2008 Woodie Awards
Wilmington filmmakers have hometown pride
Victoria Balque-Burns
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Mosaic
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For the DelGiornos, who have been making movies since 1999, the decision to get into the film business was based on a combination of their childhood hobby of putting on skits for their family and their belief that anybody could make films.
The brothers did not attend film school and had no prior experience with filmmaking, but instead learned from example during the making of their first movie, "Franks and Wieners," an "in your face comedy" in which they poke fun at various stereotypes.
"When we started our first film, 'Franks and Wieners' in '99, we really started on the script ourselves and then we figured we would get people that knew what they were doing," Gordon DelGiorno says.
After showing their talents as comedic filmmakers, the brothers are heading in a slightly different direction with "Jack of Clubs," which he refers to as a light drama with comedic moments. The movie is about a man who finds himself in trouble with the law and is sentenced to work at the Boys and Girls Club with a diverse group of 9-year-olds in which no one seems to get along.
Like most of their movies, "Jack of Clubs" is based somewhat on the DelGiornos' life experiences, as many of the children's characters are modeled after kids the brothers encountered during their own time as members of the Boys and Girls Club.
"The kids in the movie, their characters are all typical kids," Gordon says. "You have them from all walks of life. So they were kids that we either knew growing up, kids like them or we were part of those personalities."
The brothers' longtime relationship with the Boys and Girls Club served as inspiration for the film. Gordon, who was Youth of the Year in 1983 at the Fraim Boys and Girls Club in Wilmington, sees the project as a way to pay the club back for the positive experience he had as a member.
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