Tony Vitale

Tony Vitale
Born Anthony Neal Vitale
(1964-05-24) May 24, 1964
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Occupation Director, screenwriter, producer, author
Years active 1994–present
Spouse(s) Lisa C Vitale (2011–present)
Children Arabella M Vitale

Tony Vitale (born Anthony Neal Vitale; May 24, 1964) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for the film Kiss Me, Guido.

Early Years

Vitale was born in the Bronx and grew up in a predominately African-American/Hispanic neighborhood.

Vitale graduated from Iona College, with a degree in finance and a minor in communications. After an internship on Wall Street, he decided to travel and took a job as DJ for Club Med in the mid-1980s. One night at a group dinner someone commented on the rapport the Bronx-born Vitale had with the French clientele, including his boss, "It would be great if somebody made a sitcom out of you two," which sparked an idea in Vitale's head for a television show.

Film & Television Career

Vitale studied film at New York University whilst working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. After the death of his mother in 1990, Vitale began working in the film industry as a location assistant, eventually working as a second unit director for the opening shot of Robert De Niro’s, A Bronx Tale.[1]

Vitale pitched the concept of "a gay guy and a straight guy forced to live together" to executives at Universal Studios as a vehicle for Andrew Dice Clay and Harvey Fierstein, but he was told that a lead gay character on a television series would never fly. Several weeks later, Vitale happened to be watching The Arsenio Hall Show when Fierstein came out and announced the show as his upcoming project, with Fierstein playing opposite Andrew Dice Clay. Furious that his idea had been stolen, Vitale quickly scrambled to get a copyright on the story. The result was 96 Greenwich Street, a one-act play which was first staged at The Village Gate in New York City as part of a festival of short plays. Vitale received a positive response, expanded it to a 2-act play in 1993 and turned it into a screenplay for a film in 1994. The same year, Kevin Smith's Clerks had been a highly successful film made on a micro-budget, and Vitale set out to make his film the same way.

In 1996, Vitale wrote and directed the feature film, Kiss Me, Guido which became an official entry in the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Paramount Pictures to favorable reviews the same year. "Mr. Vitale has made perhaps the most progressive movie of the bunch, one without a chip on its shoulder or a score to settle, one that assumes enough of an equal standing between homosexuals and heterosexuals to give each of them turns playing the fool."[2] "Comedy this lighthearted is hardly a staple of the independent film scene, but Kiss Me, Guido has an appealing indie flavor." [3] Reviews were generally positive, but several critics picked up on its intended television origins. Roger Ebert wrote, "Like a 30-minute sitcom, it acts like you already know all the characters and are just happy to have fresh dialogue. It's as if the deeper issues have been settled in previous episodes. And yet, also like a sitcom, it's kind of fun as it slides past. Here is a movie that was born to play on television." Vitale again tried to get it turned into a TV series, but it wasn't until after Will & Grace had become a hit that television executives would finally take him seriously. Vitale created the sitcom Some of My Best Friends for the CBS Network with co-creator Marc Cherry, executive producer and creator of Desperate Housewives. The series ran for eight episodes and was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series/GLAAD Media Award.

Vitale's second film Very Mean Men won the 2000 Seattle International Film Festival: New American Cinema Award. The film starred Martin Landau and Louise Fletcher along with Matthew Modine, Ben Gazzara, Charles Durning and Burt Young. Vitale also directed One Last Ride starring Pat Cupo, Chazz Palminteri and Robert Davi, with Oscar Winner Ang Lee as executive producer. Vitale also co-produced the feature film Man From Elysian Fields starring Andy Garcia, Mick Jagger, James Coburn, and Anjelica Huston in 2002.

Filmography

Director

Film

Television

Writer

References

  1. ↑ Gallagher, Stephen (July 1997). "A Bronx Tale, Stephen Gallagher chats with Kiss Me Guido director Tony Vitale". Filmmaker.
  2. ↑ Bruni, Frank (June 8, 1997). "The Gay Take on 'Straight' Makes Its Way Into the Movies". New York Times.
  3. ↑ Maslin, Janet (July 1997). "Kiss Me Guido, It's Not For The Straight and Narrow". New York Times.
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