Port Washington native develops TV show
By the age of 24, A.J. Scordio had it all. A graduate of Bucknell University, he had a highly coveted Wall Street job at JPMorgan Chase and was having the time of his life in New York City weekend after weekend with friends. But despite the luxurious assets at his fingertips, ultimately, they held him back from chasing his dream.
Nowadays things have changed for the Port Washington native, who is in the midst of achieving the dream of becoming a filmmaker after quitting his office job to take a leap of faith.
“I just felt very stuck there, and I was very unhappy,” said Scordio, when asked about his decision to leave a great paying job. “I began taking more acting and writing classes while working there and then after saving up enough money, I made the decision to switch careers and I quit.”
Now the owner of his own production company, Scordio Productions, he hopes to become one of the competitive industry’s brightest up-and-comers.
“I’ve always wanted to do something in film, even in high school,” said Scordio, who attended Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School. “I was a jock and was very into business so I wanted to take the practical route, but the passion was always deep down and that’s why I was always a part of the high school plays.”
Having directed music videos for world renowned DJs Steve Aoki and Felix Jaehn as well as producing numerous commercials for locations of the fitness empire CrossFit, Scordio has now turned his sights to something bigger.
Within the film industry, “bigger” usually means Hollywood, but for Scordio, “bigger” means Long Island.
With help from cowriters Mary Martin and Alex Aguirre, Scordio and his team have created Long Island Lights, described as “a new comedic TV show about a group of misfits at an amateur production company on Long Island who learn life lessons as they stumble towards their idea of Hollywood success.”
Paralleling numerous life moments Scordio has gone through, the series revolves around brothers James and Marco Agnelli, portrayed by Scordio himself and Niko Papastefanou, half-siblings Rick and Vicky Sellers, played by Kevin Barbaro and Kristy Cloetingh, and finally Donny Martin, portrayed by Martin Yurkovic.
Scordio said that it was important that the series is based in the area in which he grew up, which made him want to bring Hollywood to Long Island.
With the show based on the Island, the crew has filmed numerous scenes in Port Washington, Huntington, Baiting Hollow and Riverhead, as well as Brooklyn and Times Square.
The show premiered its pilot episode June 12 in front of a packed theater of more than 250 people. At the end of the episode, the cast and crew were met with praises from the crowd as well as great reviews and loud ovations.
Scordio and his team are scheduled to meet with Hulu representatives in September, an opportunity he is excited about.
“I know it’s going to happen. I’ve put so much into this show and surrounded myself with people that want the same dream,” said Scordio.
He plans to do his best in selling himself and the show to those that have the power to bring Long Island Lights to the next level.
When asked if he had any advice for people who want to chase their dreams much like he did, he said that the most important thing is being able to support yourself and having the support of those that matter, like parents.
“My parents, Patricia Dalmazio and Anthony Scordio, are entrepreneurs, so although they have no idea about the entertainment industry, they have always been supportive of me pursuing my dream,” Scordio said.
