ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with About My Father director Laura Terruso concerning the Sebastian Maniscalco-led comedy film. The movie is now obtainable digitally and will probably be launched on Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand on August 1, 2023.
“The movie facilities round Sebastian (Maniscalco) who is inspired by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to deliver his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (De Niro), to a weekend get-together along with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric household,” reads the synopsis. “The weekend develops into what can solely be described as a tradition conflict, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to find that the beauty of household is every thing about household.”
Tyler Treese: What parts of the script actually grabbed you the primary time you noticed it? What points actually grabbed you and made you need to be part of this?
Laura Terruso: Properly, once I first learn the script, I used to be instantly drawn to the character of Salvo. I simply felt like he was so well-written and it simply felt so true, as a result of not solely am I Italian, I’m Sicilian American. My mother immigrated from Sicily when she was like 12 years previous — it was across the identical precise time that Sebastian’s father Salvo immigrated. I’ve two uncles who’re additionally Sicilian. So I simply felt so related to the character and the world. I felt like I had lived the story in some ways, the place I’ve dated individuals who have been from a extra waspy background, and I’ve my Italian American household. It simply felt so private whereas additionally being this actually enjoyable Hollywood comedy. I known as my agent and I used to be like, “I’ve to direct this.” You understand? I felt like I used to be the right individual for it.
We’ve seen numerous nice artwork just lately about being the kid of that first technology of immigrants that come over. On this film we see that there’s a little bit of a divide between father and son, however finally, he realizes every thing Salvo has performed for him has been together with his greatest curiosity, and we get a very nice story there. Van you communicate to that basic generational form of divide there?
Yeah, I imply, one of many issues that actually struck me concerning the script and concerning the character of Salvo was how a lot he’s formed by loss. The lack of his nation and his tradition, the lack of his spouse, and now he appears like he’s shedding his son, and that’s the final piece of his household that he’s received. In order that feeling of, “Oh my God, I’m shedding every thing” is what’s driving him all through the movie. Comedy and ache … they’re linked, you already know? There was a lot concerning the character and about that feeling of like, “Oh my God, I’m shedding every thing and now I’m going to lose my son.” So in fact, subconsciously, he’s going to behave out and attempt to sabotage him in some ways, and it simply felt so wealthy to me.
Robert De Niro is ideal for the function that needed to be a dream to see that he was connected to it, as a result of I can’t consider anyone higher on this function as he actually will get to point out his full vary right here. He’s nice at being a really destructive previous man, however he’s additionally nice at displaying such real emotion all through. Are you able to communicate to attending to work with De Niro as an actor and what he dropped at this efficiency?
So once I signed on the movie, De Niro wasn’t connected but. We despatched the script to him. He was the primary actor that we went out to, and two days later I used to be on a Zoom with him, and he was so type and so heat and simply made me really feel so snug. I used to be in a position to discuss him via my imaginative and prescient for the movie and the way I noticed it and the way I plan to direct it and discuss with him about how I work as a director. He was like, “Come out to New York, let’s do a desk learn,” which is such an unbelievable reward as a result of with a screenplay, you typically don’t even get to listen to it till it’s all solid up and it helps a lot to listen to a script learn out loud by nice actors.
So Sebastian and I went to New York and we did this desk learn with Bob and some different unbelievable actors. This was all through the pandemic, so we have been like six ft aside on this loft — it was actually weird. However I used to be in a position to see Sebastian and Bob side-by-side, and it was simply so clear that this was going to work as a result of they actually felt like father and son, despite the fact that Sebastian’s Chicago and Bob’s New York, there was some Italian American … like they spoke the identical language, you already know? Their Italian-ness kind of outmoded areas. I knew it might work. So afterwards, I spoke with Bob and I stated, “That is the a part of the script I need to work on and let’s get this get together began.”
And, and he was like, “Yeah, let’s do that. He was such a companion all through the entire course of. He was actually a collaborator from starting to finish, in pre-production main as much as the shoot. He would name me each week, “How’s it going? How’s it happening places? The place are we with solid?” He wished to learn with each single solid member, which is so uncommon that you simply get the solid not solely to audition, however to learn with the actor that they’re going to be enjoying reverse. So we have been actually in a position to check this solid’s chemistry with each other because of Bob. I’m so grateful to him for that as a result of their chemistry is outstanding and I felt like I gained a lot via working with him and realized a lot within the technique of working with him.
Certainly one of my favourite scenes early on is the flashback sequence once we see Salvo with the ponytail. How was it whenever you noticed Robert De Niro come out with that entire getup? That needed to be unbelievable.
