Neighborhood Fella Creating & Directing 'His Way'

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NEIGHBORHOOD FELLA CREATING AND DIRECTING "HIS WAY" by Nick Christophers In the world of film digging for talent and developing it is a rare find. Yet sometimes if you search long enough a rare breed ...

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NEIGHBORHOOD FELLA CREATING AND DIRECTING "HIS WAY"
by Nick Christophers

In the world of film digging for talent and developing it is a rare find. Yet sometimes if you search long enough a rare breed develops. Paul Borghese is one of those rare catches. He has proven to be a talented director and actor in the making. From his early years film has always called out to him in some way. While he worked as an usher in a movie theatre he happen to catch the film "Raging Bull" he became emamored with the cinematography and the raw talent that went along with its development. He watched it so many times that he could tell you when DeNiro's next line would be.

Being in the business for 20 years it has taught many things about the business and how to stay afloat. First, he was in the restaurant business where he owned and operated a pizza store and a few other Italian eateries. But one day he decided to pitch a commerical for his pizza & pasta store. In turn he helped direct it and play a role in the commerical. "After filming the commercial I contracted the film "bug". From there I began taking courses in acting and production. I followed that by attending a Technical School for film and video production," added Paul.

He then went on to act for about 5-6 years. But the urge to produce and distrube took root and he focused on that part of the business. Paul was involved with a company called Studio Entertainment which was a small distrubution home video label that was not only doing in-house productions but also acquired other films that were also produced. Paul was in charge of supervising production, casting and even screen writing. But one very important role he played in the company was packaghing and distrubution. He dealt heavily on the marketing aspect of the business where he traveled to as far as Italy. "I went to many of the various film festivals to market a product, from the Cannes Festival to Milan, Italy for the European Market."

One of the many films he had marketed were "Fright House" and "Documentary of the Dead" by George Romero. "Marketing a product especailly a film is very crucial to the success of the film. Without the correct timing and presentation it is hard to sell," Paul pointed out.

Paul refered to his most recent projects as his best accomplishments. At the end of this summer he will be releasing a film titled "Searching for Bobby D" a comedy feature film which will have a great star studded line up. "The actors I have attached to the project are some great performers. Like Carmen Electra, Tony Darrow, Andrew Bernhart, Mario Cantone, Frank Pellegrino and Willie DeMeo to name a few."

The film was picked up by Lions Gate Films and was co-produced with Willie DeMeo, another local New Yorker. The film is based around the lives of some close friends and their desire to brake out of their rountish lives at any cost. He has also acted on the recent film "Find Me Guilty" which he appears in a few bit parts. But one of his most prized work was a film called "61" which was an HBO special about the Roger Maris/ Mickey Mantle homerun race. He played Yogi Berra on the film which won a few Emmys.

Besides, developing his own semi-mob films Paul also had a part on the "Sopranos" in the 5th season. He played a Sanitation owner who confronts Tony Soprano on his business acumen and Tony has a panic attack. "It was fun working with the cast who are essential all friends of mine," adds Paul.

Presently, one of his films "Four Deadly Reasons" has been released on DVD which was a script presented to him by actor Richard Castellano. The film was not as well recieved as he hoped but its recent release on DVD may garner some promise. At the moment he is working on a TV pilot called "FoodFellas" which is basically three mob actors who go out and critique restaurants and have special guests on hand. The actors invovled are Vincent Pastore, Tony Darrow and Joe Giannascoli. The first pilot was shot at Rao's. Also, in the summer of 2007 he will be working with Willie DeMeo on the best selling novel by Michelle McFee called "Mob Over Miami". The story is about club kingpin/ mob associate Chris Paciello. They purchased the rights to the film which was financed with Willie DeMeos help.

If there was anyone that Paul was really proud to work with was Billy Crystal on the film "61". "It was great working with Billy. He is a very talented director with a good eye for talent." Another exceptional director that inspired him was Spike Lee who he had worked with on the film "Son of Sam".

Paul is always on the go for new projects as of this writing he is penning a script entitled "On the Lam" with Barry Pepper and Anthony Acerno.

Many of his films have been screened at many film festivals. His most recent release "Searching for Bobby D" has won awards at the Long Island Film Festival, New York Atlas Film Festival and the Hoboken Film Festival. Paul has a full plate and is ready for anything that will offer him the opportunity to do his work "his way".