Paul Borghese - Director

 

FILMMAKER BIO

Paul Borghese has extensive experience as an accomplished Actor, Director, Producer and Distribution Executive. By the 1990's, some of the almost two-dozen feature films he played an active producing and/or distribution role in by that year were George Romero's Document of the Dead, Beatle George Harrison's Wonderwall, Fatal Secret starring David Carradine, A Time to Remember starring Donald O'Connor, Prisoners of Inertia starring Amanda Plummer and John McGinley, Destiny to Order with Michael Ironside, Good Night Sweet Marilyn, Fright House starring Al Lewis, and Lady Terminator among others.

 

Between 1990 and 1995 Paul Associate Produced and served as Casting Director for five independent feature films including Perfect Lies and New York Nights. He also began developing what later proved to be award winning documentary filmmaking style and skills by producing and directing a number of fast paced, slick and cinema verite' style MTV spring break and Jamaica Hedonism Resort type productions for both Playboy and Playgirl video promotions just to keep busy, but which proved great experience in leading him into bigger and better, more mainstream projects, and to eventually becoming an award winning documentary and independent feature filmmaker. Several of those productions were collaborations with early episodes of the HBO Real Sex series.

Oliver Stone and Columbia Pictures then recognized Paul's talents as a filmmaker and hired him to contribute to a montage segment in the Academy Award nominated, The People vs. Larry Flynt, as a segment director/producer.

 

Mr. Borghese went on to write, produce and direct a feature-length film documentary, The Canadian Ballet, which screened at film festivals internationally and won numerous honors including Best Performance Arts Documentary at the New York International & Independent Film Festival, A Finalist Award at the Long Island Film Festival, Best Feature Length Documentary at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and the Director's Achievement Award at the Narrowsburg International Independent Film Festival. The film screened at the Angelika Film Center and at both the Robert DeNiro owned Screening Room on Varick Street in New York City and at the Tribeca Film Center. The film was later re-released as Dancing For Dollars.

 

Mr. Borghese co-wrote, co-produced and directed the Mob genre feature film Four Deadly Reasons in1999. This film was completed in 2002 and won the Back East Best Buzz Award at the Back East Picture Show Film Festival in Hoboken, NJ, The Low Budget Genius Award at the Silver Street International Film Festival, the "Best of Fest" feature film at the Putnam Valley Film Festival and it screened at the Los Angeles Italian American Filmmakers Awards and at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Center on opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival.

 

Currently Mr. Borghese is collaborating and writing several screenplays. One with childhood friend and now successful screen actor Michael Rispoli. A warm-hearted Italian themed comedy, The Brothers Barbieri. The others are a spoof comedy titled GhostFellas and On the Lam, a project that can be described as City Slickers meets My Cousin Vinny. He is co-writing with good friend Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan, Flags of our Fathers) who he met on the set of the HBO made for TV movie 61* of which they worked on together. Paul also wrote and plans to produce Agida, a pizza comedy. Agida can be best described as Moonstruck meets Do The Right Thing on a Big Night. It will be produced as either a feature film or a pilot for a television series. Mr. Borghese directed a feature film that he Co-wrote the screenplay for, Searching For Bobby D (as in DeNiro), Starring Carmen Electra. The film has won numerous film festival honors including Best Comedy and Audience favorite at the Long Island Film Festival, the Moondance Film Festival, the Big Apple Film Festival and the New York Atlas Film Festival among others. In 2006 Mr. Borghese produced and directed a television presentation pilot titled Dinner with The FoodFellas, of which he was the creator of and is currently being shopped to networks. It stars four Sopranos cast members including Lorraine Bracco and Vincent Pastore. He went on to co-write the screenplay adaptation of the book MOB OVER MIAMI which he re-titled Unmade Man and will be CO-Producing. He recently directed the trailer for SouthPaw, and three television Pilots; a reality makeover show "Geek To Guido", YOU GOT WHACKED; Gangsters & Pranksters and Sit Down. 2009 had Paul CO-Producing Lost Island starring Damian Chapa, Vincent Pastore and Tony Darrow and directing a short film titled Alienated. In 2010 Paul will direct the feature film Goat which he co-wrote the screenplay for with William DeMeo.

 

Mr. Borghese recently produced the revival of Louis LaRusso's Lamppost Reunion, starring Vincent Pastore, (who was also Mr. Borghese's producing partner), to 17 sold out performances and is currently producing Tony Darrow LIVE! – a one-man comedy show opening on April 2nd, 2009 at the Triad Theatre in NYC. He is also CO-Producing the off broadway one-man show Blood Type Ragu that is currently running at the Actor's Playhouse in NYC.