About Our Film
Logline
Pat Leone is a failed restaurateur toiling away at his brother's deli. Lara Doyle is a frustrated diner waitress stuck in a middle-aged rut. Both divorced and in need of some romance, Pat flaunts his Jersey charm, world-famous Italian chicken, and maybe even a karaoke song, determined to win her heart.
Director's Statement
A low budget can sometimes suggest low quality… and maybe settling for less.
Not so with "Don’t Say It".
I was lucky enough to work with a bunch of supremely talented individuals. Superb acting talent, a brilliant cinematographer, an editor whose talent knows no bounds, a producer who really had it all together, and a committed crew.
It was a joy working with these people, it made my job so much easier, and yes, a lot of fun.
With their dedication we managed to shoot a film on a tiny budget that looks sounds and feels like a million bucks. I thank them all.
Stephen Ward
Statement
from
Rich Grosso
One of the inspirations to make this film was that we wanted to work with as many friends and family members as possible. Amazingly talented performers that for one reason or another have gone unnoticed until now.
There are more firsts in this film than we can count. First time leads, first time, screenwriter, first time feature film director, producer, actors, costume designers, art department. The firsts are endless.
Our film is about real people of a certain age that have been kicked around by life and still fight through their demons every day in the pursuit of love and happiness. The characters in this film have a ton of heart, and you get to have a front row seat to their world, warts, and all. “Don’t Say It” is a throwback. Although we feel it could have mass appeal, we hope the Gen X people and Baby Boomers find a familiarity of a time when films like this where plentiful and we feel hopeful that our little film resonates with them.
You will notice diversity in this film not because we are trying to give our film more sales appeal but because these are truly the people in our real everyday collective lives. The film is diverse because me and the people in my world are inclusive.
Many of us have known each other for so long that we didn’t even realize that our film also has a bit of an unintentional international diversity as well. Our first-time Director is from London, our Cinematographer is from Cuba, our Composer resides and is from Rome, our Color Timer is from Australia and our Producer is from New Jersey. Sorry someone had to be from Jersey. : )
In closing I would just like to say, I cannot, nor could I have ever done this alone and it is my hope that every single person that helped make “Don’t Say It” a reality, is proud they did.
Sincerely,
Rich Grosso