CNY: First off, just tell a little bit about yourself, how you came into the position you hold right now and what the festival means to you.

DR: When I was young and single and cute I fell into the film business in New York and found my home. I was an art major in school and we all know there’s no way to make a living doing that (laughs). So I was very fortunate that some very wonderful, kind people took me under their wing and taught me the business. So, a little later in life, I met my husband who was an award winning cinematographer. He encouraged me to start my own business. I became the first woman president of a commercial production company. That went on for a few years and then I started having my children in the city. When I was eight months pregnant with our third child I got hit by a cab. Fortunately I was ok but the cab didn’t stop. The wake-up call came: here I was, on my own corner in the Upper East Side, smushed up against the cars and a lady on the opposite corner screams, “Did you get his number?! Did you get his number?!” Meanwhile, she had a pocket book and probably a pen and pencil. It was like she was scolding me; and I thought, “What is wrong with this picture?” I thought about the little girls and they would’ve been wiped out. So that was it, we were out of there.

I did five productions out of the house the first year, but it always bothered me because, and I don’t want to sound like one of those bitter old broads, but I really had to scratch and claw in that business. I had relationships. Hollywood directors would call me up personally and say, “Diane I’m off of a picture for six weeks. Can you get me a commercial?” They’d fly in, I’d put forty-five grand in their pocket, send them home in a week and it was a very nice way to do it. I just didn’t wan to give it all up because I’d worked so hard.

Anyways, slow dissolve, my husband and I had the opportunity to live in Europe for a year. He was working in Switzerland and I set us up down on the Riviera in the south of France. The children went to The Mougin International School and the ladies took me down to Cannes for coffee. And I’m sitting there looking over at the amphitheatre where the film festival takes place and it jumped into my head that a film festival is a very good idea.

In November I was giving a dinner party and I ran to the Foodtown in Sea Girt, New Jersey to get something for my party. And there in front of the hot dogs was the actor Robert Pastorelli. I looked at him and I wondered if I should say something to him, but I really didn’t want to impose myself. And then I said, defining moment, “I used to be somebody in this business.” (laughs) So I walked up and gave him a good flirt and by God he gave me a good flirt back. We went on our merry way and met again at the top of the next aisle and I asked him a few questions, and by the fourth top of the aisle he said, “By any chance do you know where the baked beans are?” And I said, “Actually I do.”

As we were checking out I said, “On the off-chance your available I’m giving a dinner party Saturday night. Would you like to come?” Who knew all you had to do was feed him.

And then he met my husband and they were absolutely wonderful friends, great playmates. I’m sure they’re both in heaven right now causing some kind of trouble! (laughs). And that’s basically how it started.

In the first year [of the festival], we opened the doors three-thousand people came through which I thought was absolutely astounding. Last year we had ten-thousand and that was the fifth year. Those kind of exponential numbers don’t just happen. You know how it is in life – sometimes you beat your head against the wall and nothing works and sometimes it’s just meant to be. This is one of those things.

CNY: Pretty much the core motivator for the festival was more or less that you saw one and wanted to kind of replicate it?

DR: No, the idea just kind of jumped into my head. I wasn’t there [France] when the festival was going on.

CNY: When you first started the festival six years ago, were there certain people who really played a huge part in it?

DR: Well, Bobby Pastorelli, absolutely. He reached out to Glenn Close. The one thing about this thing is my good looks and charming personality went far with the sponsors, but you know – I needed the Hollywood credibility. And that’s what Bobby gave us and was happy to do it. He couldn’t understand why we didn’t have a statewide event. Peter Schnitzler, who was president of Panavision at the time, lived up the street from my mother in Brielle. Mike Rudniski was in Toms River, he was the president of Miramax Distribution – everyone is around. But nobody knew each other because there was no place for us to intermingle and get a deal done. And that’s good for everybody.

CN: There are a few notable names on the roster for this year’s festival such as Daniel Aiello and Steven Van Zandt. Do they come to you at this point, or do you reach out to them?

DR: We reach out to them but they’re all very gracious. Michael Uslan, who produced all the Batman movies, comes every year. And he has helped so many young filmmakers with advice and contacts. Kurtwood Smith was our honoree one year, and at the awards dinner Kurtwood says to Doug Olear, the recipient, “So what do you need?” And he said, “Well, what I really need is a good agent.” So Kurtwood introduced Doug to his agent and has done extremely well because of it. These are the kind of things that happen when you have the right chemistry and the right opportunity to get up close and personal with people who can really make a difference in your career.

CN: Put em all in the same place and something’s bound to happen, right?

DR: Yeah. I call it the Sugar Mill Theory. When I was young and single and lived in New York, there was a bar called the Sugar Mill on the Upper East Side. It was tiny – very, very tiny, but it was packed every Friday and Saturday night. So there was no way you didn’t meet somebody because you’re all smushed together. If you’re in something like a Studio 54, it’s too big. Because we’re all in close proximity there’s more availability to actually have a relationships, and it’s all about relationships. You know that.

CN: With regards to the festival applicants, what kind of films do you show?

