Ted Melfi is probably not a name that most people are familiar with, but his script called ST. VINCENT DE VAN NUYS sparked a huge deal of interest recently, especially after Bill Murray has signed on to star as the titular character. The Weinstein Company has now agreed to finance the film, which will be Melfi’s feature directorial debut. Having made his name shooting commercials, he has a few upcoming screenwriting projects including a remake of 70s geriatric crime caper, GOING IN STYLE, as well as a TV show called THE MANCINIS which is based on his parents (Dad was in organized crime, and Mum was a nun) and which is co-produced by Jon Favreau, but it is this film that seems it might send Melfi into the limelight. Bill Murray will play a train wreck of a man who takes the 12 year old son of his single mom neighbour under his wing, as Melfi describes it:
It’s the worst parenting decision ever made by this single mom, but she works two shifts at the hospital and the guy next door seems harmless enough. The relationship transforms both the man and the boy and even though he teaches the kid everything about his decadent lifestyle, from fighting to drinking, gambling and how to cheat lie and steal. And the 12-year old has such a pure soul that he only extracts the good from all this.
Having been originally conceived as a low budget film he would make with his friends, the ball really got rolling when the script reached Jack Nicholson who loved it and recommended Bill Murray for the role.
I’m driving one day, the phone rings and it’s Bill Murray, and he says, ‘Ted Melfi, I don’t know who you are, but I love your script.’ He asked me to meet him at LAX and go for a ride as he returned home from a golf tournament. I met him in baggage, we got in a town car. He pulls the script out of an attache case. It’s dog-eared and there are notes all over it. We stop at an In-N-Out Burger, and spent a three hour drive to I don’t know where discussing the script. He understood everything about the character, and his notes were simple, direct and to the point. He said, this character is who I am at times, and this is how I talk, at times. It was one of those days where you think, if I died tomorrow, it would be okay.
This film sounds really exciting and I urge you guys to follow the source link and read the entire interview with Melfi who also discusses the origins of the story. Ted Melfi seems like a really down to earth guy and the script sounds lovely and something you can clearly imagine Bill Murray star in. This could be a really lovely film, and we here at THN will of course bring you the details about the film as more gets revealed.
Source: Deadline
