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Waiting for Danny DeVito
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Mel DuPont
February 15th 2009 |
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 Providence filmmaker Nick Albanese is waiting. Sort of.
On the one hand, Danny DeVito could return his calls and text messages at any moment -- which is the subject of Albanese's new YouTube documentary series, "Waiting for Danny DeVito" In the meantime, he writes, produces, directs, acts, and performs stand-up comedy. "I'm like a one-man studio....I love it."
Albanese is no fanboy -- he actually met DeVito back in 2004, when Albanese was a limo driver. He helped move one of DeVito's daughters into Brown University, and made such a favorable impression that Devito requested he return and help move in the other daughter. "At the time, I gave him cassettes of stuff I'd done, but looking back...I'm better now than I was before....I wish he could see my stuff now."
DeVito wasn't put off at all -- he began calling Albanese for information about Providence."He'd call me, and ask me where to find this in Providence, 'Where could I find this...?'" With DeVito's number in hand, and a rapport already established, Albanese got in the habit of sharing his good news with DeVito -- or, at least, with DeVito's voicemail. "I would call him once in a while...'Merry Christmas,'... always, the machine. And then, finally... in the summer of '07, I was filming 'Bread, Butter & Bullets', and I got into [Showtime's] 'Brotherhood' It was a great, great summer. We were editing, we had episode one or two [of BB&B] on YouTube, and I called him....I know I'm gonna get the machine, I'll just leave a message. But he answered." He told him about BB&B --
 "He's like, 'Bread Butter what?'"
"'Bread, Butter & Bullets.'"
"'Bread Butter Bullets. Bullets....I'm gonna check it out.'"
Albanese was freaking out that DeVito might forget, so when his buddy suggested he text a reminder to DeVito, Nick did, sending him the web address. Later on, when Albanese's first episode of "Brotherhood" was about to air, he texted DeVito the news. "But I never get a response back."
In the intervening year or two, Albanese thought creating “Waiting for Danny Devito” “cause it seems like I'm always waiting for him." He started filming in May 2008, took a break to get married, and got back work editing in January. On Feb. 8th, 2009, Albanese uploaded the first episode of WfDD to youtube.com.
Will Danny DeVito ever return Albanese's calls? During an upcoming episode, he will attempt to get DeVito on speakerphone. "I want to try to do an interview with him....He might go for it! Or he might just totally still blow me off!" Nick quips. If it works out, great; if not, “I move on to my other projects," like working with his cousin, David DiLorenzo, to take their Goomba Comedy Company show national, submitting scripts to competitions like Scriptapalooza, and auditioning for speaking roles. |
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