DR: Feature lengths, shorts, docs in short and feature length, animation in short and feature length, music video and PSAs.

CN: How do people go about submitting for consideration?

DR: Call for entries starts July 1 every year, the cut-off date is December 1. We had 700 entries this year and they are astounding films.

CN: How many make it?

DR: I’m running 153 films, which is good odds considering say, Sundance where you have a one in bazillion chance…

CN: What can one at this festival expect to see, hear and experience on the actual festival grounds?

DR: It’s electric. Because of the Sugar Mill Theory, the filmmakers and the audience and the veterans in the business all mix up together. It’s just fabulous. Last year we had [James] Gandolfini come and do a Q&A after a short he was in. It was great. He would talk to anyone on the boardwalk and he was absolutely wonderful.

CN: Tell me a little bit about what is planned for the days of the festival.

Opening night, which is not to be missed, is Friday night, April 4. Then on Saturday it’s all simultaneous. There are screenings going on, panel discussions, open talent casting. It’s all a big hoopla at once. And then on Sunday everything starts up on Sunday again around noon and at 5:30 we wind up around the English Manor for the awards dinner. It’s very intense. That’s why it’s so fun. We should be a week-long event, but it’s all about funding.

CN: For the average person attending this event, how much does it cost to attend and what would you recommend as actual spending money? How much is sufficient?

DR: It’s ten dollars. My friend always says you get what you put into it. If you just come and see one movie and leave you’ve missed all of the fun. You really should spring for a weekend pass and do everything. A weekend pass is $40, and that includes opening night. After opening night it drops down to $25. There’s nothing here that’s not affordable.

CN: First time attendees – what advise can you give for them to fit everything into a day or all three days?

DR: It depends what your goal is. If your goal is to see really great films, if your goal is that you have aspirations for modeling or being in the business, you certainly have to go to the open casting call. We’ve had great success with that. We had an 11-year-old boy get the national tour of The King and I. Kevin Interdonato, who is receiving the Robert Pastorelli Rising Star Award this year, actually got cast to a movie last year, got the third lead. Countless people in movies and modeling and such. We have Joe Hunter coming this year who was the president of Ford Modeling. This is where I’m pulling out people from my past. I used to write these people checks, so it’s hard to tell me, “No I won’t come.” (laughs)

CN: The open casting call. What can you tell me?

DR: Renata English is coming from Friendly Faces, she discovered the Dell Dude. Then she’s bringing a casting agent, and of course Joe Hunter’s coming and right after that is a panel discussion. Everything is affordable, $10 for the panel discussion. Open talent casting is free, but we do ask that as a donation that you buy a ticket for a screening event. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask you to go see a movie. Like I said, funding is very sparse.

CN: Have casting calls been a part of the festival since the first year?

DR: Yes. I woke up in the night and thought, “I know how to get people to come.”

CN: Is that what really pulls people in? What is the main entity of the entire festival that really draws people in?

DR: I think it’s the celebrities. Everybody wants to be around somebody. That wouldn’t mean so much to me because I’m not the star-struck type, which is pretty much why I did what I did. But for the general public it seems to be what they are drawn to.

Montel Williams had a film in the festival. Unbeknownst to me they called up and said they want to do a special screening for Montel’s charity and bring Danny Aiello and Little Steven and the whole crew. That’s a red carpet event on Thursday night. It’s a $25 ticket, which is pretty much the most expensive thing we have other than the awards dinner, with a portion of the proceeds going towards MS.

CN: What venues are housing the festival this year?

DR: The Paramount Theater is recently restored. They shut down after my festival last year and they restored the inside. It has Tiffany glass on the ceiling and it holds 1,600 seats. It’s spectacular. We’re running films there, the Fifth Avenue Pavilion, Berkeley Hotel. Joe Grusheky is coming. I don’t know if you know who he is but he writes for Bruce and Bon Jovi. His film will screen in the Stone Pony. He’s a big person in the music industry. Then we’re showing films in the Steven Crane house, Mattison Park, the VFW and the Youth Temple in Ocean Grove. We took over the town.

CN: Is transportation provided in any way?

DR: There is a trolley at night and cabs will be rolling around all day. We did have a shuttle bus but everyone just kind of wants to get to where they want to go.

Every first Saturday of the month, the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee puts on an event called First Saturday. It’s a big celebration for everybody with music and stuff. We’re falling on First Saturday Night in April so the theme this time is “At the Movies.” In addition to that, one of our honorees is Lou Costello, his daughter Chris is coming. There will be an Abbott and Costello Troop roving around. So it’s going to be a party – I’m having a party for 13,000 of my closest friends.

CN: You really sound like you’re taking over the whole town…

DR: Well, anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

CN: Who’s to thank for helping to make this festival a resounding success?

DR: The Board of Directors and countless volunteers. We couldn’t do this without our good friends at Madison Marquette and the Monmouth County Arts Council.

CN: Any final words for the people who are considering the festival but aren’t sure?

DR: We have something for everybody and its only once a year so get off the couch and come down!

For more information on the Garden State Film Festival, visit www.gsff.org or call 877-908-7050.