{"id":40964,"date":"2026-02-19T16:40:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/?p=40964"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:46:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:46:35","slug":"kinnane-bros-interview-solo-mio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/behindthelensonline.net\/site\/interviews\/interview-exclusives\/kinnane-bros-interview-solo-mio\/","title":{"rendered":"Kinnane Brothers JOHN KINNANE & JEFFREY AZIZE talk SOLO MIO: A Romantic Comedy That Earned Its Place – Exclusive Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Kinnane Brothers (Left to Right) Brendan (Music Supervisor\/Writer), Charles (Director), Pete (Editor), Wil (Producer), John (Writer\/VFX), Daniel (Director\/Cinematographer), Pat (Writer), Jeffrey Azize (Producer\/Writer, brother-in-law)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Romantic comedies don\u2019t usually have to ask permission.\u00a0\u00a0They arrive in picturesque cities, point the camera at cobblestones and cathedrals, and let borrowed beauty do the work. But SOLO MIO, the first feature from the credited eight-man filmmaking collective known as The Kinnane Brothers, found itself doing something far rarer: seeking entry into a living tradition that had already decided it wanted nothing more to do with movies.<\/p>\n

Directed by Charles and Daniel Kinnane and written by John and Patrick Kinnane together with Kevin James, SOLO MIO stars Kevin James, Nicole Grimaudo, Kim Coates, Alyson Hannigan, Jonathan Roumie, and Julee Cerda in a story about a man left heartbroken in Rome after being left at the altar at his wedding.\u00a0 However, against his own instincts, it doesn’t take long before stranded groom Matt Taylor (Kevin James) finds his ruined honeymoon transformed by a determined local (Nicole Grimaudo) and a few meddling travelers (Coates, Hannigan, Roumie, Cerda) \u2014 proving that sometimes heartbreak is only the beginning.<\/p>\n

The Past Mends and Melds With The Present<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking with Executive Producer Jeffrey Azize (a Kinnane brother-in-law) and co-writer John Kinnane, I quickly learned that it wasn’t shooting in Rome and Tuscany that presented the biggest challenge for this filmmaking family.\u00a0 At the heart of that challenge lies the Palio di Siena \u2014 the centuries-old horse race that pulses through Siena\u2019s Piazza del Campo each summer, governed not by tourism boards but by the city\u2019s fiercely loyal Contrade. These neighborhood factions carry their colors and rivalries like medieval sports teams, and their relationship to the Palio is cultural, emotional, and generational.<\/p>\n

According to Jeffrey Azize, the Contrade had effectively closed the door to outside productions after a previous film left relations strained.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThey were very hesitant for another production company to come in,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey said, \u2018We do not allow this anymore.\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0For SOLO MIO, access wasn\u2019t automatic. It required unanimous agreement from all the Contrade \u2014 simply to license authentic race footage and to select one district of their choice to incorporate into the story.\u00a0 That rare approval transformed the Palio from a background spectacle into something earned.<\/p>\n

Rather than staging an imitation elsewhere, the filmmakers embedded their actors and background performers into the real Piazza del Campo, later intercutting those moments with genuine race footage. The sequence carries an immediacy that no recreation could replicate and gives SOLO MIO an unusual texture for a romantic comedy \u2014 the sense that the film briefly intersects with a ritual that existed long before its arrival and will continue long after its departure.\u00a0 Fittingly, shooting at the Palio became the final day of production, turning the wrap into an emotional farewell not just to a location, but to a community that had cautiously opened itself back up to cinema.<\/p>\n

A Family Affair<\/strong><\/p>\n

The effort behind that access reflects the collaborative ethos of The Kinnane Brothers, for whom SOLO MIO marks their Chuck’s second feature-length narrative directorial.\u00a0\u00a0All eight brothers contributed across the production: Chuck and Daniel Kinnane directed; John and Patrick co-wrote the screenplay; Brendon and William produced; Pete Kinnane edited; and brother-in-law Jeffrey Azize served as executive producer.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a model built on adaptability \u2014 something essential for a production that moved from concept in March to filming by September while navigating an overseas shoot.<\/p>\n

The Man Who Made Italy Happen<\/strong><\/p>\n

Again and again, when discussing how SOLO MIO achieved its authenticity \u2014 from Roman streets to Tuscan vistas \u2014 the conversation returned to location manager Giancarlo Bartolomei.\u00a0\u00a0As Azize noted,\u00a0\u201cGiancarlo was our locations manager on set, and made everything happen . . . He literally, whatever we wished for, other than the Coliseum, that was pretty expensive to do, so that we unfortunately couldn’t film at the Coliseum, but he checked off all of our wish list items.\u00a0 \u00a0He was a phenomenal locations manager, and he had these relationships with everybody at these venues, and he was able to negotiate on our behalf.\u201d\u00a0 Those relationships proved vital \u2014 including in earning the trust necessary to work within Siena\u2019s Palio itself.<\/p>\n

