A Look Forward to Palminteri’s “AKA DEATH”

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• April 9, 2016

The long anticipated (by no one in particular) dark comedy pilot from Lori Palminteri, “AKA Death,” is soon to be released.  The pilot follows Andi (played by Palminteri), a misfit who’s only friend is her drug dealer (Carmen Lynch).  Andi is coerced into giving her deadbeat and most likely clinically insane father (Joe Starr) a kidney, but complications almost cost Andi her life, and she makes a deal with Death, who is played by no other than the King of Darkness himself, comedian Matt Burke.

“Burke was the obvious choice for Death,” Palminteri said, “to be honest, there’s no real evidence that he isn’t the Grim Reaper.  So he was perfect for the role.”

Lori Palminteri, an under appreciated writer, who will probably be considered a genius after her own death, said she didn’t want to produce another full length pilot, as it is exhausting and there is little reward, but the feedback and support for her pilot, “Honest Living,” pushed her to do so.  “Honest Living,” premiered almost two years ago.  While it failed to launch Palminteri’s writing career, it was critically acclaimed, mostly by other comics, and people who want to fuck Lori Palminteri.  Critics agreed:

“It was funny, better than most of the crap on Television.”
“Lori is actually a pretty good actress.  That was surprising to me.”
“I’ve watched it a dozen times, and laughed every time.”

That last quote was from Lori’s mother.

“Honest Living” took a tremendous amount of work, and with absolutely no budget, the film took longer than expected to make, so after it was finished, Palminteri said, “I’ll never do this shit for free again.”  But then people kept asking her, “when are you gonna do that shit again,” and slowly, she forgot how much time and effort it takes to produce a pilot, and wrote a new script.

“The idea for AKA Death,” Palminteri explained, “came from a bar scene I wrote in the middle of the night, about a girl who’s only friend was the Grim Reaper.  I knew there was more there.  I wrote the whole script shortly after.”

The pilot is typical Palminteri: dark, funny, and dialogue driven.  Where the film lacks in action, it makes up for in just being weird, and something different, compared to most of the unoriginal content on Television.  The film is made exponentially better with the score of the remarkably talented, Kevin Sullivan.  It is likely, with a budget or given a network opportunity, Palminteri could create something truly extraordinary.

The pilot is set to premiere Sunday, May 15th at the Brokerage Comedy Club, in Bellmore, at 7pm.  There will be a comedy show before the screening, featuring some of the comics who are in the film.  The premiere is the day before Lori’s 27th birthday, which she hopes she can use to get more people to come to the premiere.

“I’m hoping for a good turnout,” Palminteri said, “it’s been a rough few months for me.  I need this.  But don’t write that part.  Just say, um… a lot of people worked really hard on this, and I’m excited to show it to the world.”

John Trueson, director of “Honest Living,” returned to work with his protege on “AKA Death.”  Despite being one of the key persons to encourage production of “AKA Death,” Trueson commented, “Lori’s mean and she beats me… If I was in the Director’s Union, a stern complaint would be lodged forthwith.”  Whether or not Lori is physically abusive to her unpaid cast and crew is unknown, though she has been known in the past to be, “kind of a bitch.” “Death, depression, and morbidity are Lori Palminteri’s wheelhouse,” the director said.

Actor Joe Starr, noticeably the best actor in the film, said, “Lori has a commitment to humor that boarders on obsession.  It’s almost unsettling.  She is focused and in tune and totally absorbed in the creation of her own weirdly dark and oddly bent sense of humor.  She is also single.  I do not think these facts are wholly disassociated.”

Bryan McKenna, who plays Andi’s brother in the film, was hooked when he read the script.  Said the actor/comedian, “when I first read the script, I thought only a serial killer could write something so dark.  Then I saw it was written by Lori Palminteri… serial killers aren’t even close to being as dark as her.  The voices don’t tell her to kill, they tell her to think darker, more gruesome thoughts.  I think in a few years she will be praised for her work or committed to a psych ward.”

Co-star of “Honest Living,” Dennis Rooney, also makes an appearance in the film.  Rooney, co-host of the podcast (available on iTunes), “Netflix Book Club,” and somewhat of a film expert/the future of comedy, said the film is, “disarmingly unremarkable in nearly every way.  The short is saved, briefly, by a glimmer of cinema’s future: The role of Otto is absorbed by Dennis Rooney, the only scene in which any love for the film shines through.”  He gave the film two out of five stars, even though Dennis Rooney has not yet seen the film.

“AKA Death” is worth seeing, if for no other reason than getting a glimpse into the twisted brain of Lori Palminteri.  Palminteri has a gift for writing, and using actors and a director who make her writing look even better.  And then she takes most of the credit.  There will be numerous Facebook invites and email reminders in the next upcoming weeks.  Lori has a strong following of about 30 people, who she says, “are mostly people who are friends with my mom.”  As a totally unbiased reporter, I would say “AKA Death” is a must see movie event of 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!! (exclamation points for emphasis of excitement)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To watch Lori’s previous work on Honest Living Click Here