Two Bits
SUMMARY
In this Depression-era drama a 12-year-old Philadelphia boy, desperate for twenty-five cents to go to the opening of a new movie theatre, has the two bits willed to him by his grandfather, who announces he's going to die. Not wanting to lose his grandpa, the boy spends the day trying to earn the money and learning important life lessons. Alec Baldwin narrates. E Online Factsheet
CAST / CREW
Directed by
James Foley
Writing credits (WGA)
Joseph Stefano (written by)
Cast Jerry Barone .... Gennaro Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio .... Luisa Spirito Al Pacino .... Gitano Sabatoni Patrick Borriello .... Tullio Andy Romano .... Dr. Bruna Donna Mitchell .... Mrs. Bruna Mary Lou Rosato .... Aunt Carmela Joe Grifasi .... Uncle Joe Rosemary De Angelis .... Mrs. Conte Ron McLarty .... Irish Charley Scalies .... Ballyhoo Driver Joanna Merlin .... Guendolina Geoffrey Pierson .... Dr. Wilson (as Geoff Pierson) Karen Shallo .... Woman in Red Nick Discenza .... Father of Deceased (more)
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ARTICLES
Sports: Teen actor collapses, dies at soccer game, Copyright © 2002, AP MegaSports, The Associated Press
(NOTE: this is not the main co-star Jerry Barone, Bevilacqua had an uncredited part. I don't know what he played.)
WAYNE, Pa. (March 29, 2002) - A 13-year-old boy who appeared in movies with Al Pacino and Bruce Willis collapsed and died Wednesday while playing goalie in an indoor soccer game.
Donato Joseph Angelo "Dan" Bevilacqua collapsed about 20 minutes into the game in suburban Philadelphia and was taken to a hospital after attempts to resuscitate him failed, police said.
An investigation was begun to determine the cause of death, but a preliminary autopsy showed Bevilacqua died from a medical condition, not an injury.
Bevilacqua had appeared in feature films, including Two Bits, in 1996, with Pacino, and Twelve Monkeys, in 1995, with Willis, Brad Pitt and Madeline Stowe. He also appeared in TV commercials.
Bevilacqua was a licensed soccer referee and played on the soccer team at Upper Merion Middle School, where he was a seventh-grader. Recently, he won an essay contest sponsored by a local chapter of the Sons of Italy, of which he was a member.
A funeral Mass is scheduled for Monday in King of Prussia.
QUOTES ABOUT THE FILM
JAMES FOLEY (THE DIRECTOR)When the script was presented to director James Foley, he found himself in tears by the final pages. "After exploring the most vicious, dark side of how men deal with each other, I was really drawn to this story of how two men, a boy and his grandfather, make a really meaningful impact on each other's lives. Eventually, I came to see Two Bits as a companion piece to Glengarry Glen Ross, not in any dramatic sense but in the sense that they each look at opposite sides of human nature, opposite kinds of motivation--the two sides of the coin, really. Both are about being a man--but in Two Bits, what the kid learns from his grandfather prevents him from becoming the kind of men you find in Glengarry Glen Ross." The Ritz Online Filmbill.
AL PACINO
Pacino says the script appealed to him because his own grandfather was one of the most influential people in his life. "My grandfather, who raised me, and was the most, and um my Grandad died before anything happened to me, any kind of success or whatever happened to me in my career, so I felt a kind of a warmth toward that character." (hear a wav - 315k of this comment)
JOSEPH STEFANO (WRITER)
Two Bits emerged from the intimate memories of acclaimed "Golden Era" screenwriter Joseph Stefano, who is himself a native of South Philly. Stefano is best known for his classic screenplays for Hitchcock's Psycho and The Black Orchid and was also the co-producer and author of the popular 1963-64 cult TV series "The Outer Limits." (CNN article)
"I don't know what it takes to get out of the family mode," she says. "First I am his sister, then I'm his daughter. I don't know what it takes to actually be the romantic figure in his life ... Perhaps I have to be blonde. It could happen." (CNN article, the wav of this comment is available there - linked below)
MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO
While Mastrantonio is a screen veteran, Jerry Barone is just making his screen debut. The young actor beat out 750 other contenders for the role of Gennaro, and the chance to star opposite a Hollywood legend. (CNN article)
TRIVIA
It is also known as "A Day to Remember" Internet Movie Database
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