Caltabiano will debut the film (Midwest premiere) and share his vast experience with students at Grand Valley State University during a visit May 15-18.
"This is an outstanding opportunity for our students to learn from a professional at the top of his game," said Frank Boring, a documentary filmmaker who teaches in the School of Communications at Grand Valley and arranged for Caltabiano's visit. "Tom is being very generous with his time and has agreed to do a number of public events and meet with several of our classes."
On Tuesday, May 16, there will be a free debut screening of the film begins at 7 p.m. at GVSU's Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, 401 W. Fulton, Grand Rapids. Following the screening, an on-stage seminar with Tom Caltabiano and Frank Boring will include questions from the audience. This event is being shot in three-camera view to be used as a teaching event for GVSU students and to be included in the DVD release of "95 Miles to Go." Posters signed by Caltabiano and Romano will be raffled off at GVSU after screening.
Wealthy Theatre will host additional screenings as ticketed events. See www.wealthytheatre.org. These are the only Midwest screenings of this film.
Caltabiano began doing standup comedy in New York City in 1989, about the same time as Ray Romano. Their paths crossed continuously as they each made the circuit of clubs and television appearances. A growing personal and professional relationship led to his becoming a regular writer on Romano's television show, "Everybody Loves Raymond," which premiered in 1996. He held the position for nine years and, as co-executive producer, won two Emmys when the show was awarded "Outstanding Comedy Series" in 2003 and 2005.
From the start, Caltabiano took behind-the-scene photos of Romano and other cast members, which amounted to about 25,000 photos and inspiration for the book, "Everybody Loves Raymond: Our Family Album," published by Simon & Schuster in 2004. Caltabiano also performed as the opening act for Romano at standup comedy tours they did during hiatuses of the television show's production. He started shooting videotape, which lead to the idea of a behind-the-scenes film.
"Let's do it one time for real," Caltabiano told a less than enthusiastic Romano. "I basically brow-beat him into doing it, by keeping the crew to a minimum. He's the only guy I know that's starred in a film against his wishes."
With two cameras and then USC film student Roger Lay, Jr., they shot 130 hours of fly-on-the-wall video during a series of standup gigs and road trip through Florida. The ensuing 75-minute film, "95 Miles to Go," opened in Los Angeles and New York on April 7, to rave reviews.
