Exclusive: Alberto Belli Talks Directing ‘GATLOPP’ Releasing on Digital & on-Demand on June 23rd [Interview]

Alberto Belli directed the film GATLOPP, which will be released on digital and on-demand on June 23rd. 

GATLOPP focuses on a group of friends who have reunited after years apart. The group comes together to help Paul, played by Jim Mahoney, as he copes with his divorce and the various changes in his life. As a distraction, the group agrees to play a drinking game called GATLOPP, unknowingly realizing the supernatural ties to the game. Once they begin playing the game, they realize that one of them must win by sunrise, or they will be forced to play for eternity in hell. The film pays homage to late nights hanging out with friends, drinking, and having a good time. As the film develops, each character must come to terms with personal conflicts and issues from the past. 

The Knockturnal spoke with Belli about the creative process for GATLOPP as it incorporates such a unique storyline and what fans can expect to see. Belli is also known for directing various movies and tv shows, such as The House of Flowers, The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth – Dance Battle, Face to Face, Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion, etc. 

The Knockturnal also spoke with Mahoney, who wrote and stars in the film. 

The Knockturnal: What was your reaction when you read the script for the first time?

Alberto Belli:  Since I was lucky to see the script evolve from the pitch Jim shared with me to the final draft, I was very impressed to see how Jim was able to make all the challenges feel supernatural by relying on the actor’s capacity to transport us to the unknown rather than the usual VFX gimmicks. 

The Knockturnal: While fans and viewers watch ‘GATLOPP,’ what do you hope they will take away from this film?

Alberto Belli: Lots of laughter! And who knows, maybe after watching Gatlopp it will inspire old friends or family to reconnect…. Or just get hammered.

The Knockturnal: The plot of this film takes on an interesting storyline that incorporates various aspects. What was the creation and thought process like when filming each scene? 

Alberto Belli: Because he had very limited time to shoot it, I knew a big part was going to be staging the actors to be able to do oners and just do coverage on the characters doing the confrontation of each scene. So if you look carefully, the characters constantly sit in different spots throughout the movie depending on what the challenge was until the climax of the movie where they all finally sit together. 

The Knockturnal:  What was it like working alongside Jim Mahoney? Since he wrote the film, was he able to offer any additional insight for particular scenes?

Alberto Belli: It was great team work! It’s always nice to bounce ideas with Jim to either do some improv that will still make sense in the overall story or rearrange the dialogue to amp the stakes. 

The Knockturnal:  What three words would you use to describe this film? Why?

Alberto Belli: Fun, Unexpected, Heartfelt. Because the movie is a comedy more than anything else with hopefully some unpredictable moments that culminates in friends finally reconnecting and opening up.