Shore Regional Alums Score Webby Award Nomination

Two budding area filmmakers who found a viral hit with a short film they produced are hoping to win a Webby Award.

Jonathan Grimm and Giancarlo Fiorentini, two Oceanport natives turned full-time New York City residents, write and direct made-for-web videos under the name Wiseguy Pictures. The pair made a splash in the budding world of internet comedy with their film "Facebook Ruins Job Interview." (WARNING: Film contains adult language)

The premise is simple. A young man interviews for a position with a company, but trouble arises when his prospective employer decides to check his Facebook page.

"We certainly didn't expect the sketch to be a viral hit, but within 24 hours Gizmodo.com caught wind of it, and we had upwards of 100,000 plays," Grimm said. 

"I suppose Facebook is unique in the sense that it's one of only a handful of things that is always going to be topical and relevant," he added, noting jokingly that "cat videos and scantily clad women are up there as well."

The R-rated, 3 and a half minute short stars up and coming comedians Dominic Dierkes and Jon Gabrus as the interviewer and interviewee.

The Webby Awards — now in their 15th year — are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, an organization whose membership includes David Bowie, Simpsons creator Matt Groening, producer Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson. Awards are given in numerous categories to honor the very best in internet-based production. In each category, the Academy itself chooses one winner and the public is invited to vote for another.

Grimm and Fiorentini will certainly have their work cut out for them, as their hilariously raunchy film will be pitted against some major competition.

"We're two guys with a video camera who spent $200 on a short we believed in, and now we are up against a multi-million dollar Old Spice campaign, which is testament to the accessibility of the Webbys versus other award ceremonies," Grimm said. "It's an honor for us and certainly a great surprise."

The 25-year-old filmmakers got their start while producing a project for their Italian class at

"We posted the video online, and our 16-minute masterpiece was completely torn apart on a filmmaking forum," Fiorentini said. 

Despite some early bumps, the pair continued their filmmaking ventures.

"We then started making more videos in our free time, and I think eventually received one positive comment on that forum. It may or may not have been one of our mothers, but we'll take it," Fiorentini joked.

From Shore Regional, Grimm and Fiorentini entered the film program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where they graduated in 2008.

Their first taste of success came with a 30-minute short film they wrote and directed called "The Old Man and the Seymour." The project was done for their senior thesis at NYU and was later accepted at a number of film festivals and has been viewed 60,000 times online.

"The film stars a bunch of people from CollegeHumor.com, where we worked full-time shortly after graduating NYU," Fiorentini said. "We've since moved on to a part-time, freelance position there, and have spent our free time working towards making projects like 'Facebook Ruins Job Interview.'"

A Webby nomination isn't enough to get the two budding filmmakers to rest on their laurels. They're already preparing to shoot their next unconventional web short. 

"We're actually planning on doing another sketch pretty soon, which is going to be more of a character-based short film," Grimm said. "It's about the world's most famous paparazzo. He's so famous that the paparazzi take intrusive pictures of him taking intrusive pictures of celebrities. His son has epilepsy so all of the flashing bulbs are a bit of a familial challenge."

"We're also in the midst of trying to launch a web series starring Jon Gabrus, the interviewee in 'Facebook Ruin Job Interview,'" Fiorentini added. "He would essentially be playing the same character, but dating a 45 year-old woman with two children, and being their stay-at-home dad."