Where In The World Is Scott Baio?

[Anonymouse]

Can someone close this thread already so that jasper won't post anymore?

[jasper]

As loyal fans patiently wait for more news about Scott Baio's current film and television projects in 2005, let us happily revisit several informational articles or interviews concerning him after 2000 during the past few years.

The previous six articles concentrated mainly on "The Bread, My Sweet". Now its time for a closer look at "Face To Face" (a.k.a. "Italian Ties").
Here are some excerpts in the "FACE TO FACE" FANS' WEB PAGE:

"Director Ellie Kanner makes her feature film debut with this rollicking story of fathers and sons.....Scott Baio makes a welcome return to the screen as Richie, the affable ringleader who proves the perfect foil to the wisecracking Philly (Thomas Calabro) and the chronically negative Al (Carlo Imperato). Dean Stockwell is at his cigar-chomping, exasperated best as Richie's father, as he dresses down his own brothers Phil (Alex Rocco) and Charlie (Joe Viterelli). In it's gently comedic way, 'Face To Face' proves you don't have to see eye-to-eye to love each other."
(TAOS TALKING PICTURE FESTIVAL REVIEW)

"Director Ellie Kanner brings Scott Baio's script to life. Yeah, I know what you're thinking - Scott frickin' Baio - funny thing is this father/son comedy is touching and Baio's damn good as the lead. Dean Stockwell's performance brought tears to the eyes of audiences who saw it on the festival circuit. It's a damn shame this movie is collecting dust since this one is a check waiting to be cashed."
(CHRIS GORE, THE TOP 10 INDEPENDENT FILMS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION, FILM THREAT)

"I co-wrote it with my good buddy, Scott Baio, truly one of the nicest guys in show business. From the moment we met, he was real nice and down to earth.
'Face To Face' was Scott's idea. I was brought in to write it with him. It's a nice story about Italian family values, which just happens to relate to every other ethnic group.
What appealed to me most, besides the storyline, was that it was an Italian story with no mention of 'The Mob' unless you count the scene where the grandmother and the wives hatch the plot, in a scene right out of 'The Godfather' (if 'The Godfather' had been made with elderly women!).
The film was a big hit. Sold out for all three shows. People laughed and cried, fortunately not at the same scenes, but all in the right places, and they raved when it was over. I got so excited. I took a picture of my name on the big screen."
(JEFFREY GURIAN, CO-SCREENWRITER OF "FACE TO FACE", 15-MINUTE MAGAZINE INTERVIEW DURING THE WORLD PREMIERE OF "FACE TO FACE")

"Face To Face" won the following prizes:
Audience Award for Best Comedy @ Marco Island Film Festival 2001.
Silver Screen Award @ Reno Film Festival 2001.
10 Degrees Hotter, Best Feature @ Valley Film Festival 2002.

[jasper]

As loyal fans patiently wait for more news about Scott Baio's current film and television projects in 2005, let us revisit several informational articles or interviews concerning him after 2000 during the past few years.

Here's a movie review of "Face To Face" (a.k.a. "Italian Ties") in FILM THREAT magazine dated November 29, 2002:

FACE TO FACE by Doug Brunell

"Face To Face" is all about fathers, sons and the problems men have in communicating with one another. It goes from amusing to deeply sentimental in the blink of an eye, but never feels forced, and it definitely ranks as one of the better films to tackle the subject of what it means to be a man in American society. It's no "Fight Club" though, despite the fact that Meat Loaf has a brief scene.

Richie (Scott Baio) and his two cousins have lost their grandfather and they don't want to lose their dads without getting to know them. Their fathers (played by Dean Stockwell, Alex Rocco and Joe Viterelli) are the iconic Italian patriarchs; emotions beside anger rarely appear, and they feel life must be suffered in silence while providing for those who depend on them. Their sons (Baio, Thomas Calabro and Carlo Imperato) are a bit more modern in their approach to life. They want to hear about their fathers' ambitions, and they need to bond, though they often don't realize it. The boys' solution: kidnap their fathers and take them on a camping trip.

For all its comedic moments, "Face To Face" raises some serious questions. Namely, if men teach by example, what are we teaching our male children? How much rage can a person hold back before it explodes into a heart attack? At what point do you get the courage to tell your father you love him? And why do so many men hate their fathers only to end up acting just like them? (There's something very Nietzsche-like in that.)

