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Friday, January 29, 2010

Rockland director and Lynch Mob Producer and Star trumpets Tappan

By Chris Serico • cserico@lohud.com • January 28, 2010

Regulars at the Central Barber Shop in Tappan might have been startled to see actor Armand Assante in one of the chairs on Sunday. And the barber getting ready to give him a trim? He looked a lot like Vincent Pastore from "The Sopranos."


When they weren't getting advice from Luciano Leone, the owner of the barbershop, Assante and Pastore were taking direction from Paul Borghese, a Rockland County native who was shooting scenes for his latest film, "Goat."



And it was no coincidence the director choose Tappan for the scenes, happy to give his childhood home the Hollywood treatment. He even gave Leone, who has run the shop since 1968, a little on-camera role as — what else — a barber. "I'm in the third scene," he says.


A graduate of Tappan Zee High School and St. Thomas Aquinas College in Orangeburg, Borghese moved back to Tappan from Manhattan two months ago and opened a film production office on Old Tappan Road.


"My roots are in Rockland," says Borghese, who shot part of his directorial debut, "Four Deadly Reasons," at Rockland Cemetery in Sparkill. "There are just so many great locations in the area that ... are unique and original and haven't been seen before."


Including the Central Barber Shop, where Borghese filmed scenes for "Goat" with Assante ("Gotti," "Judge Dredd"), William DeMeo ("The Sopranos," "Analyze That") and New Rochelle resident Pastore ("The Sopranos"). Not on set was Ice-T ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.")


In "Goat," DeMeo plays Bobby Baldano, who, following a prison stint, opts to return to a life of crime rather than work for the construction company run by his father, Joseph (Assante). Bobby refers to his Pontiac GTO as Goat, which is "almost like another character in the movie," Borghese says.


"It's a story about the wrong choices," he adds. "It's not just about the choice, but it's also about the timing of your choices."




Borghese also directed DeMeo as the lead in "Searching for Bobby D," about four struggling actors' quest to finance a film that supposedly has Robert De Niro's name attached to it.


"I think ("Goat") has the potential to be one of those indie films that stands out and goes very far," DeMeo says.


Assante signed on about a year ago, citing Borghese's friendship and talent as reasons.


"He has a natural gift for sending up the whole crime genre," Assante says. "I think he has a great sense of humor. He has a funny twist on things."


While Sunday's shoot was totally indoors and confined to the barbershop, Borghese plans to return to Tappan in May to film outdoor scenes in and around the area, and at the Oak Tree Inn when the weather improves.


"The more we can shoot in Rockland in those four weeks, the happier I'll be," Borghese says.


When he's not behind the lens, Borghese works as an actor. In addition to playing Yogi Berra in HBO's "61*," he's appeared in movies from "Julie & Julia" to "Find Me Guilty."


"Sometimes I like just showing up to work, not having all the responsibility (of a director)," he adds. "As an actor, I go in there, play the role, I'm done and get paid."


But with the control and creative fulfillment, directing is even sweeter when he gets to do it in a place he knows well.


Last year, Borghese used The Castle on Route 9W in Piermont as the setting for "Alienated," which he describes as " 'The Sopranos' meets 'The X-Files.' "


He's a major booster for his hometown, with a vision to make Rockland just as enticing to film scouts and production companies as its neighbor across the river.


To that end, he wants to find sponsors to help him create a screenplay competition, whose settings are exclusive to Rockland.


"The winning script would be produced and shot in Rockland County," Borghese adds. "It would be really exciting and bring a lot of revenue to the area."


Film commissions, he says, would take notice upon learning about and seeing films shot entirely in the region, and the county would continue to benefit from future productions.


"I would love it if by next year, it would be a reality," he adds.


Assante, who owns a farm in Orange County, has similar hopes for film production growth in the Hudson Valley. He's working on his own film about farming in the '40s.


"I would love to be able to spearhead some kind of small studio here," he says. "I literally have lived and traveled all over the planet. ... The Hudson Valley is probably one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and many people don't know that."

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