I had the pleasure of seeing Chazz Palminteri's one man show, "A Bronx Tale" live on stage last night, followed by a meet and greet where I did indeed have the opportunity to meet one of my favorite and most inspiring actors.

He initially performed this show in 1989 and was essentially discovered through it by Robert De Niro and the movie was made. He was also offered seven figures for the rights to the show, which he refused and the real pay-off was much greater.

This is the perfect example of a quirkier, more type-cast actor making it in the mainstream and breaking through on the sheer force of his talent alone. It's people like this that truly fill me with passion, inspiration and the need to be true to myself and do the best work I can possibly do- always.

I highly advise all of you to go see his show if you can as the man is very gifted and I was captivated the entire time.

Go, Chazz Palminteri. You are a genius, a tribute to the acting profession and a wonderful example of what it's really all about.

It was a real honor.

cool. I'm heading to vegas at the end of the month and already looking into tix for the show.

Also, had the pleasure to do some events with him and wanted to add---Before he had the show put together he worked on and created the characters (orig from his life) in acting class. One by one until he had the whole group of them.

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Originally posted by fischy500:
cool. I'm heading to vegas at the end of the month and already looking into tix for the show.

Also, had the pleasure to do some events with him and wanted to add---Before he had the show put together he worked on and created the characters (orig from his life) in acting class. One by one until he had the whole group of them.

He will not be there long. Better make it sooner than later.

I keep looking at the photo of us together. I know some may laugh but I am truly so jazzed that I got to meet of the small handful of actors I truly respect and adore.

I went up to him and shook his hand and I was like, "I wanted you to know that I would rather watch any of your movies over and over again than most of the stuff made today".

He said, "Thank you- that's very sweet", and you could tell he meant it. I then said, "It was an honest compliment. Could I please get a photo?"

And he said, "Of course" and there is me and him and he has this big smile and I look like a starstruck teenager with this big grin too.

I know it's no big deal to a lot of you but I love this guy and his movie, "A Bronx Tale" has a special place in my heart and the whole thing was just such an amazing experience. This was no celebrity sighting- this was CHAZZ PALMINTERI. It's such a geat moment when you get to meet someone you respect so much and they have CLASS.

He makes me want to act even more- as if that was possible!!!

Sounds great Miss Stone!!

I have a few choice run ins with some of my favorite acting heros. Its always great to meet them. I met Kurtwood Smith (the villian from RoboCop) and he was pretty great. He told me he and his wife noticed me noticing him...and placed bets on which movie I was a fan of. He said he knew for sure it wasn't That 70s show...

Another one I met which was fantastic was Crispen Glover. In a similar fashion to you seeing Palminteri in his play, I saw Glover at a screening of the film he directed, which had an opening act of two one act plays which he wrote and starred in.

Those plays were great! Definitely not the hard edged real life of a Bronx Tale, more surreal comedy. One in particular might be the greatest piece of theater I have seen. lover played a guy on trial for murdering a child. How did the child die? Glovers character fed him to an aligator. The audience played the jury he was adressing. he had various exhibits to prove his case.

Afterwords, Glover did a Q&A and meet and great with fans. He was obviously eccentric, but suprisingly humble that this many people would come out and see his stuff. And yes...he did gladly sign stuff from Back to the Future and other mainstream work he has done, and stayed well after the theater closed outside on the sidewalk talking with fans, detractors, film conisseurs and assorted goth weirdos.

What do these guys have in common (Paminteri included)? they are in it for the art. if they weren't making a dime, they would still be doing their one act plays, or their indie movies, or whatever. Glover and Palminteri both wrote their own material, that was in some ways very close to their hearts and non-commercial. Kurtwood smith, while not writing and directing as far as I know, seemed to revel playing one of the greatest villians of all time. oh..and i forgot to mention, I ran into smith in the audience of a play, at a theater group he was an alumni of.

And this one last thing... was going to start a thread about this, but wasn't quite sure how to word it. But the other day I discovered that one of my favorite classic film actors' son lives literally less than a block from me. This actor is more than a decade and a half dead at this point, but continues to be an influence on me, as well as others (his cult has grown in recent years as one of those ahead of their time guys...)

Anyway, i won't say which actor, for that would give a clue to my actual address! But I will say this...in the early 60s he did what Palminteri did and produced his own work. e did both plays and films of his own writing, but one film in particular struck a very weird cord that hasn't yet been matched to this day.

Anyway, recently his son made a documentary about him. I was checking out the website for the documentary, and the ording information gave a real address, not a PO box. The address there was a few numbers away from my own.

Still wondering how to approach that one! I put it into Google maps and yup...less than a block from me! I think I might e-mail...or maybe not.

Anyway, got a little long winded there. But stuff like this is always cool and keeps you going!

quote:

Originally posted by harlemhippo:
Sounds great Miss Stone!!

