Local Producer/Director's Film Helps Kick-Off Annual Method Film Festival
Courtesy
of Local Paper
Calabasas, CA
March, 2006
The short film of Calabasas Producer/Director Mark Riccardi will be one of the kick-off special films getting this week's Calabasas Method Film Festival underway. This is Riccardi's first major film after working for the past 20 years as a stunt double. The dream of producing and directing his own films via his firm, Take Two Entertainment, had always been in the back of his mind.
The opportunity to get his film started came about when he met Al Bozzi at the Santa Anita racetrack in 1991. "We hit it off right away when he knew that I was in the movie business. He had a script caled All The Marbles that he had been tryinig to seel in the studios for years." said Riccardi. After the meeting with Bozzi, Riccardi said, "Al sent me boxes of handwritten scams that included 'Livewire' as one of his stories." Riccardi sent the treatment to his writer friend, Nick Schodtler, who banged out a script in a week where it then stood for 13 years. The long pause between stunt doubling and pre-production of his film was taken with his busy main movie career.
Finally, Bozzi's daughter Lisa, contacted Riccardi and joined the project as Executive Producer to give her 83 year old dad the film he always dreamed about. Riccardi put on his Producer's hat and rounded up a cast and crew and in March 2005, started shooting day and night with 30 scene set-ups and a "lot of favors." A friend, Michael Cavaliei, a two time Method Fest winner, stepped right into Bozzi's shoes with a little coaching from the master. Bozzi flew out for the week and was the Technical Advisor as well as a cameo actor playing the part of the guy he used to beat known as the "bookie"!
Today, Bozzi lives in New York, but did most of his cons and scams in the Boston area years ago. His wife divorced him twice, his son turned him into the FBI after seeing all the deceptive equipment he usedd at the racetrack and his life was a mess. Ultimately, Bozzi's intent turned to regaining his family after the years of turmoil he had caused with his scams. Today, he roots for the Riccardi film, which is scheduled to be shown on Sunday, April 2. "Postime," says Riccardi, "is noon at the Louis B. Mayer Theatre in the Motion Picture Home complex in Calabasas."
Riccardi and his wife, Valerie, live in Calabasas with their three year old son, Dominic.
About the Method Fest Film Festival
The Method Fest Film Festival came to Calabasas for the first time to bring independent films and budding actors and directors to a city that's already home to many movie industry pros. This year's Festival scheduled from March 31 through April 7, presents films from 23 states and 17 countries. A large number of entries are student projects from film schools. Method Fest will feature 25 films and 50 short films to be screened at the festival.
The Method Fest is a discovery festival to help launch the works of young filmmakers and discover breakthrough performances by new actors. "It's a perfect fit to have a film festival in Calabasas," said Calabasas Mayor Dennis Washburn. "Building a cultural and Hollywood kind of historic event in our town could be a lot of fun, good for our image, good for our business and good for cultural and educational development. For more info about Method Fest, visit their web site at www.methodfest.com, or call (310)-535-9230.
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