Paul Acampora's "Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date"

Paul Acampora writes novels and short stories for teens, middle grade and elementary school readers. He was born and raised in Bristol, Connecticut and now lives in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. He is a full-time development officer during the day and writes fiction early in the morning and late at night. Acampora is a former kindergarten teacher, a member of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature, and enjoys leading writing workshops with students of all ages. He is also a writing instructor for local colleges, high schools and middle schools.

Here Acampora dreamcasts an adaptation of his new novel, Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date:

When 7th grader, Danny Constantino, unwittingly invites his childhood friend-turned-Hollywood-superstar, Natalie Flores Griffin, to the school dance and Halloween parade, she surprises him… by saying yes! Now everyone wants in on Danny’s upcoming date with the hometown hero, and Danny’s wondering if his first date ever might also be his last.

Danny Constantino’s First (and maybe last) Date is very much inspired by romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally, Splash, As Good As it Gets, Moonstruck, Shrek, Corpse Bride, and of course, Notting Hill (I’m a huge Richard Curtis fan). In my dreams, it will be produced by either Reese Witherspoon or Amy Poehler and directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, who has directed Mandalorian episodes as well as the documentary, Dads. When you listen to Bryce Dallas Howard talk, you hear somebody who believes in families.

A few key roles:

Danny Constantino – to be played by Oakes Fegley (from The Goldfinch). In addition to being perfect for the role, Oakes Fegley is from Allentown, PA where I live so that would be pretty cool.

Natalie Flores Griffin – I based Natalie Flores Griffin on a young Selena Gomez (loved her in the 2010 movie Ramona & Beezus). Selena is now too old for this role so I’d go with Paulina Chávez (from the Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia) because Paulina Chávez is simply amazing. I also really love Tess Romero (from Diary of a Future President).

Missy Constantino (Danny’s Mom) – to be played by either Reese Witherspoon or Amy Poehler, whichever one is not producing. Either way, they both have to be involved because I love their comedy. Perhaps more important is the way that they really and truly love the characters that they play.

Mrs. C. (Danny’s Grandmother) – to be played by Holly Hunter, who is probably too young, but I don’t care because Holly Hunter can do anything. Danny’s Grandmother is a manic voice of reason who also drives an awesome 1969 Camaro.

Ajay Kalli (Danny’s best friend) – I loved Viveik Kalra in Blinded by the Light, but he’s too old to play Ajay so I’ll go with a Bollywood “newcomer” to be named later.

Asha Kalli (Ajay’s sister) – to be played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (from Never Have I Ever). She’s perfect in every way.

Mrs. Kalli (Ajay & Asha’s Mom) – to be played by Mindy Kaling because I really want to see Mindy Kaling play somebody’s Mom.

Mr. Beamon (School bus driver and possible love interest for Danny’s mom) – to be played by John Corbett. It was always John Corbett. I’ve loved him starting way back in Northern Exposure and loved him again recently in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Zoey Roy – Tess Romero (from Diary of a Future President) unless she’s playing Natalie Flores Griffin in which case we’ll go with a newcomer recruited from the cast of a local school theater program.

Mr. Maggio (School principal) – Adam Sandler. I’ve got an unlimited budget here so why not? Plus, thinking of Adam Sandler as a school principal makes me happy.

Natalie’s Mom – to be played by Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore, or Cameron Diaz because having one of these ladies will give the movie an official stamp of rom-com approval!

Visit Paul Acampora's website.

The Page 69 Test: Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date.

Q&A with Paul Acampora.

--Marshal Zeringue