Ken found the role to be a real challenge and a role worth taking it on. Through his prior knowledge and research on Sonny he was able to portray him in his truest form.
“When I am on the set I become that character I leave Ken Stafford on the side. I learned a lot about the trial. I found it interesting that such a thing can occur in America.”
He is a graduate from St. Francis College where he studied film-making, film productions and behind the scenes techniques. Ken has worked with some of the best networks like NBC and CBS. Ken is not a stranger to TV he has appeared on “Survivor” in 2002 & 2003, VH-1 Goes Inside, All Of My Children, Disorder in the Court #3, The Smoking Gun: World’s Dumbest, Reality Obsessed and is in post production with two films ( When The Devil Comes & Happy Ending). His track record is impressive and continues to grow. Ken has currently focused more on production than acting. One of Ken’s inspirations is Christopher Walken.
His favorite type of acting would be stage acting. It always offers him a type of adversity he likes to tackle. At the present time Chris along with Ken are planning on shooting for a mini-series around the project since the story has so much to say. It would need at least four to five episodes to complete the total story.
The film was made to depict the corruptive parties at that time that ruined an innocent man’s life for their own selfish gain.
“It is unethical that this individual must spend more time in jail for a crime he did not commit. He is now serving time for a crime he did commit so they should reverse it and give him back the years he lost. He is 93 years old, in a wheelchair, can hardly see and needs assistance. It is sad that he has to suffer this way and not be awarded the time he has lost. It is a story that must be told.”
Ken was very taken by the role and how it has affected Sonny’s family. One key individual who was affected by it the most was Tina Franzese. Tina has endured most of the pain and stress that comes with the imprisonment of her husband. Yet to experience the corruption that resulted in his incarceration is more than any wife could endure. She has made every effort to uncover the truth and make it clear that she will not stand idle while this injustice has ruined her life for the past 30 plus years.
“I have seen the court papers and have heard every lie that has caused this catastrophic experience for most of my life. I admit that John is no altar boy but to set him up and persecute him for something he did not do is totally un-American. I have suffered a lot from this ordeal. I am happy that Chris has taken on this project and it needs to be revealed, the truth behind all these lies that have ruined an entire family.”
Tina even brings up the fact that during the bank robberies her husband was under surveillance by four different federal agencies. The surveillance tapes surely indicate that Sonny was nowhere near the scene of the robberies. These tapes Tina admits have yet to materialize a mystery that Chris and Tina plan to uncover since they are public domain.
Chris is currently shopping the trailer to see who decides to take it on and develop it into a feature film. The other option is to raise funds to finish the project and when that is completed he would move on to sell it to a major network. They are looking towards making it into a mini-series for TV. Even Sonny’s born- again son Michael Franzese appears on the trailer adding his support for this father’s unethical incarceration. Chris was on set when Michael was filming his indie film “Knights of the City” in Florida.
“The film in a nut shell is a project of awareness that this kind of tragedy can happen to anyone. It is not to highlight Sonny Franzese the person, but the case in question.”
The projects projected release is sometime at the end of 2011. But Chris is also preparing to shot a 30 minute short of “Framed” in January of 2011. In the meantime, he is going to be releasing another film which is in the editing stages entitled “When The Devil Comes” a movie that highlights Exorcisms’. On the music end he has just completed a single with Grammy Award Winner Arden Altino and Amy Harrison (once back up singer for
Whitney Houston) entitled “On My Way To Heaven”. The single is dedicated to Sonny and his two daughters Gia and Tina who both have passed away.
He wrote and produced the track with Arden Altino who already has had two smash hits from the blockbuster film “American Gangster”. Chris Selletti is a multi-talented individual who is about to make a mark in the industry and carry that success to another level.