That was wonderful. So Sebastian’s dad regarded precisely like that when Sebastian was rising up. For Bob, authenticity is every thing. It’s crucial factor there may be whenever you’re making any murals. It’s no marvel that he typically performs characters which have existed as a result of there’s one thing for him to drag from. So I despatched up a bunch of images of younger Salvo and I used to be like, “Right here’s what we’re considering.” And he’s like, “Sure, ponytail, performed.” We simply did it.
And at one level there was a dialog about de-aging, and I used to be like, “No,” as a result of whenever you’re a child, your 40 yr previous dad appears 80 to you anyway. It doesn’t make a distinction. It simply labored. It’s so humorous, he simply was utterly all-in and when it got here to the hairdressing stuff, he actually wished to be sure that he was doing that correctly. So we had Sebastian’s dad Salvo really come to set and educate him how you’d spotlight a girl’s hair, how you’d do it. It was like actually, actually cool.
Talking of Sebastian, that is such a private story for him, and we get to see him mix components of his stand-up act into the film as properly. How was working with him to mix these two mediums between stand-up and a extra scripted leisure like this?
I imply, Sebastian might be one of many funniest comedians on the earth proper now. I like that that is the film he selected to make as a result of it’s a love letter to his father. In a manner, it’s like much less about … I imply, it’s a love story, proper? Finally, I described this movie as a romantic comedy between a father and a son. Sebastian has such an enormous coronary heart and that is simply such a love letter. Working with him was simply seamless. Lots of his stand-up, we have been in a position to form of plug and play proper into the film after which we’d discuss to him a couple of scene and he’d have these nice concepts the place he’d be like, “Oh, once I was on the helicopter and I freaked out, my dad gave me a lemon.”
Issues like that, the place we’re like, “Oh, we’re placing it in, we’re placing it in.” So it was actually seamless and I really feel like comedians can do something. It’s laborious to get a dramatic actor typically to be humorous, however I really feel prefer it’s rather a lot simpler to get a comic to carry out dramatically. The moments that I feel I used to be actually most stunned by on set have been the place he actually was like in a position to lean into a few of these extra dramatic scenes and get to a extremely true place. And it was simply cool, working with him on that and seeing that facet of his, as a result of I don’t even assume he knew it was there, however seeing that facet of him emerge, that this man’s received appearing chops as properly.
These are among the greatest moments. One factor I actually liked was the opening 10 minutes. Are you able to communicate to utilizing that narration? There was some actually nice modifying to speak the histories of each households. Are you able to discuss that opening and including your personal fashion to that starting?
Yeah, that was within the script from the very starting, and I feel it’s so essential. There’s a lot setup that has to happen with a movie like this, as a result of finally you actually need to get to the assembly, proper? Such as you need to get to the good things, however it’s important to perceive the place Sebastian’s coming from and the place Ellie’s household’s coming from. It was such a extremely enjoyable piece of writing on the high of the movie. Then when it got here time to place it collectively, I knew we’d be pulling from a number of archival stuff and we shot a few issues right here and there. Like that household portrait of the Collins household the place we form of pull out from one portrait and so they’re posing for one more portrait. [Laugh].
I needed to, as a filmmaker, take into consideration, “Okay, what is that this going to appear to be? How are we placing this collectively?” It was really form of a nightmare as a result of numerous the archival … there have been images and archival footage that we liked that we couldn’t use due to rights and stuff and authorized causes. So we needed to preserve developing with … “Okay, right here’s another that can work. Alright, we’ll do that after which we’ll put him in a on line casino.” It felt like numerous train in that part [Laughs]. However I’m glad it resonated for you and it’s actually enjoyable and humorous and it units up the entire film. I liked capturing these flashbacks. De Niro was utterly sport and it was superior.
I liked David Rasche on this — he was nice in Succession. He will get to actually exhibit his comedic abilities right here, and he and Kim’s chemistry’s is so nice. What actually stood out about attending to see him because the patriarch of the wealthier household?
I feel for me too, he was the actual shock, as a result of a lot of his greatness on this movie … numerous it’s improvised. Lots of these strains that he says which can be simply gold [are] improvised. He’s a Second Metropolis man. He’s been doing comedy for a extremely very long time and this was such a chance to flex his muscle tissue and to play. Everyone was there as a result of they wished to play with Bob. They wished to play with De Niro and get an opportunity to work with him.
I felt like David simply nailed it. He simply killed the project. It’s humorous, in a manner that is like his Succession character’s personal life. [Laugh]. Though Karl appears much more … form of evil than than Invoice Collins [Laughs]. Invoice Collins looks as if a reasonably candy, good man.
