The independent movie "Phoenix, Oregon," which features a character loosely based on local restaurant owner Anthony Valinoti, will screen tonight at the Central Theater.
The film is about two friends who decide to quit their jobs and create their own business, a bowling alley that serves pizza. Director Gary Lundgren said one of the main characters is loosely modeled after his friend, Valinoti, the owner of Deluca's Pizzeria.
"I was so in shock when he told me that I was the pizza guy that he based the character on," Valinoti said. "First off, it was such a beautiful gesture and secondly, I didn't expect it."
Lundgren said he met Valinoti around 2005 in southern California after a friend introduced him to Lundgren, who was busy creating a short film, and they struck up a friendship. Lundgren said Valinoti was a "fly on the wall" during the making of "Calvin Marshall," his feature debut.
While Lundgren was making the movie, he said he and Valinoti frequently ate together. "I would cook for everybody on Sundays and whenever I had a chance. I was just fooling around back then; I wasn't thinking I would ever do that for a living," Valinoti said.
Lundgren said when he heard Valinoti was planning on creating a pizza restaurant, he knew "he's going to kill it."
Lundgren said the idea behind "Phoenix, Oregon" didn't come about because of Valinoti, though. Lundgren said he has always had a love for great food.
"The balance between running a business and making great food fascinated me," Lundgren said.
But while the idea for the movie came first, Lundgren said he decided to base one of the characters, loosely, off his old friend when he began writing the film.
The character, Carlos, is portrayed by actor Jesse Borrego. Lundgren said Carlos and Valinoti have different backgrounds and are different people, but Valinoti's passion for food and his knowledge of pizza is where the inspiration comes from.
Lundgren said Valinoti was involved in the making of the movie because he wanted the pizzas in the movie to look great and the restaurant in the movie to look realistic.
"I had little questions," Lundgren said, asking Valinoti how many pizzas he makes in a day and how he makes his dough. Lundgren said he also knew he could call Valinoti for more tips or help, making it easier for him.
"Anything I could have done for him, he's such a wonderful friend that any kind of knowledge that I could pass onto him, I was more than happy to help with that," Valinoti said.
Valinoti hasn't been able to see the film yet, but he has seen the trailer for it. "I saw the trailer for the movie and they make the dough that we make the same way we make it; we make a lot of dough by hand. So I was watching the guys make it by hand and I was like 'That's really cool.' That was such a great compliment, I thought," Valinoti said.
Getting the movie made took effort from Lundgren who wrote the first draft of the screenplay three years ago. He first attempted to make the movie two years ago, but couldn't get funding. Last June, he was able to finally shoot the film.
He said watching the film is very satisfying for him. "(This is my) fourth feature film (and I've) gotten better at making movies. I'm very proud of that first film, but it was a crash course (in filmmaking)," Lundgren said. Four movies into his career, Lundgren said that filmmaking is "just a lot more fun."
Now that the movie is finished, Lundgren and the crew who made the movie are taking it on a cross country tour. They began their 70 city tour in early June in Oregon, where the movie takes place, before heading to California. After showing in various cities there, they turned east.
Lundgren said the stop in Hot Springs makes sense. He said they knew they were going to Texas, and the tour will end in South Carolina. Hot Springs was situated between the two states, and it would finally allow him to try Deluca's Pizza.
Lundgren and his crew arrived in Hot Springs Thursday night. Valinoti said they already met up, which was the first time they had seen each other in 10 years. "He looks wonderful," Valinoti said "They're the same people, they are great people."
Valinoti said he plans to attend the screening. "I'm going to try to make it if it's not a complete madhouse (at Deluca's)," he said.
"I can't wait to see it. I really, really can't wait to see it, and I know that Gary has a dark, beautiful sense of humor, and hanging out with him long enough, you kind of discover that, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how the movie turned out," Valinoti said.
The movie will play at 7 p.m. today at Central Theater. Following the movie, a question-and-answer period will follow with Lundgren and producers Annie Lundgren and Luis Rodriguez.
Local on 07/20/2019