Back in June 2011, I wrote about Federico Castelluccio directing a short film called “Lily of the Feast,” for which he won Best Director/Short Film at the 2011 Long Island International Film Expo.
Well, starting in late July, Castelluccio will begin directing the feature-length version of “Lily of the Feast” in Williamsburg (Brooklyn). The movie, co-executive-produced by Michael Ricigliano Jr. and Jeff Schneider, is about a local banker, Santo, with a gift for memorizing numbers — who’s caught in a power struggle between friends, family and his church.
(Castelluccio played Santo in the “Lily of the Feast” short but will only direct here; the role for the feature-length movie has not yet been cast but discussions are under way.)
Meanwhile, composer/producer/performer Billy Terrell — a Vietnam vet — will present “Billy Terrell: From the Brill to the Brink and Back” Monday (9 p.m.) at the Triad Stage (172 W. 72nd). The one-man show features material from the PBS special “The Other Side of War,” which will mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and will air next year on Ch. 13 and Ch. 21.
Ralph & Ed in high-def
Even though I’ve seen each episode of “The Honeymooners” literally dozens of times, I’ve recently been watching the “Classic 39” (1955-56) on Blu-ray — and boy, does the show ever hold up, especially in this high-definition format. Without getting too technical — besides, I don’t completely understand what goes into “cleaning up” original negatives (or whatever) — the Blu-ray episodes of “The Honeymooners,” released in May, are sharp and pristine. You can almost imagine that this is how it looked to the live studio audience who watched “The Honeymooners” film from the Adelphi Theatre on West 54th (since razed).
For the uninitated, “The Honeymooners” — which airs 11 p.m. weekends on Ch. 11 — revolves around blustery Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), his no-nonsense wife, Alice (Audrey Meadows), his best friend, Ed Norton (Art Carney), and Ed’s wife, Trixie (Joyce Randolph).
Timeless.
Last, but not least …
“Wheel of Fortune” contestant Stephen Dreyer, who became a viral video sensation last week when he couldn’t solve the “song lyrics” puzzle “Surf City Here We Come” — he guessed “Surf Clay Where We Go” — has been offered a job by John Argento, director of operations at Surf City Bar & Restaurant in Jersey City. “If you accept this position, you’ll be able to exclaim ‘Surf City, Here We Come’ and feel excited doing it,” Argento wrote to Dryer …
Animal Planet’s Tahli Kouperstein and Karin Failla over at Fresh & Co. (48th & 6th) late Friday (Tahli enthusing over Larry David and Dean Norris).