This movie doesn't answer all those questions, but it attempts a discussion, which is something most men won't even venture toward even with the specter of death looming overhead. In other words: Don't plan on seeing this with your father, but do see it. It just may help you understand the man you'll become.

[jasper]

As loyal fans patiently wait for more news about Scott Baio's current film and television projects in 2005, let us revisit several informational articles or interviews concerning him after 2000 during the past few years.

Here's a film review of "Very Mean Men" in VARIETY dated June 19, 2000.

VERY MEAN MEN by Ken Eisner

The funniest crime caper to come down the pike since "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", this inventive occasionally gritty spoof wears its post-Tarantino influence proudly, managing to affectionately lampoon everything from vintage Scorsese to "The Usual Suspects" along its genially bloody way. Given the spin appropriate to its too-hip-to-live cast, "Very Mean Men" could prove very kind to the right distributor.

Sometimes a tip can save lives and other times - well, a bartender sees things differently. At least, the clean-cut barkeep played by Matthew Modine does, especially when he pegs a would be-tough guy (Martin Landau) as a cheap drinker. To keep the small change coming, the barman spins a tale of warring mob clans who peacefully divide up the spoils of San Fernando Valley until family honor and cheapskate behavior send them over the edge.

The Minettis are lead by mellow Gino (Ben Gazzara), whose ruthlessness has softened somewhat with age. He's inclined to set things right when Big Paddy Mulroney (Charles Durning) complains that Gino's boys are muscling in on his side of the valley. Trouble is, GINO'S SON, PAULIE - PLAYED IN A CAREER-REVIVING TURN BY SCOTT BAIO (who is also an associate producer of this film), WITH HAIR DYED BLONDE AND SPORTING A WHITE GOATEE - is a hothead who hands the Irish clan some moolah but then stiffs Paddy's waitress daughter (Leigh-Allen Baker) when his crew has a lousy lunch at Mulroney's diner.

Ethnic insults start flying, then bullets, and soon both groups are living for revenge. The families consist of fairly one-note characters. On the Irish side, "Coastal" Eddie (Paul Gunning) makes his moves according to the weather and "Smiley" O'Doul (scripter Paul T. Murray) is always on the verge of tears; the Italians must live with Dante (Billy Drago), who takes everything literally, and Jimmy D. (standout Paul Ben-Victor), who thinks he's Robert De Niro on Viagra. Louise Fletcher doesn't have quite enough to do as Paddy's wife, who takes over when things turn ugly.

It's thin stuff, but helmer Tony Vitale (best known for "Kiss Me Guido") knows how to use these cardboard characters for smart comic effect, playing them against the more substantial creations played by Durning, Gazzara and especially Burt Young as Dominic, Gino's cool-headed majordomo, a veteran gangster who collects bullet wounds like others save stamps. (On a dash of inside humor, Dominic loses his cool only when a Hollywood agent comes into his boss's Italian joint.)

The filmmakers have given themselves a solid out when it comes to narrative limits: Modine's bartender is making things up as he goes along, and he retailors the tale whenever Landau's character interrupts him. Thanks to zippy wipes, wild camera moves, funny shock cuts and other montage devices (clipper Gregory Hobson won an editing prize in Seattle), the elements are blended in a ceaselessly entertaining fashion.

Dialogue ranges from pleasantly derivative to wackily inspired. Dominic has a tendency to comment on other people's grammer: "Whoa! Back-to-back compound adjectives." Edgy music, kitschy, sun-soaked SoCal locations and a lot of squished animals (fake ones) help move along the proceedings briskily - no "Mean" feat, given the general tiredness of the genre.

[omniscient]

Please refer to my shut the fcuk up thread for further instructions.

[HyerThanYou]

I was wondering, have any of you seen this man?

wow chachi from happy days is still alive ?

[jasper]

As loyal fans patiently wait for more news about Scott Baio's current film and television projects in 2005, let us revisit several informational articles or interviews concerning him around or after 2000 during the past few years.

Here's a seventh one from U.S. WEEKLY dated June 12, 2000
(to help promote "Very Mean Men"):

HAPPY DAYS' SCOTT BAIO IS A REAL LIFE ROMEO
by Todd Gold

If you've been wondering what Scott Baio has been doing since "Charles-in-Charge" went off the air in 1990, the answer is, in some ways, just what you'd expect: acting occasionally in movies and on TV and directing numerous sitcom episodes. But what you may find surprising is that, as he approaches his fortieth birthday, the kid from "Happy Days" is forging a career as a Hollywood Don Juan. To the list that includes Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Kevin Costner and Johnny Depp, now add Baio, the former "Joanie Loves Chachi" star, who admits he's "not the best-looking guy in the world" but whose resume of beautiful and famous girlfriends is more than a little impressive.

