Local friends produce behind-the-scenes documentary on classic ‘The Great Escape’
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
They say the Hollywood machine is a cutthroat, dog-eat-dog world. But for Joe Amodei and Mike Meister, who hail from Langhorne and Newtown respectively, the world of entertainment, particularly the film industry, has brought nothing but positivity in recent years.
On Tuesday, Aug. 21, at Bristol’s Calm Waters Coffee, the excitement of the longtime buddies was at an all-time high. No, their energy wasn’t from the caffeine but rather the freshly packaged DVD Amodei clutched in his hand. Emblazoned on the front of the case was a caricature of a man on a motorcycle, mid-jump over a barbed wire fence. Most middle-aged men would instantly recognize this as Steve McQueen’s standout scene in The Great Escape, the WWII adventure film that chronicles hundreds of Allied prisoners of war and their plan to escape a German camp.
Printed above McQueen in bold, golden letters was The Coolest Guy Movie Ever: Return to the Scene of The Great Escape. As its name hints, the film is a documentary about the making of the 1963 hit that shares behind-the-scenes stories, rare footage and in-depth looks at the locations that once hosted Hollywood heavyweights McQueen, James Garner and Charles Bronson.
So why was Amodei carrying around a copy of the DVD with such pride? He and Meister were two of the documentary’s executive producers, and The Coolest Guy Movie Ever was just released on Amazon, iTunes and other digital platforms that morning.
“As a young boy exploring the big wide world of motion pictures for the first time, The Great Escape excited me, thrilled me and cemented a love for movies that has stayed with me forever,” Amodei said. “This is the film that started it all.”
Amodei is the founder of Virgil Films & Entertainment, a distribution company formed in 2003 that operates out of New York as well as his Langhorne home. Over the past 15 years, Virgil has gained quite the following, with releases including the Oscar-nominated Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me. But Amodei’s love for the silver screen began long before, largely thanks to Meister.
The two became fast friends in 1979, when Meister hired Amodei to work at his business, Video Village. These were the days of betamax, and, according to Meister, Video Village was the first video rental store to hit Philadelphia. The company grew rapidly in just a few short years, but when Blockbuster came into the picture in the early ’80s, the franchise shook up the entire industry, and Meister sold his beloved Video Village.
While Meister embarked on a professional career in construction, Amodei wasn’t so quick to say goodbye to his love of film. He fought his way into the industry, soon finding himself working alongside giants like Ted Turner. As they pursued their individual paths, Amodei and Meister did lose touch for some time. But 11 years ago, they (not surprisingly) rekindled their friendship in Los Angeles while attending the TCM Classic Film Festival.
For the first time since their Video Village days, the two were on the same page — both had a strong interest in producing. About three years ago, the chance to work together on a project came when they were serendipitously introduced to Steve Rubin, producer of The Coolest Guy Movie Ever. Rubin knew they were die hard fans of The Great Escape, and helped plan a dinner meeting with filmmaker Chris Espenan. By the end of the meal, they had a deal — Amodei and Meister would produce the documentary, and Virgil would distribute it.
Though The Coolest Guy Movie Ever was only released a few weeks ago, it’s already making a massive splash in Hollywood. Amodei has received numerous calls from assistants of A-list actors, including Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, who want to get their hands on a copy.
“They grew up watching this film the same way that we did, and the film inspired them in the same way,” Amodei explained of The Great Escape.
When attempting to craft the perfect title for the documentary, Amodei, Meister and the entire production staff struggled for months. It wasn’t until someone said, “It’s the coolest movie for guys,” that they had a breakthrough.
“The Great Escape, I like to say it’s one of those films that wives hate because when their husbands are flicking with the remote, if it’s on, they’re going to watch it,” Amodei said.
In Meister’s opinion, there are countless aspects of the movie that keep viewers returning for more.
“It tells a great story about Nazis and the rebellion against them, against the prison camp,” he said. “It’s a great story of courage, never giving up.”
The Coolest Guy Movie Ever highlights all of the locations in Germany where the 1963 film was made, including Geisel Gastag Studios in Munich. A unique team of cameramen, historians, film buffs and local experts painstakingly found the exact spots where McQueen, Garner and Bronson once stood in the summer of 1962.
In addition to behind-the-scenes looks at the filming locations, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever features uncovered treasures such as footage from a German television news shoot, which included a rare interview with McQueen.
The documentary, a true labor of love, aired at last year’s Cannes Film Festival to at least 20,000 attendees from all over the world. The film was sold to Germany, Italy and France, and Amodei and Meister were there to witness every glorious moment.
Though they’re still coming down from that Cannes high, the two are hoping they can do it all again next year. Slated for release in early 2019, they’re involved in a new documentary about the life of E Street Band saxophone player Clarence Clemons. As production on the film nears an end, they’re in the process of seeking out more projects they can work on together.
“I think we’ve both gotten to a point in our lives where our careers have treated us very well, and we now want to enjoy the things that we enjoy,” Amodei said. ••
For more, visit virgilfilms.com.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
