‘Mott Haven’ movie puts the Bronx in the spotlight
The crew of ‘Mott Haven’ fi lms at Bronx Native clothing store. Photo by Adiana Rivera
On the set of ‘Mott Haven’ being fi lmed at Double Dutch Espresso. Photo by Adiana Rivera
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Lights, camera, action!
The Bronx is stealing the
spotlight from Hollywood with
a new, feature length fi lm titled
‘Mott Haven,’ starring Robert
Davi, best known as Special
Agent Johnson in ‘Die Hard’
and Bronx actor Chuck Zito of
the show, ‘Sons of Anarchy.’
Expected to debut around
springtime, the movie follows
Davi’s character Hal Stewart,
a down on his luck former radio
mogul that’s fallen on hard
times.
After he enlists the aid of a
beleaguered businessman, Michael
Roman played by Paul
Wilson to battle a thuggish superintendent,
Ray Pizzalongo
played by Zito, the fi lm shows
what life is like in the changing
south Bronx and how a group of
tenants called ‘The Tribe’ overcome
efforts to force them from
their homes.
The fi lm is directed, produced
and written by trio Michael
Domino, Jesse Wakeman
and Robert Mladinich.
Previously in 2017, they
worked on a movie titled ‘The
Expediter,’ about the journey
of a boy working in a Queens
manufacturing plant after
high school.
Before fi lmmaking, Mladinich
was actually a member
of the NYPD, serving in the
42nd Precinct.
Lately he’s been doing a different
kind of patrolling in the
south Bronx, looking for iconic
fi lming locations along with
Domino.
Naturally, most of ‘Mott Haven’
was in fact shot in various
parts of the neighborhood it
was named for such as: inside
shots at Double Dutch Espresso
at 2430 Third Avenue (look out
for a copy of the Bronx Times in
those scenes), in Bronx Native
clothing store at 127 Lincoln
Avenue, an exterior of Mott Haven
Bar & Grill at 1 Bruckner
Boulevard is also used as well
as the street area beneath the
Third Avenue Bridge, in addition
to Kramer Pharmacy at 554
E. 141st Street. A luxury apartment
complex, ‘The Crescendo’
at 25 Bruckner Boulevard, even
makes an appearance as ‘The
Ventura,’ a state-of-the-art condominium,
in addition to other
great setting in the area.
“We wanted to do a fi lm
about the changing Bronx and
the wonderful diversity that
this area is known for,” Domino
said, mentioning the close affi
nity he has for the borough in
addition to the wonderful memories
he and Mladinich have,
especially in Throggs Neck,
Mott Haven and elsewhere.
One Bronxite will actually
be making his acting debut in
the fi lm, too. Douglas Miller, a
real life chess master of Freeman
Avenue in Longwood
plays Clarence, a chess master
that explains to the other
tenants how the character, Radioman
has been a few moves
ahead of them.
While a premiere date
and location hasn’t been announced
yet, visit motthavenfi
lm.com for updates and more
information. A close-up in between shooting scenes at Double Dutch Espresso. Photo by Adiana Rivera
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 18 ANUARY 18-24, 2019 BTR
/lm.com