Interview: Tony Germinario talks ‘Bad Frank’
Towards the tail end of 2016 I was trawling my Twitter feed for something new and interesting, when I stumbled across what looked like a really intriguing low-budget indie movie that was a cut above a lot of what you find out there. I contacted the director, Anthony, and we kinda hit it off. He sent me a copy of the film, Bad Frank, and asked if I would like to do a review, which I did (Bad Frank review).
I kept in touch with Tony as he hit the festival trail and was always happy to hear how well it was doing. So as you can imagine when I found it was getting a much bigger release in order to have a much bigger audience… Well, I am really happy for Tony and his crew; and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to interview him as Bad Frank prepares to hit VOD next month.
Writer/Director Tony Germinario’s Award-Winning ‘tour-de-force’ thriller BAD FRANK punches its way to VOD this July from Gravitas Ventures. Headlined with a true Breakout Performance by Award-Winner Kevin Interdonato, and featuring electric support from Amanda Clayton (Bleed For This), Tom Sizemore (Showtime’s Twin Peaks, Saving Private Ryan, HEAT), Brian O’Halloran (Clerks 1 & 2), and boxing icon Ray ‘Boom-Boom’ Mancini, BAD FRANK has become a majorly sought after Film this year, and acquired by heavyweight Foreign Rep, Lotus Entertainment. With countless Best Film and Best Actor accolades in US and Europe, and heralded by JoBlo.com as, ‘Nastily Entertaining”, 2017’s mightiest Independent feature sits with viewers for days. BAD FRANK hits the U.S. Market on iTunes July 4th.
Tony, this movie deals with some pretty deep mentally challenging issues, Did anyone or anything inspire the story??
No one person, no. When I was growing up, my mom was a director at a mental health center so I heard about a lot of different afflictions. This one just happened to stick and it gave us so many opportunities to explore, especially when you think about the impact this can have on so many people.
I found Frank to be an extremely interesting character, Who is Frank – what makes him tick?
Just about anything makes him tick and everything ticks him off. He’s just a guy trying to pick up the pieces from a lot of past mistakes, and just when he’s getting there his past comes back to haunt him and all hell breaks loose.
Why Kevin was the right guy to play him?
Kevin is a really intense guy. That’s what made him the perfect Frank, but even more so was how he was able to immerse himself into the role. So much so that he was a little scary sometimes on set, even when the cameras weren’t rolling.
Was Kevin forced to do all the fight/physical stuff himself?
Forced, no. He volunteered! He did a lot of great work, but we also had a few camera angles in there that made it look a lot worse than it was. Gotta live within all the union rules!
Did you have him on a strict diet or training regimen through production?
He did all that himself. Not only that, but he slept on the floor of a garage during filming because he wanted to keep himself uncomfortable just like Frank was.
So about as Daniel Day-Lewis as it gets!! Can you tell us about the worldwide release plans?
The film is available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon right now with an official release of July 7th here in the states. At that point it’ll be available on a bunch of different platforms. We’re rolling it out internationally as we speak so this thing will be global soon!
I love me some special features and wondered for the eventual DVD release, any idea what we can expect in terms of extras?
Unfortunately not too much. We were on such a shoe string budget and shot the whole thing in only 11 ½ days, so we didn’t have time to do much. In retrospect, I wish we had.
The movie is getting reviews (including from 365Flicks Podcast and Nerdly **shameless plug**)… Does that automatically guarantee a follow-up or sequel?
No guarantees, but if the film does as well as we hope, then hell yeah! Bad Frank is just getting started.
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Tony thank you for your time and we hope to hear from you soon, but for now enjoy the reception Bad Frank is receiveing, it is well deserved.
