Caught in the Carousel

Filmgo.net

By Alex Green

Filmgo.net

"A good film," Alfred Hitchcock once quipped, "is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it." FilmGo.net, a new site dedicated to the art and spirit of independent films, allows its followers to dispense with the babysitter, the dinner and the theatre admission altogether.

Allow us to explain.

Filmgo.net

The brainchild of former Wall Street hotshot Bill Bonfanti Jr., (and partnered by Bonfanti's wife Danielle and Gila Kaplan) FilmGo.net is a site that's dedicated to being a harbor for indie movies and music. Featuring a rolling selection of films that are pulled from a deep stack of submissions, FilmGo.net keeps these films in rotation until the next batch are selected. The films themselves range from Award-winning indie productions like Garrett Bennett's A Relative Thing or Mickey Blaine's Commit to inventive and spirited diamond-in-the-rough movies like Happy Valley that are just waiting to be discovered by broader audiences.

In addition to the films (which go for about $7.99 a pop), the site also offers a comprehensive archive of industry news that focuses on both indie and big budget productions as well as a box office predictions for the coming week, music from aspiring artists, contests and Bonfati's blog, which covers the many milieus of the entertainment industry.

Allow CITC to introduce you to the founders of FilmGo.net:

Filmgo.net

FULL NAME: William J. Bonfanti Jr.

NICKNAME: Bill, Billy, Will, Willy, Willy Boy, Wilbur, Junior, J.R., June, Babe, Dad, Daddy, the bald guy

YOUR ROLE IN THE COMPANY: CEO. I also serve as gofer for my two female partners.

HOMETOWN: Oceanside, New York

WEBSITE: www.FilmGo.net

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS IN ONE SENTENCE: FilmGo.net - the all day, every day, online film festival.

PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Signing my first film for FilmGo.

WEIRDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: When we opened the Ark of the Covenant and everybody's face melted off. Oh wait...that happened to Indiana Jones.

THE MOVIE YOU WISH THAT YOU'D WRITTEN: True Romance

FIVE BEST MOVIES EVER MADE: I can only answer this question by cheating. Here we go:
The original Star Wars trilogy (what? I told you I was going to cheat)
Ghostbusters (the funniest movie ever)
Die Hard (the best action flick ever)
Spiderman 2 (best super hero movie ever. sorry Dark Knight)
Back to the Future (the perfect time travel movie)

WHAT YOU WERE LIKE AS A KID: Young

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT: Caffeine

LAST TWO BOOKS YOU'VE READ: The Bully From the Black Lagoon and The Principal From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler (I read them to my 5-year-old). Seriously though, I just read an advanced copy of vampire novel, Bitter Things, by Andrew Marino. It was a terrific read. I highly recommend that you pick it up when it hits shelves in a couple of weeks.

FIVE THINGS WE'D FIND IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR: A shovel, a saw, plastic garbage bags, a flashlight and the murder weapon.

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV SHOW: I don't watch any late night shows. I use my late night viewing to catch up on all the primetime shows that are clogging up my Tivo.

IDEAL BREAKFAST: Cocoa Pebbles and Red Bull.

LAST MOVIE YOU SAW THAT BLEW YOUR MIND: The Happening. It blew my mind that it was that terrible.

INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: Cigarettes. Somebody has to keep Philip Morris in business.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: "Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"
Louis Tully, Key Master of Gozer

Filmgo.net

FULL NAME: Danielle Bonfanti

NICKNAME: Dan

YOUR ROLE IN THE COMPANY: Technically I am the Chief Operating Officer, but when you start a business with three people and a huge vision you do anything and everything. You name it I do it!

HOMETOWN: Smithtown, New York

WEBSITE: www.FilmGo.net

DESCRIBE YOUR BUSINESS IN ONE SENTENCE: FilmGo is the all day every day online film festival designed for both the film lover and filmmakers.

PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: My proudest moment was the night FilmGo was born. My husband Bill and I were having one of our nightly discussions about the best way to produce his screenplay when all of a sudden I actually saw the light bulb go off in his eyes. It was better than watching a kid in a candy store! I smile, laughed and clapped as I listened to Bill's FilmGo vision come alive. An amazing proud moment!

WEIRDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Every single time I spoke to our tech team during the creation of the site. FTP, Html.... They're all the same to me! I laughed my way through it!

THE MOVIE YOU WISH THAT YOU'D WRITTEN: I'm not a writer, but I would've loved to produce The Bridges of Madison County. Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author and Meryl Streep is my all time favorite actress.

FIVE BEST MOVIES EVER MADE:
1. Terms of Endearment
2. How to Make an American Quilt
3. Shining Through
4. 50 First Dates
5. The Bridges of Madison County

WHAT WERE YOU LIKE AS A KID?: I was an active child with a big imagination. I remember singing everywhere about everything, laughing, and always being loud. I was a big dreamer! I still am.

WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?: Not much!

LAST TWO BOOKS YOU'VE READ: Nicholas Sparks The Lucky One and Cheryl Richardson Unmistakable Touches of Grace

FIVE THINGS WE'D FIND IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR: A yoga mat, a yoga rug, recycle bags, first aid kit and my kids snack wrapper

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV SHOW: You can find me out cold on the couch during late night TV.

IDEAL BREAKFAST: coffee, veggie omelet, wheat toast and fruit.

LAST MOVIE YOU SAW THAT BLEW YOUR MIND: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: pedicures

WORDS TO LIVE BY: A day without laughter is a day wasted.

Visit www.filmgo.net