L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 13 L'Italo-Americano Steve Oedekerk: an Italian in Hollywood I met up with Steve Oedekerk at "O Entertainment," his s tudio in S an J uan Capistrano. What was once an old bank and still has the vintage vault to prove it, now serves as Steve O's office, but not for long. Soon enough it will be San Juan's first boutique hotel, a Kimpton. "San Juan Capistrano is one of the few historic towns without a hotel as part of their downtown landscape, so we're putting one in!" Steve O said. S teve w as n't alw ays a budding hotel developer. You've enjoyed his work on the big and little s creen for years . A n A cad emy A w ard nominated director, producer, actor, comedian, and computer animator, Steve Oedekerk has written and directed films that have grossed over $1.9 billion in worldwide box offices, including s uch blockbus ters as Br uce Alm ighty, the Ace Ventur a franchise, The Nutty Professor, and Patch Adams. He received Academy Award nominations for Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, and the CG animated feature and Emmy A w ard w inning TV Series, Barnyard. His talent is multi-faceted and never ending, but just as important is how his family and community value him. Is Steve Oedekerk Italian? Although you wouldn't know it by his D utch name, S teve Oedekerk is mostly of Italian decent with a little Hungarian and Irish thrown in. His mother, Rena Borlandeli, was born in Mignano Italy. She and Steve's father, and A unt M argarita immigrated to San Louis Obispo directly from Italy. "Oedekerk" comes from his father's side and is a very common Dutch name, but Steve said he doesn't know any of his D utch family history. It's his Italian heritage he holds dear to his heart. I asked Steve, "What movie best describes your life growing up?" "The movie 'Avalon', and 'Big Fat G r eek Wedding' repres ents it w ell," S teve s aid. "M y G reat A unt and U ncle, M argarita and Rico treated soap operas like they were real for many years." I could totally relate, being Italian myself. He loves all things Italian and feels very connected to his Italian culture, which is why he married A ntoinette 24 years ago. A ntoinette's parents immigrated from Terras ini, Sicily so they had an immediate connection. Steve describes "Tonie" as a big presence in their family. Her motto is "Family First." She's always supportive and loves what he does, but doesn't get involved other than to let him bounce ideas off her. They were introduced by Steve's sister and had a very ordinary beginning to a wonderful marriage. They have managed to stay happily married longer than most Hollywood couples, and raised two beautiful daughters Zoe, 20 and Izzy, 16. I as ked S teve a few more questions: If he could live inside any LISA CACCIATO-DALGAARD TV series from any era, what would it be? H e has alw ays been enamored of the Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry, and sees San Juan Capistrano as a similar town. Everyone knows each other. "There are town festivals and parades where people help each other and work together for the benefit of the town—happy people living a simple life, just like in Mayberry." What movies are on his top ten list? "It's a Wonder ful L ife, because it depicts a base and type of movie that could never be ap proved now adays in Hollywood," Steve said. "It's too saccharin, too candy, too soft." He loves that it shows the human condition of a guy who wanted a lot more, but realized in the end, he has everything he needs. Drama? "The Godfather, a classic of a different type." Comedy? "Monty Python and the Holy Grail, because it was offbeat and authentic. There was nothing like it at the time," S teve said. "It really inspired me." Wh at w riter, p rod u cer, director? Robert Rodriguez is one of his favorites. El Mariachi is a favorite indy movie as Robert did so much with so little. Two guys that ins pired him are Woody Allen and Albert Brooks as they were both Comics turned Filmmakers. "These guys had an authentic vision just like Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Also G eorge Lucas , w ho w rote directed and therefore had full control." OK S teve, are you th e action hero or the heart-throb in a movie? "Neither. Goofball posing as an actor would describe me." Steve describes himself as a "Right brain creative talent vs. left brain logical skills – OCD meets ADD," which is why he Steve Oedekerk in his studio in San Juan Capistrano likes to write, direct and produce fulfilling the different parts of his creative personality. Having worked with so many incredible actors like Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor, Robin Williams in Patch Adam s , M organ Friedman in Evan Almighty and s o many others , it's his friendship with Jim Carrey that stands out. "I met Jim at the Comedy Store on Sunset in the early 80's. Jim was an impressionist at the time and was just thinking about burs ting into a full comedy act. So when Jim asked me to help him with a script he read called Ace Ventur a, I agreed. I was just helping out my friend. I had no idea how popular it w ould be. Then, When Nature Calls, the sequel, came out, it did even better than Pet Detective." In true Italian fas hion, spending family time together is most important to Steve. ""We just hang out a lot. TV, movies, tennis , pool. J us t being together." Steve's a regular guy, living in an ordinary town but making his tory through his talent. Still, his passion is his family. His eyes brighten as he talks about his daughters. "Zoe is a performer, a big personality, and Izzy is a diverse creative talent and great w ith a camera. They're both really fun and funny." Don't leave us hangin' Steve O, we want more! Steve has a few things on the horizon that we're hoping to see soon. A reboot of his THUMB parody films, a possible sequel to Kung Pow, and he's just completed a screenplay for a new comedy feature film. Steve is open to shooting a film in Italy, and is currently working with Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss on creating an Italian cartoon baker character where they will have a digital book s eries , an app and a movie. Watch for it, and much more to come from Steve Oedekerk. September 21, Sun. - Cinema Italiano Bowers Museum 1:30pm reception/2:00pm screening Il Capitale Umano - The Human Capital Italy (1 hour 30 min) Italian with English subtitles. For directions and more info go to: www.bowers.org. September 26, Sat. - City of Irvine Annual Global Village Festival - 10:00am - 6:00pm This year Italy will be repre- sented for the first time. Our booth will celebrate all things Italian. Stop by and say CIAO!!! For more information and directions go to: http://legacy.cityofirvine.org/globalvillage/ October 2, Thur. - Italian Movie Night at the San Juan Capistrano Regency Theater 6:00pm Happy Hour in Rick's Cafe 7:00pm screening of SI ACCETTANO MIRACOLI - They Accept Miracles. The Regency Theater is located at 26762 Verdugo Street, San Juan Capistrano, CA. 92675 949-661-3456. October 4, Sun. - Columbus Day Celebration at Bowers Museum - Celebrate Italian Heritage The Columbus Ceremony starts at 10AM. Featuring a color guard, anthems, Valeria Rumori, director Italian Cultural Institute, the Hon. Consul General of Italy, Antonio Verde, a wreath ceremony at the Christopher Columbus Monument and an Italian lunch. For reservations call 714-550-9155 October 7, Wed. 7-8pm. La Serata—Italian Conversation Evening (Beckman Hall, 4th Floor Patio). Luca Vullo will join us this evening to speak to us about the importance of gestures and non-verbal communication in Italy. For any information contact Dr. Pacchioni at pacchion@chapman.edu October 8-11, Thur. - Sun. Festa dell'Autunno - The Resort at Pelican Hill invites you to visit Italy by way of Newport Beach this autumn. Newport Beach's only Five-Star resort presents its fifth annual harvest season celebra- tion: Italian Street Festival. For more information and tickets go to:https://www.pelicanhill.com/festa/ October 13, Tue. - Dinner Meeting - Italian American Lawyers of Orange County (formerly Lex Romana) - 6:00pm-9:00pm The October monthly meeting will be held at Prego Ristorante. Cost is $50 per person. To register to attend go to: http://www.ialoc.org/events. Prego is located at 18420 Von Karman Ave., Irvine (949)553-1333

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