By Sally Deering

Photo sent  by Enzo Palumbo

      First, an explanation of the “meow meow.” It’s like “etcetera, etcetera,” mixed with “yada yada” with a hint of “Oh yeah? What’s it to ya?” It’s also the nickname of Enzo Palumbo, a handsome, funny, “tell it like it is” insurance adjustor from Bayonne who spent 75 days as a contestant on CBS’s “Big Brother” this summer.  Let’s let Palumbo describe the “meow-meow.”

“Meow-meow” it stems from back in the day,” Palumbo says. “Years ago, I was with my friend and we were with two girls. One sits in the front seat with me and before I put my radio on, she farts in my car and tries to blame me. I ask her, what are you doing?  She says, ‘whatever, meow, meow. That was the end of it. Meow meow.  I’m a straight up cool cat.”

 

Little life-lessons like those charmed 10 million TV viewers who tuned in each week to watch Enzo, Lane, Hayden, Britney, Rachel and seven other “Big Brother” contestants room together in a snazzy Hollywood pad complete with outdoor Jacuzzi and 24/7camera surveillance. Palumbo lasted 75 days living in the ‘goldfish bowl’ with viewers watching his antics and the Jersey way he did things, like creating an alliance called “The Brigade” and nick-naming his alliance teammates the “Beast,” “Animal,” “Brains” and himself the “meow-meow.”

Enzo’s boisterous and playful personality, handsome good looks and Jersey edge intrigued viewers and his fellow players, but underneath his Jersey boy persona, Palumbo proved to be a sharp gamer, outlasting nine other contestants and maneuvering himself into the No. 3 position at the show’s finale. Enzo didn’t win the $500,000 1st Place cash prize awarded to Hayden or the $50,000 2nd  Place award Lane received, but Enzo played a great game and now that the show has ended, he’s hoping to parlay his “15 minutes of fame” into a show biz career in “La-La Land.”

Immediately after the show’s finale, CBS and the Big Brother production company treated Enzo and his cast mates to a ballyhoo weekend at Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas, to allow the gang to party after three months of soul-baring and game-playing. Enzo reunited with his wife and daughter Gia, taped interviews and met with former “Big Brother” cast members from the 11 previous seasons.  During his weekend stay, fans recognized Enzo as a celebrity, asking him to sign autographs and pose for pictures. Hollywood agents slipped him their business cards and one filmmaker wants to cast him in a movie. And Enzo is loving every minute of his newfound celebrity.

   Viva Las Vegas

 “I’m a star in Vegas,” Enzo says from his Bally’s suite. “Grandmothers, young women, middle-aged women all want to hug me. Even men hug me. The fans are unbelievable. My head is so big right now I can’t even fit out the door.” 

Enzo’s Las Vegas fans also used their chance encounters with the Reality TV star to learn about his time on the “Big Brother” homestead and the strategic moves that kept him in the game and on prime-time TV for 2-1/2 months. As soon as the show began, Enzo initiated the idea for an alliance between the men, who met in the shadows to plan strategies-well, more like secret meetings in the sauna.

“Before I came in I wanted to get three or four people into the thing and with my personality, I knew three or four people would like it and I would use that to make some type of mafia,” Enzo says. “I called it the Brigade.  They could do the dirty work for me and if I ever got on the block, I had my alliance. We would have meetings late night when everybody was sleeping.  Sometimes we went to the Story room, the H.O.H. room. Sometimes even the pool or sauna. We’d go over things real quick. I had a blast and it got me to the finale. It was the best alliance ever in Big Brother history.”

So did Enzo trust the Brigade alliance or did he think they would turn on him at any given moment?

“In that house, it’s hard to put a hundred percent trust in anybody,” Enzo says. “I felt like we were definitely loyal. Lane worried me the most because of his side alliance with Britney. That was our plan from the beginning to break off and make side alliances with other people so they never knew we were an alliance together. I was never a target the whole season. I was playing the whole house, manipulating everybody. It was just amazing.”

