Sunday, January 22, 2012

Vinnie Curto and "the Break" in Hollywood

By Susan Meyer


It never gave him break, like 9 million people before him. Let's chat about something that separates him from those 9 million - he wrote a script? Welcome to the millions who came to this state and town who've tried. But guess what? One day, he knocked on one of the hundred doors he found by looking up under "production company" listings that week, and started talking with one of the gentlemen. Vinnie handed him a script typed on paper one finger at a time, with no obvious script structure, but somehow got its point across.

He used to be a real gentlemen, this Greg Gold. He was kind and asserted that he would read it and get back to him if he it had any merit. Vinnie got up to leave seemingly irritated and a bit sad. Greg asked him to explain as briefly as practicable what the tale entailed. Vinnie wanted to tell him that he had enough stories for 10 scripts, but the short version was," It's about a viciously abused kid, in every possible way, by his very own pop and ma.

Also, the kid was tortured by his pop, stating that "You are a dummy. I know it and you know it, but if you're Champ of the Earth before any other person finds out then it might save me the embarrassment of calling you my son." He then would produce a 38 revolver and put it on the kitchen table and say "If you don't become Champ, you've got to put the gun to my head." Ever since then, Vinnie was on a life long trip never to put that or any gun to his head. At the same time, he did not want to win to make his dad right. He ultimately won a title, although not until many years after his father died.

Greg Gold did call, and said to meet him at a coffee bar named Sleeplessness Caf. 2 guys sat there: Barry Primus and some hippie with a beard and blue wool cap who he didn't introduce.. Barry expounded that he liked the script it required a bit more work and said DeNiro loved it. Vinnie seized the script and said" Bobby DeNiro, yeah right!

When he got up to leave, Barry turned to the hippy looking guy and said "Bobby tell the kid what you thought" and DeNiro himself asserted" I want to get involved." DeNiro got Mark Wahlberg interested, and went into production.

Vinnie was even on the film set in Culver Studios watching the teamsters rip down the movie sets because they did not get paid. The financing slipped out and everybody had schedules. Curto dedicated years doing a good deal of consideration and what he calls, "Karmic payback", and ultimately has a film getting produced, but not this one yet. It's called LIVING AGAIN, which is what he intends to do now!




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