Nonnas tells the real-life story of a man who reᴀssesses his life choices after the pᴀssing of his mother and decides to open a restaurant where the chefs are Italian grandmothers. Just like Joe Scaravella, getting this film made came with many challenges, including strikes and wildfires. Starring Vince Vaughn, Joe Manganiello, Susan Sarandon, and more, it persevered to make its way to the small screen.

Gigi Pritzker founded Madison Wells, an award-winning independent entertainment company, to help tell stories about badᴀss women and people who push boundaries. They got Nonnas going from the ground up after learning about Scaravella’s restaurant and story. After finding writer Liz Maccie, the ball really started rolling, and now the world has another charming, hilarious, and impactful film. Nonnas comes to Netflix on May 9.

ScreenRant sat down with Gigi Pritzker of Madison Wells to discuss how they helped create Nonnas from the ground up. She talks about the incredible cast, the long list of challenges they faced, and why this movie is something the world needs right now. Pritzker also praises Joe Scaravella for how committed he is to his business, telling a couple of hilarious stories about him.

Nonnas Has Made Its Way To Netflix, But Not Without Challenges Along The Way

“We Were Squeezed Into A Moment, And We Had A Hard Out”

Nonnas is truly something special, but the world could have easily missed out on it when challenge after challenge hindered the making of the film. “The script was amazing, but it’s really hard these days to get someone to understand and see when it’s not genre,” Pritzker explains. “It’s just an independent feel-good family movie, and I think people sometimes underestimate them.” She clarifies that while it was hard to get people on board along the way, they did end up with some unbelievable partners, like Fifth Season and Netflix.

“Netflix jumped right in, and they have been extraordinary,” she exclaims. “It’s interesting, because, Netflix is a big behemoth, and it feels faceless. But I have to say our experience on this movie was anything but that.” Pritzker recalls how the people at Netflix all related to Nonnas in one way or another, stating that it reminded them of their Granny, or their family in general. “They couldn’t have worked harder to make sure that it was uplifted in the way it needed to be.“

The challenges did not stop there, however, as Pritzker explains that production is always hard, but this time around it was even more difficult. “I’ve made a lot of films, and production is hard. I can’t name one where it wasn’t hard, but this was a whole ‘nother level of hard,” she details. “Because of the way the world was in the moment we were shooting it. We were having strikes. There were fires that caused unhealthy air. We had no margin for error, because our time was тιԍнт. We were squeezed into a moment, and we had a hard out.“

Thankfully, everything worked out in the end, and they created an incredible movie. “It was worth every minute of all of [the challenges]. The team was just amazing.“

Joe Manganiello & Vince Vaughn Were Constantly Improvising

“It Was Hysterical”

Joe Manganiello and Vince Vaughn are real-life friends, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they had a blast while filming together. Pritzker reveals that they spent a lot of time improvising while filming, especially in two of the most emotional scenes. Not to give too much away, but the friends have a fight at one point in the movie, and a few scenes later they make up.

“[The fight] scene was actually amazing because they riffed. They did a lot of improv. The two of them,” she explains. “Honestly, the best scene for me is the makeup scene. It is actually better when they’re both on the couch, and they’re like two children that mom said, you have to make-up. That was a lot of improv, and it was hysterical.“

Pritzker goes onto rave about the rest of the cast, and rightfully so. As for the Nonnas, she says “the dynamic between them was hysterical. I mean, really hysterical. Their personalities are facets of them, so when they were together, you really felt it, off-screen and on-screen.” She adds, “And hats off to Brenda [Vaccaro], because she is no spring chicken, but she was there rain, shine, cold, warm, and she never complained. She was a mᴀssive trooper.“

The Film’s Inspiration Is Joe Scaravella, But He Didn’t Let That Get To His Head

“He Was On His Cell Phone The Whole Time Taking Reservations”

Joe Scaravella not only makes a cameo in one of the most powerful scenes of Nonnas, but the credits are filled with behind-the-scenes footage of Enoteca Maria, showing that it really is like a family when you are there. When asked about how this all came about, Pritzker explains, “We always knew that the fact that it was based on a real story was important.” She details that early cuts of the movie did not say it was based on a true story at the beginning, but “it became very clear that it was really important that people understand that these are real people. These aren’t manufactured people.“

“We wanted to really nail it by showing the real Joe. Madison Wells sH๏τ some behind-the-scenes stuff in the real restaurant while we were shooting the movie,” she says, “There was a point where we were editing it, where it was like, ‘Let’s use that documentary footage and just put that over the credits at the end, so people really understand.’” She hilariously recalls having Joe on set, and how he never stopped working – even while filming a movie about his story. “We were standing in video village at one point, and he had this rolled up thing,” Pritzker laughs. “He unrolls it, and it’s his reservation book. So he was on his cell phone the whole time taking reservations.“

She asked Joe if he had signed up with Resy, but he immediately shook his head and explained why he does it this way. “He said, ‘I know more about my customer from the five minutes I talk to them, taking the reservation, than I could ever learn, and that’s what’s important to me.’” She once asked him what would happen if she took the book while he was filming a scene, which he did not find funny at all. “My whole business dies,” he said. There are only thirty seats and “he knows everyone that’s in that restaurant“.

“We called early on to get a reservation for one of the actors, and he was like, I don’t think I can do that. I got four regulars coming at seven. I can’t move them,” Pritzker recalls. “We were like Joe, you kind of got to.” That said, she claims “Joe’s a very cool cat. He’s a really good guy.” which is why this charming movie works so well.

Be sure to check out our other Nonnas interviews here:

• Vince Vaughn
• Joe Manganiello
• Lorraine Bracco & Brenda Vaccaro
• Director Stephen Chbosky & Screenwriter Liz Maccie