L.B. native set to begin filming mob caper

L.B. native set to begin filming mob caper
Several big names already signed on for ‘Numba One’
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
With an arsenal of big names already signed on, former Long Branch resident Michael Attardi is hoping to secure a few more before his new movie, “Numba One,” starts filming in October.

Michael Attardi (l) and Federico Castelluccio at a recent film festival in New York City. Michael Attardi (l) and Federico Castelluccio at a recent film festival in New York City. Attardi, who lives in Florida and Middletown, said he has commitments from Paul Sorvino, Peter Greene, Wayne Newton and Federico Castelluccio and is in negotiations with other well-known actors.

Attardi said the movie centers around a mafia-driven insurance scam set in New York and Miami and will be appropriate for families to view.

“It’s a mob-comedy caper, but it is something that you’ll be able to take your kids to,” he said. “It’s not like ‘The Sopranos.’ It’s a lot of slapstick stuff. There is no bad language. We are trying to make this a fun, family film.

Attardi, who founded Dream Balloon Animation Studio, an Orlando-based film and animation studio, explained that the title of the movie stems from his New Jersey roots.

“Coming from the New Jersey area, no one ever says ‘number,’” he said. “So we decided to call this ‘Numba One.’ ”

Attardi said that he and Castelluccio, who played hit man Furio Giunta on “The Sopranos,” met at a Manhattan film festival and immediately hit it off.

“We had a lot in common and have a similar Italian family background,” he said. “One thing led to another and we decided we would get involved with trying to make a film.”

Attardi said that they were on a road trip to another film festival when he decided to pitch the idea of the movie to Castelluccio.

“I just started telling him different situations of the movie and he’s laughing and I’m laughing, so at the end of the day I decided to print the script,” he said.

Castelluccio, who will serve as a producer and lead actor, said he was instantly intrigued by the storyline in the movie.

“It was the longest ride ever, but he started explaining this film and I was crying, I was laughing so hard,” he said. “It is the type of comedy you’d see in ‘Get Shorty’ and ‘My Cousin Vinny.’ ”

“When he finally wrote the script, I read it, I liked it; there were a couple of notes here and there for some adjustments. I think the script now is at a shooting point, and everyone who’s read it pretty much agrees that we could go right into production with it.”

Before shooting can start, Attardi has to secure some locales, which he said may include different places in Florida, New York City and along the New Jersey coastline.

Attardi, who graduated from Long Branch High School, said one spot he has in mind is Atlantic Highlands for a scene with a ferry involved.

He also said that many of the stories in the movie came from tales that were passed on to him as a child.

“It comes from a few stories that were told to me by my dad back when I was a kid,” he said. “He told me this story about these two twin brothers that were trying to do this insurance scam, and I just thought it was funny.”

Attardi said one of the challenges in the independent film world is securing financing.

“Financing for an independent movie is one of the hardest things to try to accomplish,” he said. “A lot of former investors got hurt by a lot of independent filmmakers.

“One thing we are adamant about is we want all our t’s crossed and i’s dotted and have all the deals in place,” he added. “We want to shoot, film and distribute ready to go.”

Attardi said that his production team meets with investors to try to educate them in ways that independent movies can be lucrative.

He also said that he would like to find three or four more actors to fill roles before shooting starts the second week in October.

He expects shooting to be take between 25 and 30 days, followed by three months of post-production.

Attardi said the plan is to enter the movie into the Tribeca Film Festival next spring.

Castelluccio said that a lot of the same people involved in “Numba One” would like to work together in the future.

“It is almost like a repertory company that has a lot of the same actors in different roles and projects,” he said.

“These are people that I like to work with and I think we get along really well. These are people that you will see working with us in other films.”

For more information on the movie, visit www.numbaonemovie.com.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.