March 18th

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to work with a legendary director, Sidney Lumet, on a controversial HBO film called "Strip Search." (I played a plumber, and had two scenes with Academy Award winner Estelle Parsons and Emmy nominated actor Oliver Platt, which were subsequently deleted.) We shot the film in Bayonne, NJ, not too far away from where I grew up. Towards the end of the shoot, there was talk of a new movie to be shot there, also directed by Lumet, starring action star Vin Diesel. That movie, "Find Me Guilty" opened yesterday. I saw it, and was quite surprised by Diesel's performance. It's a courtroom drama about the mob in New Jersey, and Diesel plays against type as a balding, overweight, sad sack defendant. He does an outstanding job, and Lumet is in his element with a judicial setting. What really makes the movie hum is the ensemble acting of a rather large cast. They all deserve letters of congratulations, but I'm sending to a select few, starting with Deisel and Lumet.

Vin Diesel

Sidney Lumet

Ron Silver

Linus Roache

Peter Dinklage

Alex Rocco

Paul Borghese