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 Chazz Palminteri
Interview By: Rick Mele
It’s that time of year again, as the Oscar buzz starts heating up around a select group of films and actors. The competition is fierce with such a strong slate of films this year and even though it’s still early, a few are beginning to distinguish themselves. And, more than ever this year, these films are coming not from the major Hollywood studios, but from the world of New York-based independent film. So while we’re still 3 months removed from discovering who walks away with those coveted statues, it’s only natural to start talking Oscars. And, as the coveted nominations materialize, a couple names begin to stand out, most conspicuously, the ever-talented Chazz Palminteri, for his role as Monty, Dito’s controlling father, in the character-driven, NY-based indie hit, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. Written and directed by first-timer Dito Montiel, the film is a coming-of-age tale about a young boy growing up in Queens in the 1980s. With sparkling performances from a talented mix of established stars and relative new-comers, it’s no wonder A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints has picked up steam in the latest round of Oscar predictions. The movie was already a big hit at Sundance, where Montiel won the Director’s Award for Drama and the cast picked up the Special Jury Prize for its ensemble performance. When he sat down to talk with us about his latest film, Palminteri had nothing but praise for his co-stars, despite their varying levels of experience, “The kids were great, Shia [LaBouef] (who plays the young Dito) and Channing Tatum, they’re just really good actors. Very young, but they have the weight behind them, you know, they’re really good. They’ll have great careers, both of them.” Part of what makes A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints so special is the way it supported the burgeoning talents of its young stars with more established veteran actors such as Robert Downey Jr., Dianne Wiest, and Palminteri himself. Of working with Wiest again, Palminteri says, “[She’s] just a wonderful actor and a great lady and a great person. I love working with her, I worked with her in Bullets over Broadway, which we both were nominated [for], and she won, obviously, and rightly so. So it was great to be working together again.” So did their most recent pairing have Palminteri thinking Oscars once more? “The thing about the Oscars, I mean, it’s great, I’d be flattered but, you know, we’ll see. There’s a lot of great performers and a lot of great actors and a lot of great movies. We just made a great movie and if that happens for us and more people get to see the movie, that’s great.” For Chazz, it’s more about the power of the story and the acting than any potential awards. Part of the reason he believes A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints has had so much staying power and garnered such attention can be attributed to the ... |
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