The Mob Murder Of James Fusaro - A Source Of Inspiration.
On the 40th anniversary of his grandfathers murder, Darrell Fusaro breaks the code of silence and inspires a community in the just released documentary, The Basement.
Los Angeles Actor, Author and Cartoonist, Darrell Fusaro returns to his hometown of Clifton, NJ to give a benefit performance of his play, The Basement at his alma mater, Clifton High School; all proceeds to benefit the student body. Enthusiasm builds over Darrells play, which is the account of his grandfathers murder and the effect it had on his family and this town. But the day before the show, the School Board panics about the graphic language in the script and demands Fusaro make revisions to his true-life story. How he responds is priceless.
By all appearances Fusaro seems to have lived a charmed life. Upon meeting him, we find a happy soul living a life of creative adventure; an accomplished painter whose works have exhibited side by side with Andy Warhols. An actor, who has performed his play, The Basement, on stages throughout Canada and the United States and who has appeared in television shows and over a dozen national commercials. He cartoons weekly and is a Producer of local news segments that air on CNNs Headline News. And yet, with no pretense, he comes across as the regular guy next door.
But behind Darrells smile is the nightmare that destroyed the Fusaro family. At the age of 8, Darrell overheard the details of his grandfathers murder, while hiding in the basement kitchen. The murder of James Fusaro had gangland signs, the newspapers shouted. As the news continued and rumors spread, the humiliation, shame, and fear of more violent attacks by Mafia, silenced the Fusaros. This silence was not without consequences; it became malignant and destroyed the family.
By the time Darrell was 18, his close-knit Italian-American family, who celebrated so many good times together in their grandparents basement kitchen, was no more. In the documentary, The Basement, we witness this regular guy do extraordinary things through his acceptance, generosity and sense of humor.
Behind the scenes of The Basement.
Director Jeff Trujillo
Soundtrack by Gaili Schoen
Jeff Trujillo joined Darrell on the journey back to his hometown of Clifton, New Jersey, simply to record the benefit performance of The Basement, as a keepsake for the high school. It wasnt until reviewing the footage that Trujillo concluded there was a sincere story that deserved to be made available for others to enjoy. Once Jeff convinced Darrell that this was a worthwhile goal they rolled up their shirtsleeves and got started. Working together evenings and weekends, they assembled the footage, along with Fusaro family photographs that spanned the 20th century, and investigative phone calls Darrell had made years earlier in his quest for answers. As first time documentarians they were pleasantly surprised with how well things were coming together. But something was missing; a soundtrack. Then out of sheer coincidence, it was discovered that Darrells dog had a neighborhood friend, Sparky, whos owner turned out to be renown film composer, Gaili Schoen. Gailis documentary soundtracks include the PBS Special, Annie Leibovitz: A Life Through A Lens. With no budget, except what they pooled together from their own pockets, Jeff & Darrell knew Gaili would be out of their reach. Boy, were they in for a surprise. Gaili fell in love with Darrells story and joined the team. Darrell and Jeff both consider Gailis soundtrack, brilliant, hitting all the emotional notes throughout the film and highlighting them precisely. After screening the film Echelon Studios offered them a distribution deal bringing The Basement to the attention of the American and International film markets, On-Demand and Netflix. The Basement is available now on DVD at http://www.singahe.com/basement.html
What lasting impact do you hope your documentary will leave?
That a life well lived, in spite of personal tragedy, is an example of hope to others.
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THE BASEMENT TRAILERby harrisonm1,487 views
looks shit
HarleyBobMarley 1 year ago