Play - Advertising Hall of Fame Tribute Video
"TO TRANSFER INTO FILM A HUMAN EMOTION THAT COULD BE
TRANSFERRED TO THE AUDIENCE. THAT'S HIS GENIUS."
-Marshall Arisman; Artist, Educator.
In 2002, Giraldi's short film; an homage to the 9/11 tragedy, “The Routine”, premiered at Sundance and won Best Drama at the LA International Short Film Festival. Another short, “My Hometown”, is now in Cooperstown’s Baseball Hall of Fame’s permanent collection and two short films; “Dream Begins” and "A Peculiar City," both integral parts of New York’s national Olympic bid, are now included in MoMA's permanent collection.
His 2008 film examining the coming out of a twenty-something to his 83 year-old Jewish grandmother; "Second Guessing Grandma" with Kathleen Chalfant, received the Jury Award for Short Narrative at the 27th Annual Chicago International Film Festival and won the Audience Award for Best Short at the Fresno Reel Pride Festival, one of the largest US gender film festivals. It was also hand-selected for the new 'Google YouTube Screening Room,' after it was the 3rd most viewed video of the 2008 holiday season.
short films which continue to be successful at various festivals across the country are: "A Poet Long Ago," (2014), based on a short story by the legendary NY writer, Pete Hamill, starring Steve Schirripa, and Boris McGiver. "A Conversational Place" (2015), starring Emmy winner Marilyn Sokol and "New Year's Eve @ Sunny's" (2016), “The Whisperer” (2018) "Cambio" (2019), "Siren" (2020), “Counterblow” (2022), and “Goodbye jonathon’s soul” (2023)--making the rounds in several film festivals across the nation.
His partner. Patti Greaney, head of Giraldi’s new Media Division created the Out of Hand Festival, an International contest and partnership with NY's School of Visual Arts for content created by students around the world devoted to the art and technology of mobile phones. Students from 80 countries responded to the call. Its projects include a mobile phone app; Rush Hour Meals and Cocktail Dog.
INSIDE: “A Poet Long Ago”
FEATURE FILMS:
giraldi directed three feature films in the 1980s; Jon Cryer's teen cult "Hiding Out" (1987), "National Lampoon's Movie Madness" (1983) and "Club Med" (1985), before directing his fourth, and most critically acclaimed feature film, “dinner rush” a decade later.
“Dinner Rush” (2000), with Danny Aiello, John Corbett, Sandra Bernhard, Summer Phoenix, and Edoardo Ballerini, appeared on a number of 2001’s Top 10 Lists and was selected for the prestigious New Directors/New Films Series at MoMA. This film clearly has influenced the many reality and fictional food shows that crowd TV and media today. “Dinner Rush” was also listed by Roger Ebert as "One of the Best 100 Films in the Last 10 Years."
“Dinner Rush,” filmed almost exclusively inside Gigino Trattoria; tells the story of New York’s latest hotspot where food, love, sex, gambling, and money are all on the menu. As Elvis Mitchell, film critic at the NY Times put it; "Dinner Rush is a mouth-watering display of talent, technique and patience. There are more intrigues here than in the court of Medicis'."
Currently, a sequel “Dinner RUsh too” has been scripted and is in the early stages of pre-production.
“Dinner Rush” (2000)
"There are enough plots here to challenge Robert Altman, specialist in interlocking stories, but the director, Bob Giraldi, masters the complexities as if he knows the territory. He does."
- Roger Ebert
“Hiding Out” (1987)
"Counterblow” (2022)
“Goodbye Jonathon’s Soul” (2023)
“SUPERFRIENDS” (2017)
“New Years Eve @ Sunny's” (2016)
“A Conversational Place” (2015)
“A Poet Long Ago” (2014)
“The Routine” (2002)
“The Grey Coat” (2008)
“Second Guessing Grandma” (2008)
“Honey Trap” (2005)
Directing his first commercials at ad agencies ‘Y&R’ and ‘Della Femina’ in the late 1960s before moving on to form his own company with Phil Suarez in the 1970s, he has enjoyed massive success as a commercial director throughout the years, picking up numerous awards consistently.
giraldi has never strayed far from the medium and the business that he owes it all to. Still working and producing branding and marketing work to this day, his own production company, ‘Giraldi Media,’ in New York and LA, offer a network of other renowned international commercial directors through the company.
giraldi has been inducted into the NY Art Director’s Hall of Fame, one of the few film directors to be honored; and, in 2014, was the first commercial director ever to be elected to the Advertising Hall of Fame.
“The McDonald’s spot, ‘40,000 Friends’ showcases Burrell’s deftness at creating compelling documentary-style, targeted ads, tapping the considerable talents of iconic director, Bob Giraldi to bring its script to life.”
"He ALWAYS had a true understanding of advertising,
and he brought that knowledge along with his artistry
better than any TV director that ever lived."
-George Lois; Legendary Ad Man.
"HE INNOVATED THE MUSIC VIDEO WORLD, HE WAS DOING THINGS PEOPLE HADN'T DONE BEFORE."
