You won’t find any police reports on this. But a group of angry women attacked a man skulking outside the Masonic Lodge in Morristown the other night.
The victim has been identified as Mortimer Blackholly. He is expected to fully recover from the pummeling. The ladies, who belong to a bingo group, have not been charged.
That’s according to eyewitness Jody Mortara. She instigated the “altercation,” as screenwriter and co-star of Cocoa, a comedy that has been filming scenes in Greater Morristown this fall.
The movie’s premise is likely to resonate downtown, where fitness studios and dessert shops vie for space.
“It focuses on two sisters. It’s sort of the arc of their lives together. In the process they invent a chocolate cake that makes you lose weight,” said Mortara, an actress from Los Angeles whose credits include Octaroon and Needs to Bake, a TV show about four young special needs adults who started a baking business.
Look for added comic relief from co-director John Bianco — better known as Gerardo “Gerry the Hairdo” Torciano in season six of the HBO mob series The Sopranos.
“I’m generally a bad guy, I’m a killer, so it’s always a pleasure to poke fun at yourself. And that’s why I’m going to do a cameo in the film, poking fun at myself,” said the Brooklyn native, after a long night of shooting on Maple Avenue.
The Cocoa team wanted a Disney-like feel, and Morristown fit the bill. “It’s beautiful, just the look we were looking for,” Mortara said.
Video: Say, that guy on the left looks kind of… familiar.
Shooting is wrapping up this week. Scenes in town have been shot at Kilwins, the police station, Headquarters Plaza and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, among other places. Convent Station and a home in Harding have provided more settings. Other locations were Bloomingdale, Princeton and Jersey City.
Extras have included Morristown First Lady Mary Dougherty (one of the bingo bashers) and the Rev. Anne Thatcher, rector of St. Peter’s, playing the wife of an investor in the miracle cake.
“It was so fun!” Dougherty said after more than 15 takes of cinematic assault and battery outside the Masonic Lodge.
Everyone can use some light-hearted family entertainment, said co-director Joe Gawalis.
“I think during this time period right now we need to bring a lot of comedy and levity to people’s lives,” Gawalis said.
“Jody wrote a fantastic script, first off. It’s a film that’s appropriate for ages 8 to 80. I think people need to be uplifted. It’s funny from start to finish, it’s cute, it’s clever. It’s something you can watch with family and friends and just really enjoy.”
A TASTE FOR MORRISTOWN
Retired Wall Street trader Brian Mandel, a Freemason from Morris Township, lucked into a small speaking part, a modest payday, and the promise of an onscreen credit…right after the golden retriever who plays Cocoa.
“I had the time of my life, for two minutes of fame and $150,” said Mandel.
One of his favorite moments was watching Cocoa ignore commands barked by an actor. The canine’s trainer informed the thespian: “The dog doesn’t know his acting name. The dog’s name is James.”
Mandel said he sweated his line. “And that concludes this week’s sermon…”
He was asked to play Pastor Bob, a role he conceded was a stretch for him–he’s Jewish. Mandel became “very nervous” upon learning a last-minute extra at St. Peter’s, Thatcher, was a real pastor there.
Not to worry.
“Brian did great. We had an opportunity for me to do a little clergy coaching, which was fun,” said Thatcher, who also has some community theater experience.
Making movies may sound glamorous, the minister acknowledged, but it’s hard work: Scenes are shot and re-shot from multiple angles, and with drones.
“It can take five, six, seven hours even, to shoot one scene,” said Thatcher, who was recruited to pinch hit for another actress the night before the film shoot at St. Peter’s. The Gothic stone edifice is becoming a sought-after backdrop.
Former Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey was there in January, for a funeral scene in Ways & Means, a CBS pilot that was not picked up. And actor Matthew Broderick appeared in holiday productions when his sister, the Rev. Janet Broderick, was rector.
Cocoa actually will be two films: A companion piece is being shot in 360-degree virtual reality, from the perspective of a cat named Galileo.
“It’s like a window into the world,” said Bryant Boon, virtual reality director for the project. You’ll need VR goggles to appreciate the full immersive effect.
That’s a ways off. Team Cocoa anticipates up to eight months of editing — nobody wants a half-baked cake caper. When the co-directors are satisfied, they will shop the package to Hollywood and streaming networks.
Morristown has welcomed everyone in the productions, Gawalis and Bianco said.
Hey, who’s going to cross Gerry the Hairdo? After spending most most of his fictional life dodging cops, Bianco said he especially enjoyed shooting scenes inside the police station.
One of Mortara’s characters, Carmine Frangiolini, is a mob boss inspired by the real deal, a friend she described as “a nice guy” despite his penchant for “all kinds of crazy things.”
As for the pound-shedding cake she cooked up, she insists it’s no deep-seated fantasy. She just loves baking.
And now, she has developed a taste for Morristown.
“I love this town,” Mortara said. “I’ve got to say, I’ve actually been contemplating, is there a way to move here? It’s a beautiful place.”
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