"It's very simple," says Baio, who stars with Matthew Modine and Ben Gazzara in the upcoming movie "Very Mean Men". "I'm on TV, and television has lots of power. Plus, my attitude has always been good."

Who has loved Chachi? Everybody, it seems. Back in the Fonzie era, he and co-star Erin Moran made each other's days happy. "That was a hundred years ago," says Baio who subsequently had a two-year relationship with "Spin City" star Heather Locklear in the early '80s. "She's a lovely person, a great human being," he says. "I just screwed it up. I became a jerk."

But not a lonely jerk. In 1989, he hooked up with Pamela Anderson who'd just arrived from her native Canada for her first Playboy layout. "She's no picnic," he says. "In my opinion, she's difficult to deal with." They broke up. But he rebounded with blond siren Nicolette Sheridan. "She's beautiful, smart, funny and tough, tough, tough," he says. "She's a fun human being, but too much work."

Then there was Denise Richards, the star of the recent James Bond movie "The World Is Not Enough". "I met her at a party about three or four years ago," he says. "She's stunning and nice but too goal-oriented for me." And Beverly D'Angelo? "The most fun person ever," he says. "She can have a good time in a sewer. But I think she was a tiny bit too old in terms of what I needed."

To satisfy those needs, Baio started making the Playboy mansion his home away from home in 1984. "It's like going into a candy store and all your favorite candy is there," he says. "But you have to figure out how to get it." Baio admits he isn't always successful. "I've been turned down many times," he says. "But I lost my ego 15 years ago. This business beats it out of you."

His advice to would-be Romeos: Attitude is everything. "If you have an attitude like you don't care and you have something to back that up, like money or fame, it's a beautiful thing." For the past six months, Baio has lived with a "wonderful girl from Sweden" who "had no idea who I was when I met her," last July at the Playboy Mansion. Although she isn't a Playmate, she is a friend of Hugh Hefner's secretary. And she is a knockout. "People should know I'm so f---ing lucky," he says. "I'm so lucky you can't imagine."

[loseyourname]

Dude, are you his publicist?

[TomServo]

"Joanie Loves Chachi" was the beginning of the end for Scott Baio. His comeback vehicle, SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2 didn't do very well either.

[jasper]

As loyal fans patiently wait for more news about Scott Baio's current film and television projects in 2005, let us revisit several informational articles or interviews concerning him around or after 2000 during the past few years.

Here are portions of an interesting news article from VARIETY dated August 31, 2000 that favorably mentions Scott Baio in a surprisingly unexpected way:

ACTORS FOCUS ON GM AS STRIKE THROTTLES UP
by Dave McNary

"Striking union actors have selected General Motors as their main target for the rest of the strike and plan to demonstrate today at more than a dozen GM plants and dealerships.

Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists proclaimed they will be trying to cause as much financial harm as possible to the world's largest automaker because of its aggressive shooting of non-union ads during the four-month strike. Members have been particularly outraged over a Tiger Woods Buick spot that began airing this week.

'We are going to inflict economic pain on GM,' SAG spokesman Greg Krizman said.

The selection comes three weeks after the unions narrowed down key corporate targets to GM, AT & T and McDonald's. SAG and AFTRA have staged more than a dozen protests against GM since then in California, Michigan, Oregon and Wisconsin.

THE UNIONS WILL HOLD A NEWS CONFERENCE TODAY WITH SCOTT BAIO" (Yes, you correctly read that name right. SCOTT BAIO!!!!!) "AND FORMER SAG PREXY ED ASNER AT THE LA BREA CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP IN LOS ANGELES."

Now who could have guessed that?!?!
Scott Baio. Former child star of "Bugsy Malone". Widely popular ex-teen idol and Tiger Beat poster boy. American sitcom icon from "Happy Days" and "Charles-in-Charge". Television series and commercial director. Playboy Mansion ladies man. And now, Screen Actors Guild labor activist. But later on, he also evolved into an Award-Winning Independent Film Thespian ("The Bread, My Sweet"). Against incredibly difficult obstacles.
One can definitely see that the guy used his personal time very well.
A true Renaissance man. (Regardless of what ignorant and prejudiced Baio-haters are likely to spit out.)