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franks & wieners
www.filmbrothers.com
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This interview with The Film Brothers was originally published in the September 1, 2000, issue of Newark Post, greater Newark's hometown newspaper since 1910, and is reprinted here with their kind permission. The color photos on this page, also by Katy Ciamaricone, did not appear in the article and are exclusive to this site!  (Above) Posters advertising the movie are deliberately obscure to make locals curious. (Left) One of the locations in the film made by native Delawareans Gordon and Greg DelGiorno is at the Park Deli on Elkton Road. The movie premieres in Newark in October. When some out-of-staters hear about Delaware, they immediately ask, "Dela-where?" So in order to erase the mystery of this small wonder, two local filmmakers decided to film their upcoming movie entirely in Delaware - home to the fightin' Blue Hens, the Blue Rocks, the DuPonts, ... Franks and wieners? Gordon and Greg DelGiorno, 30-something brothers who live in Wilmington and Newark respectively, are in the process of producing their first full-length feature film, "Franks and Wieners", which they also co-wrote and co-directed. "We want this to be special to the community," said Gordon. "Our goal is to create a buzz around town." In fact, advertisement posters that local residents will soon see hanging around town on telephone poles and storefront windows feature the back side of a man with a hot dog instead of a head. In bold white lettering, the posters read, "Come laugh at yourself!" The film, expected to have an October worldwide premiere right here in Newark, outlines the journey of a guy named, appropriately, Frank, who is played by Newark native Paul Goodman. According to Gordon, Frank meets an interesting bunch of people, or "wieners", during a road trip with a female bank robber name Jackie Lazer after she takes him hostage. Jim Rubright, also a northern Delawarean, plays another one the movie's leading characters. The robbery scene of the movie was filmed in Park Deli on Elkton Road in Newark. Penny and Keith Scheib, the deli's owners, allowed the cast and crew to shoot the scene there overnight, so as not to disturb their daily business. But some nearby residents were a bit shaken up by all of the action. "While we were shooting the robbery scenes, people would see us out here waving guns around and they would call the cops," Gordon said. "The cops would come by all the time and ask what we were doing, which I guess is a good thing. "Obviously, they didn't know we were shooting a movie." Gordon said the idea for the film came after he returned home from working as a production assistant in Los Angeles. "I ran into some outrageous roommates - some real wackos - after I moved back to Newark, and everyone said (my brother and I) should write a book about our experiences," he said. "But we figured, 'why not make a movie?'" So the brothers began writing the script about three years ago. They later placed an advertisement in "Backstage", a New York magazine, hoping that some aspiring actors would respond. To their surprise, they received inquiries from about 1,800 people from all over the East Coast who wanted to star in their film. They ended up choosing more than 85 actors, four of whom play leading roles in the movie. "The rest all play wackos - I guess you could say they're the wieners," Gordon said. Which may explain why both Gordon and Greg admit that they no longer eat hot dogs. Later this year, the film will be shown at Wilmington's Grand Opera House, Gordon said. The brothers are hoping that showings in the home state will generate a large response, and perhaps someday their film will be shown in theaters nationally. They also hope to begin filming a few short films to submit at the Rehoboth Film Festival. "Right now," Greg said, "We're just waiting to see what happens." And once the interactive movie posters start going up around town, Newark residents will probably also be waiting to see what happens, in the movie that stars their home state and threatens to make fun of... well... them.  Gordon and Greg DelGiorno at the Park Deli.  Gordon and Greg DelGiorno at the Park Deli.  Gordon and Greg DelGiorno at the Park Deli.  Gordon and Greg DelGiorno with Penny Scheib at the Park Deli.  Gordon and Greg DelGiorno at the Park Deli. This interview with The Film Brothers was originally published in the September 1, 2000, issue of Newark Post, greater Newark's hometown newspaper since 1910, and is reprinted here with their kind permission. The color photos on this page, also by Katy Ciamaricone, did not appear in the article and are exclusive to this site! |