The mob's least talented hitman takes on a most impossible task.

For longtime mobster Lou Bagetta (PATRICK GALLO) an unexpected visit is never good news, so when a peaceful night at home is interrupted by a visit from fellow gangster Joey Gusto (DAN OLIVO) it comes down to a battle of wits. Fortunately for Bagetta, Gusto doesn’t have too many. Not that it matters: Bagetta has “immortality issues.”

Through the course of the evening the would-be killer plots Bagetta’s untimely demise, only to find himself out-foxed at every turn. Baffled by his target’s steadfast refusal to die and lacking improvisational panache in the art of the hit, Joey Gusto struggles until the very end with his assignment. Unbeknownst to him, his mark has decided not only to make things difficult, but intends to have a good time in the process.

For me this all began with tears - the good kind - as I read a short story entitled "The Deposition of Lou Bagetta, Who is Immortal, Regarding Joe Gusto, the Mob’s Worst Hit-Man." The conceit was so simple, so surreal, so ridiculous and yet so sublime. I watched this movie before it was made. The story simply begged its way onto the screen.

It’s a rare and wonderful thing when you can be a true fan of a writer, who also happens to be a great friend. And if you’re a first-time director, it helps enormously to work with material for which you have such a natural connection. Brian Sack and I connected pretty much from the day we met. His unique style is such that, even though many appreciate his humor, few know quite how to work with it. But I got him right away; sometimes better than he got himself, and that worked out for both of us. As a sound designer, and later as his business partner, I brought many of his radio spots from the page to the airwaves. Doing the same with pictures was the obvious next step.

The Deposition of Lou Bagetta was born from an improv bit Brian did years earlier about a mobster who didn’t realize his buddy was trying (but failing) to murder him. In 2005, he adapted the concept as a first-person short story for his popular humor blog, Banterist.com. As I first read it, I began casting in my mind. By the second paragraph, Patrick Gallo was Lou Bagetta. The notion of a film version languished until 2008, when we implemented a long-dormant part of our business plan for an entertainment division. We bounced around a few ideas for our first project, but this was the one I kept going back to.

We worked together to adapt it to a screenplay over the summer of 2008 with the idea being to grab a few friends and shoot it over a weekend. However the first friend I showed it to insisted that this script deserved to be taken to the next level. I accomplished that by a fortuitous twist of fate, when I went
trick-or-treating with Craig Cockerill, and subsequently convinced him to be the film's Director of Photography. With each new addition to the cast and crew, the film’s potential grew. As the first day of shooting got underway, I knew we had something pretty great.

I must admit, that initially there were no grand themes or cinematic devices. I just wanted to make a funny story into a movie. But the great thing about collaboration is that it reveals things hiding within great characters. As the director, my job was simply to pay attention when they surfaced and make sure that everyone could do their job with the same goal in mind. In the end we each discovered unique pieces of humanity in the story, echoing themes of reluctant grace and mercy, the circuitous nature of life, and the innocent mischief of – in this case, everlasting youth.

Tommy Smeltzer
Los Angeles - January 2009