Via Zoom: Ron Falzone on ‘Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome’

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CHICAGO – In this new golden age of animation, the ability to create mood and setting is more accessible than ever. For creator and writer Ron Falzone (with director Julian Grant), a notable death in the 1920s and the movie business associated with it is in their film “Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome.”

Now available on most major streaming platforms, “Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome” is an animated film with a unique artistic design that evokes both the era and the narrative. The story is about a seminal event in movie and American history … the death of silent film era matinee idol Rudolph Valentino in 1926. A woman named Coriander becomes involved in the circumstance of Valentino’s passing, and brings along her past and present situations to the funeral.

Available on Most Major Streaming Services
Photo credit: Grant Guignol & Squeakin’ Yojimbo Pictures

Creator and writer Ron Falzone is a familiar face in the cinema scene of Chicago. He is associate professor in Directing and Cinema Studies at Columbia College in the Windy City, as well as a screenwriter and the creator of the graphic novel (again with Julian Grant) “The History of Her Future,” about the notorious Lizzie Borden. He currently is working on an episodic series, “The Man Who Took the Umbrella,” and continues to develop other projects.

In PART ONE of an interview Via Zoom with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Ron Falzone of “Coriander and a Penny’s Worth of Lonesome” talks about the context of Valentino’s death in the film, and the animation style …

In PART TWO, Falzone talks film history and how it relates to ‘Coriander’ …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor, Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com