On “Big Brother” Enzo played dumb at times, like when Britney tried to teach him how to speak properly and during a shopping trip, when she explained how to read food labels. There are plenty of excerpts on YouTube to see these hilarious exchanges, Enzo’s “Meow Mix” commercial and videos uploaded by several “Big Brother” fans including a digital animation called “The Formation of the BB Brigade,” where Enzo is depicted as a fat gray tabby cat wearing a fedora and black sunglasses named “meow-meow.”

“Back where I’m from, you have nicknames,” Enzo says. “There’s me, the ‘Meow Meow.’ I can be sneaky but I play it nice and cool and calm.”

When it got down to the final three, Enzo says he knew Lane and Hayden weren’t going to take him to the final two because they knew the seven teammates in the Jury House liked Enzo more and would name him the winner. 

“Most of them pretty much liked me and Lane and Hayden knew it,” Enzo says.  “It would have been tough for Lane or Hayden to beat me.”

In the finale, Enzo was voted out and Hayden named the winner with Lane in second place. But no hard feelings, Enzo says, crying over spilled milk is just a lot of “meow meow.” Enzo marked his territory on Season 12 of “Big Brother,” and along with a big sense of humor, he brought a little Jersey to the show.

“No matter what, I had tons of fans and I loved it,” Enzo says. “That was a big part of this. I didn’t care about the money. I wanted the title. I wanted to be the champ, I wanted to show that I was the “meow-meow” and for me, that will always be my legacy.”

Going Back to His Hometown Fans

Reality TV fame and the celebrity that it brings can either fade when contestants return to their “normal” lives or jump-start careers into new directions, like the case of Buddy Valastro of Hoboken, the “Cake Boss,” who after several Food Channel cooking contests, landed his own reality TV show on TLC. Just like his game plan forming the alliance on “Big Brother” Enzo’s devised a game plan for his future, too.

“I’m going to try to do everything and anything, maybe get an agent, some groupies or stalkers, whatever comes my way,” Enzo says. “I heard Howard Stern’s people might want me on his show. I had a couple of agents give me their cards. One guy is filming a movie in December and has a good part for me playing some type of Jersey kid. I’m open to everything and anything, big roles, small roles. I know it will be hard, but I’d like to take a crack at it.”

Enzo’s hometown fans in Bayonne have been watching every episode and rooting for him. Hot and Toasty Bagels in Bayonne named a couple of sandwiches after him and his cousins Giacomo DeRosa and Leonardo DeRosa, owners of Paesano’s Pizzeria in Downtown Bayonne named “The Meow Meow Pizza” after him. It’s piled high with sausage, mushrooms, onions, sautéed garlic and drizzled with olive oil. They also created “The Brigade,” a dish that consists of broccoli rabe and shrimp sautéed in garlic and olive oil over pasta.  Both dishes have a lot of flavor and stand out on the plate – just like Enzo.

“This is the real me, the real ‘meow meow,'” Enzo says. “I’m charismatic. I’m creative. I love to make people laugh.  I like to bust chops.”

The post Big Brother’s Enzo Palumbo -Bayonne to Hollywood with the Meow-Meow! first appeared on River View Observer.

Now Hudson County residents have a good reason to watch CBS’s Hit The Good Wife one of their own residents will be appearing this fall in the second season.

According to the Ausiello File it has been annoucned that Emmy -Award Wining Hudson County Actress Tammy Blanchard will will join the cast for the up -coming  season of  the “Good Wife.”

Blanchard will appear as a confidante to Cary (Matt Czuchryone of Glen Childs†underlings.

