Interview by Craig Byrne
“Pizza Man”‘s script is written by the talented Marco Mannone. In addition to his writing as a screenwriter and a journalist, you might even recognize from the web series The Vampire Killers which he also did some writing for.
He has a lot of stories to tell about the currently-filming feature starring Frankie Muniz, and his interview can be found below.
KSITETV: When did you start writing this script?
MARCO MANNONE: I started writing it back in the end of August, beginning of September of last year. I was approached by our Executive Producer, John Kapoor. Basically, he pitched me this idea. He wanted to start producing movies, and this was an idea that he had for several years for a family-friendly superhero movie. He said “Marco, what could you do with a pizza delivery boy accidentally eating a gentically engineered tomato and getting super powers?” It was such an over the top and crazy idea that it was a fun challenge; wondering “how can I turn that into a story?” For me, I felt the best way to turn it into a story would be to have fun with the genre, and tell a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
KSITETV: Can you talk about the character’s origin?
MANNONE: I definitely wanted an origin story; I didn’t want to just jump into things. Half the fun of this character is how he becomes a superhero. It’s just so off the wall and so silly. So, I wanted to have fun with that and definitely try to, as much as humanly possible, actually sort of ground the plot in some kind of actual science. I actually did research genetic engineering, and what they’re doing with tomatoes and produce. They’re actually doing a lot of things with tomatoes, which is pretty insane.
KSITETV: What was your reaction upon the casting of Frankie and him choosing this as his project to return with?
MANNONE: I thought Frankie was a brillant choice. As anyone who’s seen Malcolm in the Middle knows, he exudes a very innocent and rambunctious demeanor. He’s perfect as our character, Matt Burns, who becomes Pizza Man. He’s youthful; he’s energetic; he’s completely sympathetic. You can’t really get mad at him for anything. You only want to root for him, and he just brings that effortlessly to the character.
KSITETV: Is it true that this story is going to appeal to more than one generation?
MANNONE: My goal in writing the story was to have a movie that can appeal to both kids, parents, and even teenagers. It’s family-friendly, but it doesn’t mean it’s just for kids. Family-friendly means that adults can go in there and have a good time because there’s humor and references that they’re going to be able to appreciate. There’s not too many live-action superhero movies that have done that.
There’s not much left to do with the genre other than deconstruct it; which Watchmen obviously did which was ground-breaking. Mystery Men to a certain extent, and also the Incredibles, and now we have Kick-Ass that’s coming out. But there haven’t really been many family-friendly versions that have been live action. I wouldn’t consider Watchmen or Mystery Men being very family-friendly necessarily, and The Incredibles was a cartoon.
A lot of people are going to have fun with it.
KSITETV: Is it true that there are some Easter Eggs coming in for Heroes fans?
MANNONE: Yes. We definitely have some characters that are played by some Heroes alumni, and the one that I’ll mention exclusively is the incredible David Lawrence, who’s going to be playing Detective Moser, which is kind of our version of Commissioner Gordon, if Commissioner Gordon was kind of jaded, and cynical, and awkward. He brings an amazing deadpan humor to the role, and it’s great to see him play this kind of character, because it’s very different from what he’s done before.
KSITETV: Of the other actors that have been announced, was there a connection to your childhood that blew you away to see them on set?
MANNONE: Definitely. Of course. We have Michael Gross playing Professor Tucker, and obviously, anyone that’s watched Family Ties and for me, I can geek out on the whole Tremors series – he’s really perfect the role, and it’s great to have him in the movie. Then we have Shelley Long playing Frankie’s mother in the movie. I grew up watching Cheers on TV; so that was huge. And Corbin Bernsen – that guy just owns whatever he does. He’s just so cool, and so nice, and he’s already started doing certain improvisations with the character that is way better than anything I could have written. I give him full credit for making his part even juicier than it’s written. So, we’re definitely getting to work with great actors that I’ve grown up admiring.
KSITETV: What kind of a character is Corbin Bernsen playing?
