spotlight
by bill biss
When director Yen Tan came up with the idea to create a gay film that deals
with online friendships, unrequited love and the loss of someone’s old and new
friend, he became entwined in a vision that mixed a very true reality with a blend
of cinema magic when he met Alessandro Calza. Making his feature film debut
in Ciao, openly gay actor Alessandro Calza began his journey with Yen Tan by
complimenting him online for his previous film called Happy Birthday. Their e-
mail correspondence translated into a friendship that transformed into the idea
for Ciao. Calza also co-wrote the script for the film and stars in the production,
and this new gay film which is a journey of friendship, loss and love rings so true
to anyone in our community. After the holiday blur has ended, begin the New
Year right and see Ciao as it opens at our Hillcrest Landmark Cinema on January 9.
Graciously phoning in from Italy, Alessandro spoke with The Rage Monthly about
Ciao, American gay movies and his personal thoughts on acting.
One of the most intriguing aspects of this film is the simple pureness of it. Ciao
is beautifully done and is so real in its exploration of human emotions. Calza ex-
plained the after-effects for him once the film was done and ready to be presented
to the public. “The time that we spent doing the movie in Dallas had been really
Ciao
an emotional time. The story for the movie is kind of dramatic. Some of the things
in the movie are biographical. For me, re-experiencing all those things has been
touching and at the same time, it was the very first experience I had as an actor.
The environment of the set took me extremely to a place of strong emotions. You
to Alessandro
have to explore many aspects of things that you have done in the past. It was a
very touching experience.”
As part of the plotline for the film mirrors Calza’s friendship with director Yen
Tan, Calza explains their initial meeting by saying, “Yes. Tan and I met online be-
cause I saw his previous movie Happy Birthday and I thought about dropping him
Calza
an e-mail because I really liked the movie. Even though it was an American gay
movie, it was very artsy. He had an eye for photography and some of the aspects
Just the Right Combination of Brains and Brawn
that you usually don’t find in American gay movies. Once I wrote him, we started
to talk about cinema, to talk about music and just to be friends online. At a certain
point, he wanted to do another movie. We thought about this idea. On one side,
mixing my personal experiences. Living in Italy, I had a boyfriend in Connecticut
before. So, part of this meeting online was something I experienced. At the same
time putting together the meeting of Ciao’s storyline with the death of a person.
“It’s very difficult to find somebody
It was actually a real event that Yen read about, it was something that happened
to a woman. Creating this intimate gay movie, but at the same time, a movie that
who is out, gay and big in Hollywood.
at the end, if you substitute two gay guys for a girl, the movie would stand up
anyway. It was more about emotions than gay issues themselves. So many of the
We don’t have it. If you look at Holly-
gay movies are actually about issues.”
Creating his very first motion picture role in Ciao, and co-writing the script as
wood, who the f#@k is out? Nobody.”
well, Calza has a very personal investment in the film. He explained in detail of
his passion and dedication for creating his character. “I think our major concern
about having an Italian in a American film was we didn’t want to present an Ital-
ian character as something exotic that would distract the audience and focus
the attention on the sexiness of the person. You know, the flashy clothing and a
beautiful body, we didn’t want to distract from the core themes of the movie such
as the grief and the loss and the search for somebody. I wanted to make sure that
as in terms of language, the way Andrea (Calza’s character) expressed himself and
the way he dressed up would not fall into the typical stereotype. It’s very much
not wanting to be the “Guido” guy, the Italian. We didn’t want that to happen.
When you are creating a character completely different from yourself, you just
jump into another dimension. But when you are playing somebody who is more
or less like you, it could be you… but it’s not exactly like you, it’s very difficult. You
are always moving along a very fine line because you are not doing something
Alessandro Calza in Ciao.
that is completely different.”
38 RAGE monthly | DECEMBER 2008
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