Parallel paths
by Jim Distasio

(Reprinted from FRA NOI
Italian-American Voice)

Talk about life imitating art.

Chicago filmmaker Vito Brancato is trying to break into show

business with an independently produced TV pilot that chronicles

the adventures of two Sicilian troubadours who themselves are

trying to make it in Hollywood.

Written and directed by Brancato, the pilot "CIAO AMERICA!"

stars real-life Italian musicians Chris Damiano and Luca Chiappini

as Aldo and Fredo Monelli, a Laurel and Hardy-esque duo who

live in Sicily with their crazy mother, six chickens and a goat.

Dreaming of stardom, the dynamic duo hijack Italy’s satellite

signal to beam their variety show to the States, and what

follows is a mixture of madcap comedy and music. The Monellis

are joined during the show-within-a-show by other characters,

including their psychotic mother, an elderly clown, a hip-hop

opera singer, a busty newscaster, an overly-amorous producer,

an accordion playing Elvis impersonator, a fictionalized Dr. Phil

and a billy goat who is their reincarnated grandfather.

Sounds crazy, right? That’s exactly the vibe Brancato is striving

for. “It’s an over the top, complete farce,” says Brancato, who

cites HBO’s behind-the-scenes television satire “The Larry Sanders

Show” as an inspiration. “It’s not like anything that’s been done

before.”

Brancato came up with the idea after seeing Damiano and

Chiappini perform their Italian-style music-and-comedy act at

the urging of a friend. Two weeks later, Brancato grabbed his

equipment, the two musicians and some actor friends to shoot

two comedy shorts detailing Aldo and Fredo’s first trip to America.

The shorts were uploaded to his RazorFilms web-site and Brancato

soon tracked multiple “hits” to the offices of major networks such

as CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox, as well as cable giants Comedy Central

and MTV. The interest from Hollywood convinced Brancato that

he should retool the shorts into a self-funded and produced

television pilot he could sell to a network.

The 41-year old Brancato has been making independent films and

television shows for 20 years, starting with a pro wrestling show

he produced and starred in and sold to Chicago's SportsChannel,

the precursor to Fox Sports.

With TV contract in hand, Brancato turned the wrestling gig into

on-the-job film school and learned everything he could about

acting, writing and directing. Plus, the limited financial resources

of the show also taught the young filmmaker how to stretch a

dollar on screen. “I have a knack for producing low-budget

projects and making them look like we spent much more.”

Brancato followed the wrestling show with a sketch comedy

show “On Edge with the Razor”, two independent features –

an Italian-American satire  “The Life & Tales of Tony D” and a

hard-core crime flick  “The Right Thing”. He has also written

several screenplays including “Blackstone”, historical fiction

about an unsuccessful attempt on JFK’s life in Chicago one

year before Dallas which aired on PBS.

Contact RazorFilms

Phone: 312.388.8486 or e-mail