City boy back from talk show debut
It seems that no filmmaker or actor can thrive nowadays without making the round of television talk shows.
Nick DiRamio, for one, certainly understands that he can only promote his movie to his seventh-grade classmates so much. So the 12-year-old sat down last week with the latest celebrity to pull up a daytime-TV couch, Sharon Osbourne, and touted his short film, “In The Night.”
Just like the phone call he received from an America Online official – telling him he had won the online service’s scary movie contest – DiRamio could hardly believe Osbourne wanted him on her show.
If any of his Pennichuck Junior High School classmates don’t believe it, they can tune in to the WB network Tuesday morning and watch the budding director chat with Ozzy’s wife.
“I was very nervous before I walked onto the set,” DiRamio said Saturday, having recently touched down in his hometown of Nashua following a two-day stay in Hollywood. “But when I stepped out, I was calm.”DiRamio flew out to the West Coast on Wednesday, and taped the show the following day.
Unlike many big stars, he had no dressing room demands. He instead enjoyed the free sodas, candy, fruit, and sandwiches, all before having makeup applied.
He patiently waited for his cue, and then spent a few minutes telling Osbourne about his film. She showed a clip of the movie, and then asked him what he planned to do in the future.
“I want to go to film school after high school, and keep on making films,” DiRamio recalled his answer Saturday.
Until he rolls the camera again, he’ll wait for his AOL prize to come. AOL chose DiRamio’s film over about 100 other entries in its Make Your Own Scary Movie contest.
DiRamio filmed “In The Night” inside his family’s Thornton Street home. He even enlisted the help of his sisters, Melanie, 16, and Jill, 13, to fill in for friends who abandoned the young director at the last minute.
In the film, Melanie DiRamio, playing the part of a tortured insomniac, and Jill DiRamio, playing a crazed ghost, act out their brother’s spooky tale of a home invasion.
“I hope to do more in the future,” he said. “I thought Hollywood was so great, that movies are made there all the time.”
He hit all the sites, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and bought friends and family souvenirs. He didn’t speak with Osbourne following the show’s taping – she had another commitment – but in their time together behind the camera, “she was really nice.”
DiRamio will return to the classroom today. Chances are his teachers won’t immediately tackle class work.
“They think it’s really cool that I’ll be on TV,” he said of his friends. “It’s a first for them, too.”
