Emmy-nominated producer and actor Bastiano Ferrari chatted about his new movie “Miami Nights,” directed by Justin Steele, where he stars alongside Terrence Howard.
Mark Twain once said: “Stay away from those people who try to disparage your ambitions. Small minds will always do that, but great minds will give you a feeling that you can become great too.” The latter portion of this quote applies to Bastiano Ferrari.
Ferrari on ‘Miami Nights’
On his new project, he remarked, “It’s a new movie called ‘Miami Nights,’ it’s a project directed by Justin Steele, and it stars Terrence Howard as David Wolfe and a few other stars. It was a rewarding project that I really enjoyed working on.”
“The atmosphere on set was fun and creative from the actors to the producers; everybody was super kind, and it was such a nice experience. This is one of my very enjoyable projects that I have worked on,” he added.
Working with Terrence Howard
Ferrari had great words about working with protagonist Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (“Hustle & Flow”). “I really enjoyed working with Terrence Howard,” he exclaimed.
“I think we developed a nice friendship on set,” he said. “Terrence is a very intelligent person and great person to work with across the board. He is very knowledgeable about math, physics, and technology. I’m a technology advisor in general and we had multiple conversations across the board.”
“I am looking forward to working with Terrence more in film and the tech world as well. Terrence is very inspiring; his level of professionalism is superb. He was able to pivot so seamlessly on set with the director’s requirements,” Ferrari added.
Synopsis of the movie
The synopsis is: During a military mission in Afghanistan, U.S. Marines Mason Lane and Lisa Gardner discover famed American journalist David Wolfe (played by Terrance Howard) and rescue him from his kidnappers.
Instead of being praised for their heroism, greater politics at play punish them – leaving them discharged to civilian life in Miami.
As they struggle to settle back in, Mason obsesses over getting his old life back, oblivious to Lisa’s newfound feelings for him. When he tracks down his former girlfriend, Eve, Mason finds she has left him for the shadiest and most powerful Miami nightclub owner, Ricardo Rios.
As a desperate attempt to trap his newfound enemy, Mason concocts a plan to steal a priceless diamond with Ricardo and his men, only to have it spiral into a heist worth over $500 million dollars that he haphazardly drags Lisa into. Now with dollar signs in everyone’s eyes, who can be trusted?
“It’s a war movie, it’s a love story, there is theft and there is a lot of action in this movie,” Ferrari admitted. “It was a very interesting project; I love the story, and I love the script.”
Working with Justin Steele
Ferrari was very complimentary towards director Justin Steele. “It was amazing to work with Justin Steele as the director,” he said. “Justin and I had a few meetings before that to connect better and have that synergy on set, and that really helped us when we were working in front of the camera.”
“Justin was very open to suggestions, and he was fun to work with. We improvised a lot of things on camera, and he literally allowed us to reimagine an entire scene on the spot and let the crew through the new vision, which was pretty incredible,” he elaborated.
“I thank my manager, Henry Penzi, for introducing me to the director Justin Steele. Justin is incredible, very creative, and fun to work with overall. Justin is very supportive to his actors, and I hope to work with him on other projects,” he added.
Inviting his fans to be a part of this project
“In this project, I was able to invite some of my fans to be a part of it, where Justin was so flexible,” Ferrari said. “Justin allowed 20 fans to be a part of it, and he also had some notable guest stars that came and supported me, and I am super grateful for them.”
“I was really moved by the level of support that I received from other professionals in the industry such as Bille Woodruff, who is one of the directors of “Bridgerton.” It is heartwarming to have that support,” he acknowledged.
Lessons learned from this role and screenplay
On the lessons learned from this role and screenplay, Ferrari reflected, “This role taught me that there are many layers to my personality that I can pull out for any role,” he noted.
“Without giving too much away, my character is a celebrity designer who throws a big celebrity event for the stars, and there is a critical moment that happens in the movie there. It was fun to watch it unravel, and it was fun to watch Justin film that scene. I cannot wait for people to see it,” he elaborated.
“This role taught me to be flexible, and to adapt to new things, and improvise, whenever necessary, with the cast that we have,” he said.
“A lot of the projects in the past were very script-driven; this project was even more creative and I found a dynamic part of my character, which allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and build magic on the spot,” he explained.
Closing thoughts on the new project
For fans and viewers, Ferrari stated, “I want fans and viewers to embrace how reality is different than what the media tells us. That is critical in our time today, especially in the age of fake news.”
“In reality, humanity is the biggest thing that we have in our lives, and I feel we should always weigh things reasonably and understand that our values prevail in general,” he noted.
“This movie reminds us that life is worth living, life is beautiful and embrace it and focus on the good things. Make your own decisions; limit yourselves, and live your life abundantly. Remember that life is precious,” he concluded.
For more information on Bastiano Ferrari, follow him on Instagram, and check out his IMDb page.
