Tony Conforti, a Hoboken resident, has been producing Broadway shows, films, and television shows since the 1980s. With his production company Cinemedia, of which he is CEO, he has turned his attention to the animated feature length film, The Adventures of Scooter McDoogal. The animated film was initially created as a comic book series for schools to use as a teaching aid for students. The series was created by Diane Russomanno, and has been successful in several school districts in California. Together the two are aiming to begin production in the spring of 2006, with a possible release date in 2007.

The beginning

Before he moved into producing, Conforti started as an actor. He had parts in the movies Godfather I, Goodfellas, Jack Ruby, and more recently, The Pickup Artist. Then he met the playwright Louis La Russo II and Tony award winning actor Danny Aiello. Conforti produced several of La Russo's plays, many of which starred Aiello. The plays produced include: Lamppost Reunion, Momma's Little Angels, The Honeymoon, Wheelbarrow Closer, Knockout, and Manny. From there Conforti moved onto musicals, like the English rock musical Marlowe. Spurred by his success in theater, he moved into producing television commercials, shows, and pilots. He even produced several music videos, including Madonna's video for the song "Papa Don't Preach," which co-starred Aiello.

Background

Conforti was born and raised in Hoboken. He received his BA and Masters in Theater Arts from New Jersey City University. He had a successful teaching career for a number of years teaching fine arts and theater arts classes. Rutgers University in New Jersey and The Film Institute in New York were two of the schools he taught at. Although he has spent most of his life in the New York area, he lived in LA for 15 years before moving back to Hoboken in September of 2000. As president of the company Cinemedia, he is always busy working on new projects, yet still manages to find time to give back to the community. For the past two years, he has provided home instruction for special needs children from Hoboken High School.

New projects

Conforti is also the production coordinator for the new reality-based TV show Sitdown. He is working with executive producer Bruce Charet. The show is a legal show like Judge Judy, but with a mobster-like bent. They begin production on Oct 15 and plan to shoot 30 episodes, which will be aired on cable in January. Another project is the reality show What's Your Problem? The reality show is a one-hour segment where the hostess, actress Janet Arneau, will walk around the street and ask people what is wrong. The series is being filmed this month by director Steve Binder and will be produced by Tony Conforti. Some of the episodes will be shot in L.A. and others in New York City. In addition to his production schedule, Conforti is working on his memoir titled: From Hoboken to Hollywood and Back.