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Arts and Culture
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cinema - cinéma - cinema
Steve Galluccio’s ‘Funkytown’ By Laura Casella
From Mambo Italiano to Ciao Bella, and In Piazza San Domenico , it seems that anything Montreal-born writer Steve Galluccio puts on paper turns to life. In his latest project Funkytown, Galluccio takes us back to a time when bell-bottoms, chest bearing shirts, and short skirts were all the rage. he movie is set in Montreal in the late 1970’s and follows the lives of seven characters that are living and breathing the disco phenomenon. “Disco music was very big in Montreal,” says 50-yearold Galluccio. “Disco songs were hits here first before they were in other parts of the world.” If you lived through the 70’s you would most likely be familiar with club ‘Limelight’ on Stanley Street, once known as the centre of disco mania in Montreal. “Limelight was just as big as Studio 54,” Galluccio claims. “It was the place to go and be seen.” Funkytown, which features a bilingual cast, revives the
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magic from Limelight as it chronicles the rise and fall of the disco era and the characters that surround it. Although Galluccio was still just a teenager in the seventies, he was inspired to write the screenplay. “I was very much influenced by disco music in my high school years. Wherever you went you heard disco. In the movies, on TV, everywhere.” The movie is a drama, which was challenging for Galluccio. Anyone familiar with this playwright’s work knows that humor typically plays a big role in his dialogue. “Humour is the way I live my life,” he says. “I try to see the positive in any situation and that’s why drama is a bigger challenge for me.” Born in Montreal’s Little Italy and raised in Ahunstic, his parents were both from Galluccio, Caserta. He says his family has always been a source of inspiration for him. “My parents had a good sense of humour and Italians in general are very funny people. We tend to over-dramatize everything and it’s extremely funny,” he exclaims. While some things may never change, Galluccio says he is amazed at how the young Italian generation has evolved over the years. “Many Italians, as I explored in Mambo Italiano and Ciao Bella, live within this protocol of Italian life. You go to school, get a job, get married, and have kids. But I see that culture changing. Young Italian Montrealers are really doing what they want in their life. They’re becoming writers, fashion designers, journalists, etc... It really warms my heart to see that.” Galluccio had to break down his own barriers with his traditional Italian family who did not quite understand his ambition to become a playwright. “My parents were
convinced I was going to end up on the street,” he laughs. “But they knew how hard-headed I was and that I wasn’t going to give up on my dream. I think they in some way admired my determination but they would remind me from time to time that I was wasting my life.” However, Galluccio’s incredible work ethic paid off and success came knocking at his door with his first hit film- namely Mambo Italiano. “I’ve been very lucky to have Mambo Italiano in my life,” he states. “I’m fine if I never beat its success. I think Mambo comes along once in a lifetime. It was a phenomenal hit. How can you match that?” How does Broadway sound? Galluccio confirms that there are talks going on to bring Mambo Italiano to the big stage in New York City. “It’s a project that’s been in talks for three years now and it’s extremely hard to put together. I’m told it should be on stage in 2013. But until I see it, I won’t believe it,” he says. Until then, get ready for the sequel to Mambo Italiano, which Galluccio is working on right now. “Although I’ve said I’d never write a sequel, it’s been ten years now, and I thought to myself you know what, this could be fun.” A humble man, Galluccio says he doesn’t really think about all the success he’s had. “It’s always funny to me when people recognize me. I don’t think of it in terms of success. I just think it’s so cool that I’ve been able to live off what I love to do. That’s what success really means to me.”
**‘Funkytown’ is now in theatres. v