Do you have a favorite American made brand? “That is a good question. My favorite American made brand is Apple. I know that their products are not made here. But I heard that Apple is coming back to the United States and start manufacturing here. So that is encouraging news and Apple is absolutely my favorite American made products.”
Photos by Diana Ragland
Tell us a bit more about your new movie “Last I Heard” which you wrote, produced, and directed: Yes, I wrote and directed the film “Last I Heard” and I am one of the producers. It is basically a New York slice of life. It is mostly based in Queens, NY. The focal point of “Last I Heard” is an old mafia captain from Queens who gets released from prison after 25 years. After he gets home he has to right away deal with a progressive society. It is a new tolerance for society, I guess you could say. His neighbor Bobby, played by Michael Rapaport stands for what it is like today as a young Italian American businessman. His daughter has a few surprises for him as well; being a modern woman throws him for a loop. While he is doing all of this, he realizes that the guy he was before no longer exists, the people he associated with are either gone or in jail and life is just not what it used to be for him. It is definitely not your typical mob movie though. What was it like working with such a talented cast on “Last I heard”? Working with the likes of Paul Sorvino, Michael Rapaport, Renee Props, Paul Ben-Victor, Stephen Bauer and Chazz Palminteri, just to name a few, their collective experience makes your job as a director easier but it certainly keeps you on your toes. So you definitely need to be prepared when you walk on set when you are working with people of that caliber. Fortunately, I was prepared and the actors knew that I knew what I wanted so they were able to deliver. There was no indecisiveness on set. We got to work and hit the ball out of the park every single day. It was a wonderful experience working with people of that caliber. Nationalistmag.com 83