GRAND RAPIDS, January 5, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A film rejected by Hollywood distributors has set a record for the longest test screening in history—55 weeks—set at the Michigan theatre where it has been playing since December 2003. The pro-family, feel-good comedy, Uncle Nino, out-endured every other film released in the US in 2004, including The Passion of the Christ.
Made for only US $2.9 million and shot in 25 days, Uncle Nino is the story of “an eccentric Italian relative whose visit helps heal a fractured American family,” according to a telegraph.co.uk report.
The test-screening was expected to last two weeks, but because of the massive popularity at the Grand Rapids cinema where it debuted, Uncle Nino continues to be shown.
Hollywood distributors all initially rejected the movie. The Grand Rapids theatre that screened the movie did so only after being persuaded by a friend of the film’s creator. The producers have finally landed a distribution contract and Uncle Nino will be released in the U.S. in February, and Internationally later in 2005.
The film is the work of Chicago director Robert Shallcross, writer of the 1994 movie Little Giants, who has spent the intervening years directing television commercials.
“I wanted to tell a story about an American family that was missing out on some of the simple, important pleasures in life,” he said. He said the hectic pace of advertising that left him little time to spend with his four children was the inspiration for writing the movie.
Actor Pierrino Mascarino, who plays the Italian uncle, has traveled on several occasions to the Grand Rapids cinema, “appearing at screenings unannounced and in character and hugging audience members as they leave.”
With files from the Telegraph.
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