Described as a “fair-minded assistant stateâ€s attorney who looks more like an indie-band drummer than a lawyer,” Blanchardâ€s character — who will likely recur — befriends the departmentâ€s newest employee, Cary (who joined Childs†camp after getting pink-slipped by Will and Diane in the finale)

To read more about this visit Ausiello File

Source Ausiello File /Michael Ausiello

The post Hudson County Actress Tammy Blanchard Appearing in CBS Program “The Good Wife” first appeared on River View Observer.

Kenneth Del Vecchio Chairperson

Mayor Dave Roberts and the City of Hoboken

Presents

THE NATION’S HOTTEST…TRUE…FILM FESTIVAL
May 29, 2009 – June 4, 2009

Cloris Leachman, (Academy Award, 4-Time Golden Globe, 19-Time Emmy Winner & Nominee) will be the 2009 HIFF Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Emcee- Comedian Mike Marino

 

 

 

Award Presenter -                                                                                                            Donna Bostany

For video of  past FilmFestivals Hoboken International Film Festival

MISSION & OBJECTIVE

Hoboken International Film Festival (“HIFF”) is dedicated to showcasing and promoting fine non-studio films, TV pilots, and screenplays from filmmakers throughout the United States and internationally. The best submissions will be rewarded with cash prizes in nearly ten categories. As will be discussed in the next section, HIFF has quickly become one of the top ten best film festivals in the world.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

With a celebrity jury comprised of Academy Award and Emmy winners, and powerhouse partners this past year that include CBS, Anheuser-Busch and Stella Artois, TD Banknorth, 101.9 RXP, The DoubleTree Hotel, The Jersey Journal, The Melting Pot, Glaceau SmartWater, and hosted by Mayor David Roberts and the City of Hoboken, HIFF is a worldwide renowned film festival. Showcasing the edgiest domestic and international movies and their filmmakers, HIFF will kick off on May 29, 2009 with its opening night films–that will be viewed by nearly 1,000 fans and industry personnel at Pier A Park, located directly on the Hudson River and overlooking the majestic New York City skyline.

The 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award winner will be Cloris Leachman (The Last Picture Show; Young Frankenstein; The Women; The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Dancing With the Stars). At this past year’s Gala Awards Ceremony, noted as one of the best in the country for its Oscar-like class and fanfare, Billy Dee Williams personally accepted the HIFF Lifetime Achievement Award. The 2007 HIFF Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Charles Durning (2-time Academy Award/8-time Golden Globe/12-time Emmy winner and nominee). The 2006 recipient was Frank Vincent.

In addition to nonstop screenings during the week of the festival, HIFF offers a slate of panel discussions held by top industry leaders. The 2007 group included an Academy Award winning producer, CBS news anchors, MTV casting director, CBS soap opera star, a studio executive and a star talent manager.

HIFF also offers unique, star-studded special events. Some past special events include: the “Keg Party Blowout & Screening” sponsored by Sheraton Suites on the Hudson, Harbor Bar and Brasserie, and Stella Artois–featuring the movie “Beer League” and a party with the movie’s filmmakers and stars including Artie Lange (The Howard Stern Show); a series of films from Academy Award nominated actor Danny Aiello, with a special Q&A held by Aiello and the filmmakers of his new film “The Shoemaker,” as well as a live concert by Aiello and his band; a series of Charles Durning films and special screenings and parties with Durning.

HIFF awards the winning filmmakers with cash prizes in the following categories: Best Feature Film; Best Director (Feature Film); Best Screenplay (Feature Film); Best Actor (Feature Film); Best Actress (Feature Film); Best Short Film; Best Documentary; Best TV Pilot; Best Unproduced Screenplay. There are also awards given in several other categories. In addition, there is a Grand Prize (for Best Narrative Feature Film) of a distribution deal offer (2009 company TBA).

All festival venues are located in the heart of New Jersey’s artistic capital, with gorgeous, waterfront scenic views of the New York City skyline.

HIFF will be held from May 29, 2009-June 4, 2009 in Hoboken, NJ.

The post Hoboken International Film Festival May 29- June 4th first appeared on River View Observer.