Draft:The Finellis Movie

The Finellis Movie is a 90-minute comedic film written and created by Mark Janicello that was released internationally on January 18, 2022..

Production History
Originally planned to be a 13-Episode television series, a proof-of-concept pilot episode of The Finellis Sitcom was filmed in March 2016. In September of that year, the pilot episode was a featured presentation at the 2016 Berlin Serienale. In October 2016, with the proof-of-concept pilot episode in hand, Janicello signed a distribution deal for the Sitcom with HG Distribution at MIPCOM in Cannes. After testing audience response at various events, Janicello and HG Distribution did some recasting, Janicello rewrote the scripts and raised money to start filming. In December 2018, Janicello received a development grant for Sitcom from the Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg. In January 2019, The Finellis Sitcom went back into production on location in and around Berlin, Germany. Episode 1 was completely reshot, along with Episodes 2, 3 and certain storylines from Episodes 6, 7 and 11. In the Summer of 2021, Janicello signed a new distribution deal with Premiere Digital Services in Hollywood. At Premiere's request, the decision was made to take the existing filmed material from the Sitcom and combine it with a newly-written, connecting storyline and turn all of the existing and newly-filmed material into The Finellis Movie.

Synopsis
Five years after being released from prison, on the opening night of his comeback performance in a new Broadway musical, Tony Finelli, gives an exclusive backstage interview to celebrity reporter Barbara Bischof for "Hollywood Hotline." During the course of their talk, Tony looks back at his extraordinary life. To save his family from being murdered by the Mafia, Tony, spent 15 years in a Berlin prison for a crime he didn't commit. After losing everything -- family, home and career- he set out on a bumpy journey to reclaim his life, and five years later, he's back on top.

Production History
Originally planned to be a 13-Episode television series, a proof-of-concept pilot episode of The Finellis Sitcom was filmed in March 2016. In September of that year, the pilot episode was a featured presentation at the 2016 Berlin Serienale. In October 2016, with the proof-of-concept pilot episode in hand, Janicello signed a distribution deal for the Sitcom with HG Distribution at MIPCOM in Cannes. After testing audience response at various event

The Finellis and Scientology
Janicello, a former Scientologist, stars as Tony Finelli. The story of the film is loosely-based on Janicello's 2011 German-language Autobiography Nackt im Rampenlicht: mein Leben mit Sex, Singen und Scientology. The book was later published in 2017 in English as Naked in the Spotlight: My Life with Sex, Singing and Scientology. The book chronicles his 10-year involvement with Scientology, and the negative repercussions of his membership for his life and career,  Promoting the movie, Janicello was described as a former “Poster Boy” for the Church of Scientology, who received regular death threats, and [was] targeted for 16 years by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz). In another interview, he was quoted saying:"'I [was] earning $60,000 a month playing Elvis in this musical when Scientology happened. I went from that to nothing. I didn’t get an audition anywhere — Germany, Switzerland or Austria, which were the main markets. I was blacklisted. I couldn’t pay my bills anymore; I couldn’t pay child support. At the same time, I went through a divorce. I lost everything at once.'"In another article Janicello elaborated on the connection between The Finellis and Scientology:"'The Finellis is a way for me to rewrite my own history,' says Mark. “I am able to tell my story and share my pain by hiding behind Tony Finelli. My experience with Scientology was horrific. I lost everything...I asked Scientology to help, but they turned their backs and left me to die,” says Mark"

The Finellis SitCom (2019) and The Finellis Movie (2021) Casts*
* Appears only in The Finellis Movie

The Finellis SitCom - Festivals, Awards and Nominations
The 2019 episodes of The Finellis SitCom were entered in numerous film and TV Festivals worldwide. The show won numerous prizes in different categories as listed below.

The Finellis Movie and the LGBTQIA+ Community
The film has an 18-minute storyline involving Transgender Actress/Activist Kim Tatum. Tatum's character Eva Gutierrez was based on Janicello's real-life friendship with German Transgender Performer Gloria Gray. This storyline was positively received in the Trans community and written about in numerous LGBTQIA+ Press venues.