MANNONE: It’s interesting; I wrote his character originally as a generic corporate jerk, and he kind of had a different take on the character which is a bit more of a Steve Jobs kind of guy who, instead of wearing a suit to work, he’s wearing a turtle neck. He’s very suave and very intelligent. Basically he heads this corporation that is funding research into a specific science that is intended to create superhumans, and not exactly for the good of mankind. It has nefarious military intentions.
KSITETV: What kind of a character is Diamond Dallas Page playing?
MANNONE: Diamond Dallas Page, he’s worthy of a whole interview onto himself. For any wrestling fans, of course, he’s probably the star of the entire movie. He plays a very, very different character from anything he’s played before. He plays a corporate vice president in a suit and a tie. Clean shaven. No one’s seen him in this kind of role before. He has a very interesting character arc. He’s kind of like our Two-Face villain. The whole story is having fun with the cliches and archetypes and he’s our Two-Face villain. He starts off as kind of a likeable Vice President, and he’s manipulated into a certain stance that spirals out of control and he goes crazy and becomes this psychopath. It’s really fun to see Dallas go from one end of the spectrum to the other.
KSITETV: What projects have you worked on prior to this?
MANNONE: I have worked on a web series that came out a year or two ago called Vampire Killers that was created by Doug Hutchison who is a brilliant actor, and in collaboration with an excellent director and editor by the name of Tim Baldini. That’s online right now. People can go to vampirekillers.tv to check that out. That was definitely fun. I co-wrote that, and actually, I acted in that as well a little bit. That’s really the only thing that people could go check out that I’ve been involved with, so I definitely view “Pizza Man” as my foot in the door. This is the beginning of hopefully a long and fun career.
KSITETV: Are things left open for a possible sequel if this does well?
MANNONE: Yes. Of course. Any good superhero movie worth its salt should always have potential for a sequel. It’s a complete story unto itself, but if fans want a sequel, then can definitely get it. There are so many fun ideas we have for where this character can go.
KSITETV: Can you talk about Pizza Man’s costume?
MANNONE: The costume is perfect, because it is original, and it definitely a source of contention for the character. It’s not something that he feels entirely comfortable in at first, but it’s something that he grows into and he then chooses to embrace as his identity. That’s a fun part of his arc. It’s an interesting costume, because kind of like the characters from Kick-Ass, it’s something that’s basically home made. It’s having fun with the cliche of Peter Parker. He creates his amazing suit by himself, when really, not everyone has those kind of skills. If someone were to really make a costume at home, it probably would look more home-made; and that’s something that we have fun with.
KSITETV: Is it true that the costume is something that is passed down in his family through the pizza parlor?
MANNONE: Yes. It was originally worn by his father, but not for crimefighting purposes. Mostly to promote their family pizza parlor. So it’s basically a mascot for their business, and something that he’s been forced to wear. He’s at first embarrassed by it, but by the end of the story, he actually starts to become a hero in it.
KSITETV: Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
MANNONE: I think what sets “Pizza Man” apart from a lot of other more established characters is having fun with the fact that just because someone gets super powers, it doesn’t automatically make them a super hero. I know I’m a huge dork, and if I got super powers, I probably would still be a dork, and that’s something that our character struggles with. What happens if your costume isn’t very cool? What happens if you have trouble coordinating your strength? What happens when you still are shy with your love interest? Those are some of the fun things that we’re exploring, and I think it makes Pizza Man an interesting character.
Ultimately, this is one of the first ever grassroots superhero movies. No one’s ever gone out and made a movie like this with a totally new hero on this level. I hope people have even half as much fun watching it as we are making it.
Thanks go out to Marco Mannone for taking the time to do this interview and for sharing the photos of himself with Adam West and Rowdy Roddy Piper, who both appear in this movie. Come back tomorrow as we talk with Leonard Roberts and Noah Gray-Cabey… better known to Heroes fans as “D.L. and Micah!”
