Podcast Episode 127 – Author, Academy Award Nominee, and Art-repreneur, Chazz Palminteri

If you listen to only one of my podcasts, make it this one.

We all know that Chazz’s life story became the play A Bronx Tale, which became the movie, A Bronx Tale, which has now become the musical, A Bronx Tale.

But the irony is . . . Chazz’s story of how he made all that happen could be a movie too.

He was almost 40-years-old.  He was broke.  He was driving a broken down car.

And he was an actor living in LA, with no agent, and no prospects.

It was that moment that every artist and entrepreneur comes to at least once in his or her career.  He had a decision to make . . .  “Is it time to give up the dream?”

Chazz didn’t.

Instead, without a lick of training as a writer, and not knowing what a Producer even does, he wrote, produced and starred in a show that changed his life . . . and the lives of so many others.

If this story sounds interesting when I type it, wait until you hear Chazz talk about it.

Listen to this inspiring podcast and hear A Chazz Tale, along with:

  • How he had to talk a mob guy out of taking out a guy he was understudying.
  • Why he turned down an offer for one MILLION dollars for the rights to his story.
  • What his show, Rocky, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding have in common . . . and more importantly, WHY.
  • How his undiagnosed dyslexia forced him to learn in a different way, and why that helped his storytelling.
  • Why A Bronx Tale works, no matter what medium it’s in (play, film, musical) and why that’s important for YOUR project.

Chazz is not just the American Dream.  He’s the Broadway Dream.

If you don’t think it can happen to you, just listen.

Click here for the link to my podcast with Chazz!

Listen to it on iTunes here.  (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review, while you’re there!)

Download it here

 

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Podcasting

Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.

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