In a fun bit of casting, and demonstrating Batolomei’s dedication to the project, he was cast as Gia\u2019s ex-boyfriend Vicenzo.\u00a0 According to John Kinnane, \u201cWe were trying to find\u2026 Vincenzo. We were watching all these auditions, and we were just like, we can\u2019t find the right one\u2026 Finally, they\u2019re like, why don\u2019t we just get Giancarlo to do it?\u201d\u00a0 And he did!\u00a0 \u00a0A\u00a0fitting symbol of how deeply the production relied on his presence.<\/p>\n

A Luminous Counterpoint<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the center of the film\u2019s emotional journey is Nicole Grimaudo as Gia \u2014 a revelation for American audiences, though already well known in Italy.\u00a0\u00a0Luminous on screen, with an infectious smile and laugh, Grimaudo brings a warmth that reshapes the film\u2019s romantic core. Her chemistry with Kevin James elevates his performance into something more grounded and vulnerable than audiences may expect \u2014 arguably his strongest work since Here Comes the Boom<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0According to Azize, \u201cShe just took the film to another level. . .She\u2019s a diamond in the rough. She\u2019s amazing. . . Nicole spoke very little English, and we had to work with a translator on set.\u00a0 And she learned all of her English lines phonetically. . .Nicole is the same person on camera as she is off camera\u2026 her energy, her attitude\u2026 was infectious\u2026 she always just lifted everybody up and kept the set very light and funny, and always was very inclusive to everybody, and made everyone feel a part of the project in a very special way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Grimaudo speaking limited English, her commitment underscores the filmmakers\u2019 willingness to prioritize presence and authenticity over convenience.\u00a0 The result is a dynamic in which Gia doesn\u2019t simply support Matt\u2019s journey \u2014 she catalyzes it. Kevin James\u2019 performance finds its strength not in isolation but in response to hers.<\/p>\n

Italy as Emotional Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cinematographer Jared Fadel builds on that authenticity by turning Italy into more than scenery \u2014 it becomes an emotional barometer.<\/p>\n

As Azize notes, “When you film in Europe, a lot of movies tend to lean into the claustrophobicness of the environment.\u00a0 It’s not like America where things are open wide spaces.”\u00a0\u00a0In Rome, narrow streets are framed not as claustrophobic but as intimate, cocooning the central characters within the vastness of the Eternal City.\u00a0 Expounding on Fadel’s work, John Kinnane notes that \u201c[Jared] definitely leaned into it, wanting to make it and use it to our leverage for intimacy, rather than its claustrophobia. And that you could be anywhere in Rome, and feel intimate, like it’s just the two of them in a city alone, the Eternal City,”<\/p>\n

The choice to avoid claustrophobia underscores the emotional safety and warmth of Matt and Gia\u2019s connection.\u00a0 \u00a0Matt’s story starts in narrow, intimate frames in Rome with a man emotionally closed in, just off a broken wedding.\u00a0 As his relationship with Gia deepens, the movie literally opens up with wider frames that mirror his widening emotional horizon.\u00a0 By the time we arrive in Tuscany, the \u201cwide, open, glorious spaces\u201d reflect a man whose world has expanded beyond heartbreak into possibility.<\/p>\n

Jared Fadel’s camera traces Matt\u2019s inner shift from constriction to emotional openness, using geography and framing as a visual barometer for his connection with Gia.\u00a0\u00a0As the story progresses, the visual language expands. Tighter Roman compositions gradually give way to wide, sunlit Tuscan vistas, mirroring the protagonist\u2019s emotional shift from heartbreak toward renewed possibility.\u00a0\u00a0Fadel\u2019s imagery preserves the warmth of Italy\u2019s historic textures \u2014 stucco walls, terra cotta hues, and centuries-old patinas \u2014 grounding the romance in lived-in reality rather than postcard fantasy.<\/p>\n

Color and texture also come into play with the visual grammar and visual tonal bandwidth.\u00a0\u00a0With Jared\u2019s work, we really get the feel of the colors, many of which are centuries old, on some of those buildings; the stucco, the terra cotta, and we really get to see and appreciate that.\u00a0 \u00a0As Jeffrey explains,\u00a0 \u201cIn Jared’s early look book he presented, it matches the final product of what you see in the theaters.\u00a0 \u00a0He nailed it immediately\u2026”<\/p>\n

More Than a Backdrop<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimately, SOLO MIO treats Italy not as decoration but as a partner in storytelling.\u00a0\u00a0Rome shelters. Tuscany expands. Siena\u2019s Palio endures.\u00a0\u00a0In a film shaped by family collaboration, cultural trust, and a luminous emotional core, love doesn\u2019t unfold in isolation \u2014 it unfolds within legacy. The legacy of tradition, of place, of community, and of a city that has long understood that heartbreak and joy are simply part of life\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

And in the Eternal City \u2014 where history hums beneath every footstep \u2014 SOLO MIO finds its footing not just in romance, but in a shared love of life itself, a love shared by each and every one of The Kinnane Brothers.<\/p>\n

by debbie elias, exclusive interview 02\/13\/2026<\/p>\n

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SOLO MIO is in theatres now.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n