Giovanni Vitacolonna
Logline: A woman now finds herself in charge of a bustling downtown restaurant with her two sons as she struggles to keep her legacy alive while overcoming the dramas of her past.
Tag: “If secrets be the food of love, there’s a feast in Center City
Anna and her two handsome sons run a successful Italian restaurant on Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia
The pilot was written by Giovanni Vitacolonna and edited by David A Gregory.
THE CHARACTERS:
Anna Fontana
Marc De Marco: 30. Tall, athletic and hauntingly attractive. Appears calm and in control to the world but beneath the surface lies a tortured soul. Struggles with his homosexuality, his decision to leave the priesthood and his specific sexual proclivity. It is through the telling of Marc’s story that the Church is taken to task. Possible gay sexual nudity.
Domenic De Marco: 25. Italian-American. Strikingly good looking. Confident, cocky and flirtatious, but very much in love with his fiancée. Both street and book smart, he keeps his educated life under wraps so as not to distance himself too much from "the neighborhood" where his family is from, South Philly. Possible sexual nudity.
Valerie Festa: 25. Strikingly beautiful Afro-Italian, Single mother. Very much in love with her fiancé, Domenic De Marco. Her singing can mesmerize you. Positive and forward thinking despite the hardships that she has faced in life. An activist and advocate for HIV/AIDS causes. Possible sexual nudity
Thomas "Tommy" Avalon (Alvarez): mid to late 20's. Handsome and athletic but the weight of his struggles are worn on his face. The sous-chef at Gaetano's but eager for more responsibility. Secretly in love with Marc. Not an alcoholic, but when we first meet him he has a reliance upon alcohol to soothe his demons. Puerto Rican. A former male prostitute. Possible gay sexual nudity.
Nicola “Nick” De Marco (50) is a charming rapscallion once married to Anna and father to Domenic and Marc. He has a reputation for being a womanizer and an absentee father. His goal is to redeem himself to a certain extent with his family. He “sits” on many solutions to the puzzle.
Mike Sheehan: (38). Ruggedly handsome, Irish American. A charming rogue that may or may not be connected to the mob. He is a bartender at the restaurant and a former cop. His personable demeanor should not be cause to underestimate him. He has the ability to go from charming to deadly in the blink of an eye.
Marlena Hightower Festa: 50s. Majestic, African American woman. A doctor specializing in infectious diseases. Intelligent and outspoken, she isn't afraid of anyone...not even Anna De Marco. Her daughter, Valerie, is the pride and joy of her life.
Gianni Festa 50s is a gentle soul and a musician. It is through him that Valerie gets her love of music. He adores his daughter and is a very protective father and adoring husband. He plays the guitar and used to tour as a folk-rock musician
Agato Terranova (55-60) is the most enigmatic of the bunch, very inscrutable and may very well be part of the mob. It behooves him to let Eleanora, his “Norina” to take center stage—that way less attention is paid to him.
Rita Avalon (Alvarez) (50s) is from the old neighborhood. She has a history with Mike. She is very devoted to her surviving son Tommy and wants to help him “rise up.” She wants Mike back and is, therefore, a foil for Anna. She loves the occult and has Sephardic heritage.
Gaetano Fontana (43-50) Anna’s fraternal twin and Nick’s best friend is an artistic soul who is also an executive chef. He almost has celebrity status as the original “star” of the restaurant his disappearance and/or possible death is the trigger for the plot.
Eleanora “Norina” De Marco Terranova (47) is a generally happy and caring person, more devoted to her former sister-in-law than her own brother. She loves a good time, she is also caring and wise. Her catch phrase is ‘una calatt’ i.e. tutto in una calata (down the hatch). Her secret: she fears her husband may have mob ties.
Enrico “Harry” Terranova: 25. Italian-American. Recently deployed to the Middle East and now back home. He is his mother’s pride and joy and confounds his father, Agato. Heis brooding but best friend to his more expansive cousin, Domenic.
Filomena DeMarco: 75. Old school South Philly matron, somewhat demented. She drinks and smokes. Something of a Greek chorus. A bit of comic relief now and then.
Jacob Scaletta (45) is for all intents and purposes a good priest who teaches at the local high school. He is a powerful, athletic man with a wrestling obsession and an erotic asphyxiation fetish. He is in love with Marc. The combination of all of the above does him in.
Joe “Jungle Joe” Avalon (Alvarez) (deceased) is a contemporary of Marc’s. Rita's first born. He worked for Agato. He is a swarthy tough guy, whose life and death touch more than one character.
Lorenzo Festa (6) is Valerie’s son, curly headed tyke who, like his mother, is Italian and Black. He is smart and something of a handful. The revelation of his paternity is pivotal for this character driven story.
Italians are the spice of life and while not everyone in Center City Philadelphia
This passionate world will draw you into a complex yet endearing group of identifiable people dealing with such issues as interpersonal relationships, the hypocrisy of organized religion, gay story lines and a touch of the mob. Anna Fontana is a South Philly girl moved uptown to Center City and Rittenhouse Square. She wants to maintain the upward mobility of her family. Anna wants to maintain control over events and things, even those over which she has no control. While she likes to run the show, she loves her family, even those who are no longer around.
Giovanni Vitacolonna
12th & Latona Productions
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