Tony Vitale
About
Biography
Biography
Bronx-born Tony Vitale worked his way up from location intern to location manager on films by directors Irwin Winkler, Robert De Niro, Nick Gomez and Paul Mazursky before making his writing and directing debut with "Kiss Me Guido" (1997), a film that brings together gay and "guido" cultures in an attempt to break down the walls existing between the disparate groups, "... to reduce people to human beings instead of labels." Vitale did it first as a one-act play at the Village Gate in 1991, wrote the second act in 1993, turned it into a screenplay in 1994 and went about acquiring financing. "Kiss Me Guido," lensed for less than $1 million, rewarded its producers Ira Deutchman and Christine Vachon when it sold to Paramount Pictures for a reported $2 million. After working on "A Bronx Tale" (1993) for a year, De Niro reportedly called him into his trailer and said, "Tony, would you mind taking a crew up to the Bronx and taking the opening shot of the film." Vitale's first 37 seconds as a filmmaker were the opening shots of "A Bronx Tale."
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Location Manager (Feature Film)
Location Coordinator (Feature Film)
Location Assistant (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Costume-Wardrobe (Special)
Life Events
1991
Began his motion-picture career as an intern, scouting locations for independent films
1991
Staged a one-act play at the Village Gate that was the genesis of "Kiss Me Guido"
1997
Feature screenwriting and directing debut with "Kiss Me Guido"
2001
Was supervising producer, series creator and writer of the short-lived CBS sitcom "Some of My Best Friends", adapted from "Kiss Me Guido"