I have a few choice run ins with some of my favorite acting heros. Its always great to meet them. I met Kurtwood Smith (the villian from RoboCop) and he was pretty great. He told me he and his wife noticed me noticing him...and placed bets on which movie I was a fan of. He said he knew for sure it wasn't That 70s show...

Another one I met which was fantastic was Crispen Glover. In a similar fashion to you seeing Palminteri in his play, I saw Glover at a screening of the film he directed, which had an opening act of two one act plays which he wrote and starred in.

Those plays were great! Definitely not the hard edged real life of a Bronx Tale, more surreal comedy. One in particular might be the greatest piece of theater I have seen. lover played a guy on trial for murdering a child. How did the child die? Glovers character fed him to an aligator. The audience played the jury he was adressing. he had various exhibits to prove his case.

Afterwords, Glover did a Q&A and meet and great with fans. He was obviously eccentric, but suprisingly humble that this many people would come out and see his stuff. And yes...he did gladly sign stuff from Back to the Future and other mainstream work he has done, and stayed well after the theater closed outside on the sidewalk talking with fans, detractors, film conisseurs and assorted goth weirdos.

What do these guys have in common (Paminteri included)? they are in it for the art. if they weren't making a dime, they would still be doing their one act plays, or their indie movies, or whatever. Glover and Palminteri both wrote their own material, that was in some ways very close to their hearts and non-commercial. Kurtwood smith, while not writing and directing as far as I know, seemed to revel playing one of the greatest villians of all time. oh..and i forgot to mention, I ran into smith in the audience of a play, at a theater group he was an alumni of.

And this one last thing... was going to start a thread about this, but wasn't quite sure how to word it. But the other day I discovered that one of my favorite classic film actors' son lives literally less than a block from me. This actor is more than a decade and a half dead at this point, but continues to be an influence on me, as well as others (his cult has grown in recent years as one of those ahead of their time guys...)

Anyway, i won't say which actor, for that would give a clue to my actual address! But I will say this...in the early 60s he did what Palminteri did and produced his own work. e did both plays and films of his own writing, but one film in particular struck a very weird cord that hasn't yet been matched to this day.

Anyway, recently his son made a documentary about him. I was checking out the website for the documentary, and the ording information gave a real address, not a PO box. The address there was a few numbers away from my own.

Still wondering how to approach that one! I put it into Google maps and yup...less than a block from me! I think I might e-mail...or maybe not.

Anyway, got a little long winded there. But stuff like this is always cool and keeps you going!

You nailed it here. That is EXACTLY why I love people like that.

I am having a hard time right now getting my hubby to see that living in a shoebox while you go after what you LOVE has a far greater pay-off than all of life's riches.

People like those we so admire, alas, are a dying breed. It's up to people like you and me to be the ones that keep the passion of it all going- and to hell with all the rest.

Love what you do- cherish it and be true to it.

Thanks for sharing. I knew you would feel me on this.

quote:

People like those we so admire, alas, are a dying breed. It's up to people like you and me to be the ones that keep the passion of it all going- and to hell with all the rest.

Sometimes I agree with that, sometimes not. it seems every day I meet somebody burnt out, had it, down on the industry or their place in it. They ooze negativity, and can be impressed by nothing. And thus, they accomplish nothing.

I also meet a lot of people with the spirit still in their eye. there want to do art because of some inner passion telling them they have to, not to be rich or famous or anything like that. those are sort of side effects, and the smartest of them make that part of their art as well.

I just watched A Bronx Tale yesterday. I had never seen it before. While I love Goodfellas and The Godfather, and even The Sopranoes, mob movies were never quite my thing. I always sort of dismissed this one...

Anyway, it was really good. it really had a more human element to it than GodFather or Goodfellas. The escalating sub-plot about racial tension was great. Palminteri was fantastic as the mob boss, that on one hand was reprehensably evil and on the other hand earned out symapthy by the end of the film.

Anyway, glad I finally saw it. Makes me really want to see the one man show version. Some parts in the film you can se it...while others strike me as very movie-ish. Probably something was lost in the translation from play to movie back in 93.

Anyway, I never really followed Chazz Palminteri's career before. always enjoyed him when he popped up, but never really was on my list of people I see everything they do. hearing his story and how he wrote this as a one man show for himself has me very interested now.

I watched it agin the other day too. It's so good, isn't it? I am really glad you are part of the Chazz fan base now. You're like me in that people's journey and their story gets you in and makes you interested in their work. When I know people have broken through from TALENT and not from being a celeb's daughter or some such it makes me really root for them and respect them.

He is not just an actor, he is a writer who spawned his own breaks. I also watched "Faithful" with him and Cher last night and he wrote that as well. It was quite funny and it was the dialogue that was really witty. As with "A Bronx Tale", it is based on a play he wrote. Definitely worth a watch.