Two Pittsburghers are a part of a global phenomenon on Netflix.
Actor Joe Manganiello and director Stephen Chbosky on the Big K Morning Show
Over 100 million people have seen the movie “Nonnas” starring Vince Vaughn, Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Mt. Lebanon native Joe Manganiello, and more
Manganiello tells KDKA Radio’s Larry Richert the story about a man that loses his mother and decides to open an Italian restaurant in Staten Island with actual grandmothers as chefs, has been streamed for over 1 billion minutes.
Director and Upper St. Clair native Stephen Chbosky says he’s hearing from people of all ages are loving the movie.
“I’ve heard more stories . . . 11-year-old kids, 14-year-old kids, 15-year-old kids saying ‘this is my favorite movie of all time’ and it’s just become a family-watch,” Chbosky tells The Big K Morning Show.
Nonnas is based on a true story and an actual restaurant called “Enoteca Maria.”
Manganiello plays Bruno in the film and says he jumped at the change to play an Italian on the big screen.
He says with his look and size, he doesn’t get to play an Italian very often, so when he does, he gets to play with the type of things in the script only a true Italian would see.
“There’s only one way to walk as an Italian in a track suit,” said Manganiello.
Chbosky says he and Manganiello had fun on set teasing each other about being high school rivals (Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon) and always referencing Pittsburgh.
“Every now and then, Vince Vaughn would be like ‘enough with you guys and this Pittsburgh’,” said Chbosky, who also wrote and directed “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” which was filmed in Pittsburgh.
Listen to the entire conversation above for more on what the Pittsburgh guys are working on next and so much more!
"Nonnas" has been in Netflix's top 10 for the past three weeks and is currently #1 in three countries