BIOGRAPHY
Patrick Coppola has been involved with filmmaking for the past 35 years, dedicating himself toward the pursuit of excellence in the filmmaking process. In 1985 he began his acting career studying at several drama schools in Boston. He landed principal roles in Spenser for Hire, Cheers, Unsolved Mysteries and others, while appearing in several national commercials including those for Burger King, Toyota, Exxon, and John Hancock. He also appeared on stage in many plays, including The Mousetrap, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Christmas Carolyn and Mindbender. Patrick began writing in 1987 and produced his first short comedy film, The Date, later that year. He also completed his first feature-length script, Midnight Confession. Soon after he was selected to attend New York University’s intensive filmmaking program and in 1988 earned his Certificate in Filmmaking. After a brief stint in production in Boston, he loaded his pick-up truck and moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue his acting and production careers on a larger scale. While in Los Angeles, Patrick worked for Warner Bros. on the TV Sitcom pilot, Mulberry Street, where he assisted producers with script revisions, in production and post production, and learned the studio system.
Unfortunately, Mulberry Street, was not picked up by Warner Bros., so Patrick went to work in the mail room of The Burbank Studios until landing a job at Universal Studios for Viacom Productions on the TV show Jake and the Fat Man, where his capacity was as an assistant in the casting department. As he was gaining experience in the production field, he was also growing rapidly as an actor studying Meisner method acting, at the Victory Theater in Burbank with the renowned, Maria Gobetti, and studying Shakespeare from noted author and Shakespearean scholar, Delbert Spain.
His T.V. appearances included The Golden Girls and Santa Barbara, and he made a film appearance in Forgotten Heroes, the Viet Nam war drama directed by Jack Marino. He also starred as Jimmy in Sex on the Weekend, a comedy at The West End Playhouse. With his contact base in Boston, he returned to begin the difficult task of raising money to shoot the 35mm feature film WHERE ANGELS DANCE. Patrick formed a Limited Partnership and eventually had raised enough money to start principal photography in September of 1993.
The film was shot in 18 days and was finished 11 months later making its debut in 1994 at the Independent Feature Film Market and the New Hampshire Film Festival, where it received excellent reviews.
Credits & Trailers
WHERE ANGELS DANCE
Written, produced and directed by Patrick Coppola, has been released in over 20 countries to date. It was released theatrically in several foreign territories. It aired on HBO Latin America and FOX Latin America. Domestically it has been released on Video and DVD. Patrick’s second 35mm feature film, SEASIDE SEDUCTION was shot in the fall of 1996, at Salisbury Beach, MA. The film was completed by December 1997. It is a riveting murder mystery set on a honky-tonk beach strip. Patrick served as writer, producer and director on the film.
SEASIDE SEDUCTION
SEASIDE SEDUCTION has been released in over 25 foreign countries. Domestically it has aired on Pay-Per-View and been released on Video and DVD.
A WAKE IN PROVIDENCE
In 1998, Patrick completed principal photography on the $2,000,000.00 feature film in Providence, Rhode Island called A WAKE IN PROVIDENCE. He served as Producer, Line Producer and UPM and guided the film through completion and distribution. It was selected for the Boston Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival. He personally secured a U.S. theatrical release for the film through Indican Pictures. Secured Foreign Distribution through Allied Entertainment. The film has currently aired on Lifetime TV and has been released on DVD.
JESUS, MARY AND JOEY
April through August of 2002 – Patrick produced the $4,000,000.00 feature film
JESUS, MARY AND JOEY. This romantic comedy stars Olympia Dukakis, Charles Durning, Stacey Keach, Melissa Joan Hart, Jason Geddrick, Tess Harper, Marley Shelton, Jennifer Esposito and Dan Lauria. The shoot took place in Providence, RI and NY City. The film has currently aired on Showtime TV and has been released on DVD.
2004 – Creator, writer, producer and director of the Reality TV demo show, I ALWAYS WANTED TO DATE A STRIPPER
An episodic show that deals with contestants trying to land a “dream date” with a stripper. Shot at the world famous Foxy Lady in Providence, RI in a multi camera 24P digital video format. It is R-Rated (upper body nudity on strippers) and is wildly funny and breaks new ground in Reality TV.
August 2005
Cast in Martin Scorsese’s film “The Departed” in a principal role, as “The Bookie Harassed by French.”
October 2005
Producer/Director/DP/Editor – of the highly successful “sold out” live
music performance of “Johnny Coppola – Live at Capitol Records.” Shot with 5 cameras in Studio A at Capitol Records, the show captures the dynamic sound and performance of Johnny Coppola of Coku Music. The DVD will be sold with the live recorded performance CD and will be available in December of 2005.
2005 – 2006
Served as “Post Production Consultant” for the Gangster Comedy –
“JOHNNY SLADE’S GREATEST HITS.”
March 2006
Cast in the CBS Pilot “The Waterfront” in a principal role as Paddy.
December 2006
– Acting as Producer’s Rep – secured world wide distribution for the film “EAMON’S ROAD”, an independent horror film through Film Artists Network.
Fall 2007
Created, wrote, produced and directed “TONY’S TURF,” a 1 hour Demo- Pilot made for TV. Comedy/Drama that takes place in Boston’s historic North End. Tony is the neighborhood fix-it man catering to the high end condo owner. He fixes things for a living but fixes broken lives for pleasure.
2008
DOCTOR DAVID EGILMAN PROJECT – Hired by world famous MD – Doctor
David Egilman to create and write a Screenplay based on Doctor Egilman’s life and the many cases he has served on as an expert witness in various chemical poisoning trials. Doctor Egilman is a champion of the underdog and has several worldwide charities and medical clinics he funds and donates his time to.
2011 – Completed the crime novel – CITY OF FOOLS
2013 – Landed principal role in THE EQUALIZER with Denzel Washington
2016 – Wrote the screenplay for V-FEE Motion Pictures – GORGEOUS
2018 – Wrote the screenplay AMAZING based on the life of the famous mentalist, THE AMAZING KRESKIN
2020 – Wrote 4 episodes of the series THE BOCCE BOYS for Quibi,
the short-form streaming platform.
2023 – Wrote a screenplay synopsis for JRAP Productions – THE FRIAR’S CLUB
2025 – Completed the coming of age novel – WHEN I WAS A WARRIOR