. The movie turned quite a few heads and amazingly packed a whole lot of drama in a very short span of time. The question of what can be done when Harrington Talents embarked on a full-fledged feature will finally be answered.
“We have had great success with our last two short films, so it is the logical step to move onto a feature of this caliber,” said John Morena, Jr., co-founder of the Bronx production company.
The project is set to start shooting this July at Conti's Pastry Shoppe in Morris Park, and to have a rough edit completed by September. From there, Harrington Talents plans to enter it in many film festivals, where the market value of the final product will increase dramatically.
For more information about Harrington Talents, check out www.harringtontalents.com.For feedback, visit our message board or e-mail the author at jminners@g-pop.net.