JOE BASILE
It seems my life has come full circle. I’m back at the Jersey Shore to, make my bones, to put all my talents together and make a movie true to my roots.
I’m Joe Basile.
I’ve been in love with movies my whole life. My introduction to film: STAR WARS, BLADE RUNNER, and let’s not forget ROCKY. I sat in the UA THEATRE in Middletown, New Jersey; it was a defining moment in my life. I wanted to be the ITALIAN STALLION. That’s when the bug hit me.
After graduating University of Delaware, I jumped in my Subaru and drove to Hollywood.
Like most actors I waited on tables and started to study acting. During this time I started writing. Writing made me rethink my mission. Heck, ROCKY made Sly a filmmaker. So it was time to get an education in filmmaking, on the job training.
I became a commercial production assistant and learned the physical ins and outs of a “set”. About a year into it I made the shift to feature film production, working with such greats as Mike Nichols, Warren Beatty, and Katherine Hepburn. I continued to write and study acting.
In 1995 I made the jump from behind to in front of the camera. I did my first guest star on NYPD BLUE. That was over twenty-five television shows and fifteen movies ago.
I decided to get a formal education in screenwriting and applied to the UCLA’s Film School. In 2004 I received my Masters Degree in Fine Arts in Film with a concentration in Screenwriting.
GOOD COP, BAD COP was the title of my first screenplay, and the initial draft of what is now WEST END.