-Mike Frankfurt: Entertainment lawyer
Giraldi set the tone for music videos in the early MTV days. His narrative and musical storytelling abilities were first seen in Michael Jackson's "Beat It" as the video swept the country and won numerous awards including that year’s coveted American Music Award, the Billboard Music Award and the People’s Choice Award. Hand-picked by Jackson himself, ‘Beat It’ became the stuff of legend partially because of real life members of the Bloods and the Crips; notorious LA gangs. The shoot almost turned into a disaster though, as Bob recalls an incident that almost halted the entire production::
"I thought he was crazy, but Michael got the police to go along with it. He got the Crips and the Bloods to go along with it. Everything was fine for half a day. Then after lunch it got hairy. One of the Crips started smacking one of the Bloods around, and there was a fight. The police said, 'we have to shut this down'... I thought 'There goes the music video.' So I countered, 'Let me try one thing. Just one thing. If it doesn't work we close it down and go home. Let me play the music.' And we picked it up from Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo... Peace. It worked— everyone crowded around and watched Michael and his posse dance their asses off—The way those kids danced,,,the look on the faces of the crips & bloods said it all: 'We may be the baddest asses in the world, but that's something we'll never be able to do."
Next up was making the first music video ever to feature dialogue, as Giraldi directed Pat Benetar's "Love is a Battlefield" soon after, He directed Michael Jackson again, this time with Paul McCartney for their song "Say Say Say." Then his favotrite , “Hello” with Lionel Richie. Giraldi continued to win acclaim and define the future of the medium, working with even more music luminaries: Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ricky Martin, Hall & Oates, earth wind & fire, Will Smith, and more.
"The wonderful thing about working with Bob is
he can take your lyrics...spread them out and
really expand them to another dimension, to another level."
-Lionel Richie
In the early '90's Giraldi threw his hat into the New York restaurant ring, opening "Jo-Jo" with his then film partner, Phil Suarez, and a rising star chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Soon Giraldi became part of the team that created the foundation for a food dynasty that is unparalleled, even to this day. After Jo-Jo, the partners created eateries such as "Jean Georges," the NY Times 4-Star restaurant in Trump Towers-- the Asian fusion sensation, "Vong," a forerunner of modern Tha cuisine in NYC, with its London and Hong Kong outposts-- "Mercer Kitchen" in SoHo-- and "Prime," the venerable steakhouse at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Giraldi was also involved in the creation of "Patria;" in the early 90's, led by chef Douglas Rodriquez— considered the first significant and legitimate nuevo Latino cuisine in NYC. Patria received the NY Times 3-Stars,
"Gigino Trattoria" opened its doors in August of 1994. Along with executive chef Luigi Celentano, discovered in Positano on the Amalfi coast of Italy, it has kept an amazing resilience as a consistent Italian eatery flourishing in the demanding Tribeca neighborhood. Then "Gigino at Wagner Park" with Celentano, once again as Executive Chef, was created. The popular inside/outside café was located at the southern tip of Manhattan, with the most spectacular views of the New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. It has recently closed.
In 1995, Giraldi and Executive Producer, Patti Greaney, created the original website "StarChefs.com," featuring celebrity chefs and cookbook authors. StarChefs.com continues today to be the foremost website used by professionals and food aficionados.
In 2002, Bob joined forces with restaurateur Luigi Comandatore, to open the Tuscan eatery, "BREADTribeca," which earned 2-Stars from The NY Times. Another establishment, "Diablo Royale," was a popular taqueria in the West Village for years.
And finally, 2020 was the year Giraldi and his long-time partner, Patti Greaney, opened an Asian Cafe in Montauk, NY; "Tiny Harbor."
Tiny Harbor Cafe
“Dinner Rush” (2000 Feature Film)
StarChefs Website
Gigino Trattoria
Gigino Wagner Park
"BOB'S REAL CONTRIBUTION HERE HAS BEEN TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK VERY SERIOUSLY ABOUT MORE THAN PRINT MEDIA."
-David Rhodes, President of the School of Visual Arts
Bob Giraldi has been on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts for over thirty years. He is currently Chair of SVA's ‘Masters in Film Directing’ program.
his journey at the School of Visual Arts began in the late 1960s, when he was appointed Chair of the Advertising Department at the school before he had turned 30. giraldi left the school for a while and some 30 years later he returned and established a Masters Program based on the concept of Live Action Short Film, he remains the Chair today.
The graduate program; masters in directing, celebrates the truly independent art of filmmaking, honoring first-time filmmakers, instructing them about the history of film, and outfitting them with the creative, technical, and critical tools needed to impart their artistic visions. Students learn virtually everything, and in one year, have to produce a legitimate narrative 12-min film.
SVA Masters in Directing Website
Baby Steps: The First Year at SVA (Interview)
"At the onset I thought he was taking on something that was impossible. And I was actually fearful.
But when I saw the results at the end of the first year, I was flabbergasted.
I just couldn't believe the level that they had achieved."
-Richard Wilde, Chair of School of Visual Arts Advertising & Graphic Design Department
Bob On Set With MPS Directing Students
"after a shoot, every director lies in bed, closes their eyes and thinks about
what they got, what tHEy didn't get, and what tHEy should've gotten ."
-Bob Giraldi
