November 11, 2004
Media Contact: Ron Rollet
Phone: (609) 884-6700

Cape May NJS Film Festival Honors Joe Pantoliano with Founders Award

This year’s recipient of the Cape May New Jersey State Film Festival’s Founders Award for Outstanding Contribution to New Jersey Film Arts is none other than Joey Pantoliano—known to many loyal fans as Ralph (Ralphie) Cifaretto, the sarcastic, belligerent, and misogynistic Mr. Obnoxious who literally lost his head on the Sopranos.

Although cast often (he has been in over 40 movies) as the classic bad guy, in real life he is a genuine stand up guy who grew up streetwise in Sinatra’s hometown of Hoboken, NJ, where he still has an apartment. This award will be presented at the Festival’s Opening Night Gala on Friday, November 19th beginning at 7:00 pm.

“Joey Pantoliano is a rarity in the film world—his (signature) hat still fits his head even though he is acknowledged by other actors as one of the best,” says Ron Rollet, the Festival’s Artistic Director. “What led us to choose Joey Pants is that he is the quintessential Jersey kid who made it in the big time but has never forgotten his roots. In this way, he is an inspiration to the young filmmakers whose films we feature in our Festival of Independents.”

Among the films for which Joe Pantoliano is well known are Memento, The Matrix, Bound, The Fugitive, The Goonies, Midnight Run, Empire of the Sun, and Risky Business. He is a regular on TV programs ranging from “The Sopranos” to his own series “The Handler” and this year’s “Dr. Vegas.”

Pantoliano is sometimes described as a character actor, which is fine with him: "A character actor to me was someone who played a bunch of different roles versus a leading man or supporting actor, I wanted to be a character actor and do good parts.

The guys that inspired me were Spencer Tracy, Robert Duvall, Albert Finney and Michael Caine, you, know, urban guys that came from the street. I just thought if they could do it then so could I. They were the kinda guys who started out being the fourth guy through the door and then, at last, they get a line of dialogue."

The 4th Annual Cape May New Jersey Film Festival will be held on November 18th – 21st at the elegantly restored Congress Hall Hotel and the Frank Family’s Cape May Beach Theater. The Festival is New Jersey’s premiere weekend film festival celebrating the best New Jersey films and filmmakers and has become one of the major festivals on the east coat.

For more information or for tickets to the Opening Night Gala and other festival events, lease go to www.njstatefilmfestival.com or phone (609) 884-6700.

###

Back to Cape May NJ State Film Festival