Bells & Whistles
“Bells & Whistles” is the name of the TV “dramedy” that I created. It was inspired by Stormy, a friend from high school who moved to New York City and married a wedding photographer. The complete script for the pilot episode is available by contacting us.
Synopsis
Set in the 1980s, a New York City, high end wedding photographer, Stanley “Sonny” Pulaski, Jr., moves back home to his Pittsburgh suburb where his father has lost his job at the steel mill. Sonny has a job lined up as a sports photographer for a local newspaper, where being the rookie, is assigned mostly high school level sporting events. This side of Sonny’s life will represent the “real world” and the jobs that people keep just to pay the bills and family that you have no choice in belonging to.
The next weekend there is a wedding that his family, as neighbors of the groom’s family, will be attending. A family friend, a local wedding photographer is to photograph the wedding until he has a family emergency and calls Sonny to fill in for him. It’s a really mixed up Catholic/Jewish wedding where Sonny meets Stormy Cohen, “Stormy C.”, a singer in the wedding band. They instantly fall in love at the wedding and elope that night to spare their families the stress of a wedding like the one they just worked.
After the elopement they realize that they need a place to live and Sonny realizes how much he loves photographing weddings. He figures they can have a small studio and office to start a photography business. They find a large Victorian fixer-upper in an artsy Pittsburgh suburb. They call it “Rain or Shine Photography” (Stormy and Sonny). This job and his life with Stormy represent following your heart. They are putting up their sign when a year of wedding bookings falls into their laps.
Each weekly episode will have Sonny photographing a wedding (the “bells”) and attending to his daily life with his family and his job as a sports (the “whistles”) photographer at the newspaper. Pittsburgh, an ethnic melting pot will provide no shortage of funny situations, as the weddings bring out the best and worst in people. A level of authenticity will come from actual wedding photographers contributing their own stories for some of the episodes.
Main Characters
Stanley “Sonny” Pulaski, Jr.: A tall, slender, late 20’s, blond male. Having left Pittsburgh for New York City after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, he is city-smart and has a good work ethic. He likes contemporary art, especially Andy Warhol, and is a wedding photographer, accustomed to photographing the weddings of New York City’s elite.
Stormy Cohen “Stormy C”: A mid 20’s, female, only child, Jewish princess, with long, dark hair. She’s kind of a free spirit who still lives at home. Her only job is as a wedding vocalist and singing in a wedding band. She spends the rest of her time shopping and going to auctions in search of Victorian antiques.
Damian Ross: Think Adam Lambert. He is a professional wedding vocalist and in the band with Stormy. He is very sexy and a flirt. He more than enjoys the free drinks at weddings and says he’s only doing them until he’s discovered. He rents a small part of Sonny and Stormy’s house. Since it is his dream to be a rock star, he sometimes has trouble toning down his act at weddings.
Stanley Pulaski, Sr.: Sonny’s dad is a Polish, Catholic, Democrat and in his late 50s with a husky build and beer belly. He was just force-retired from his labor job at the steel mill. He enjoys hunting, fishing and watching the Steelers on TV. He has a strong Pittsburgh accent.
Ed Miller: Sonny’s boss at the newspaper, in his 60s and a tyrant. He’s convinced that the charming, sophisticated and well dressed Sonny is gay, causing Sonny to act comically “masculine” around him.
Carol Barch: About 40 years old, she’s an administrative assistant at the newspaper. She is the office gossip and tends to initiate and promote most of the office fights. She is manipulative but has a very sweet, professional front.
Violet DeAngelis: A high-priced wedding coordinator and self-appointed leader of a group of wedding professionals that work together. In her late 50s, she always wears purple and speaks with an over-dramatic accent. She gets a lot of weddings with unusual themes because she is known locally as the one who can pull them off.
Vincent/Veronica: Think Sutan Amrul/Raja. In his 30s, he/she owns “Vincent &Veronica’s Floral Design”. Vincent is a drag queen and appears as Vincent, the creative businessman when he meets his clients, then appears as Veronica, an androgynous floral designer when it is time to make the deliveries and put the finishing touches on the floral displays at the venues.
