Once a Long Shot, Now an Oscar Nominee

PHILADELPHIA (November 19, 2008) – Harkening back to his days as a long-shot Hollywood actor, writer and director, Oscar nominee Chazz Palminteri delivered a pep talk to more than 100 students, faculty and staff members from The University of the Arts in the latest installment of the university’s Broad Topic speakers series.

“Talent is about 20 percent of making it in Hollywood,” said Palminteri, who is in town performing his boyhood memoir “A Bronx Tale” at the university’s Merriam Theater through November 23. “The rest is determination. I feel bad for actors who get the part in their first audition, because they can’t savor it as much as someone who’s worked hard for it.

“Your job is to keep (yourself) more open to the universe. If you do that, the universe will reward you. There are positive and negative forces in the world and if you’re tight and pessimistic, those positive forces will bounce right off of you. Whether you get a job or not,” keeping yourself open “will lead to a better life.”

Palminteri, who grew up on street corners in the Bronx imitating the “wise guys,” practices what he preaches. During the original Off-Broadway and subsequent Los Angles’ engagements of “A Bronx Tale,” Palminteri caught the attention of studios, producers and directors – all of whom wanted to make the film version – without him. Palminteri turned down a million dollar offer for the film rights, despite having $200 in his bank account at the time. Then, Robert De Niro came to see the show, and brought the story – and its star, Palminteri – to the screen in 1993, with De Niro making his directorial debut in the process.

Palminteri came to write “A Bronx Tale” after reaching a dead end as an actor. After losing a job as a doorman at a Hollywood club because he wouldn’t admit hot-shot agent Swifty Lazar, Palminteri looked up at a sign his bus driver father had given him. It read, “The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.” He thought, “If they’re not going to give me good roles, then I’ll create one myself.” And with that, he drove his beat-up Honda to the drug store and bought five yellow legal tablets on which he wrote the five-minute monologue that would eventually become “A Bronx Tale.”

“A Bronx Tale” vividly depicts a young boy’s rough childhood in the Bronx in the 1960s, and the unforgettable cast of characters he encountered, in a classic coming-of-age story about reaching one’s true potential and trusting one’s heart. This production of “A Bronx Tale,” directed by four-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Zaks, opened on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre. First mounted off-Broadway in 1989, the play helped establish Palminteri as a writer and actor with a distinct voice.

Palminteri has more than 50 movies to his credit, including “The Usual Suspects,” “Bullets over Broadway,” “Analyze This,” “Hurly Burly,” “Mulholland Falls” and “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints.” He also directed the episode “Unnatural Disasters” in the HBO series “Oz,” Showtime’s “Women vs. Men” and the feature film “Noel,” starring Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Robin Williams and Paul Walker. He was also seen on the New York stage in the play “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui,” starring alongside Al Pacino, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Billy Crudup.

The Broad Topic Speakers Series
Now in its third season, and designed after “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” the Broad Topic is an hour-long, one-on-one interview program featuring Broadway stars whose productions are being staged at the Merriam. The event is free and open to the public. Previous installments of the Broad Topic have included sit-downs with actors performing at the Merriam, including Tom Bosley and Michael Learned (“On Golden Pond”), George Wendt and Richard Thomas (“12 Angry Men”), Valerie Harper (“Golda’s Balcony”), Harold Gould (“Tuesdays with Morrie”), among others.

The University of the ArtsThe University of the Arts is the nation’s first and only university dedicated to the visual, performing and communication arts. Its 2,300 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs on its campus in the heart of Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts. The institution’s roots as a leader in educating creative individuals date back to 1868.


Oscar Nominee Chazz Palminteri