"The Italians" is a personal endeavor for Culver City acting coach

Those at Michelle Danner's Acting Studio in Culver City can see where their lessons are coming from without leaving home.

An Italian family dinner is the centerpiece of Danner's new film, aptly named "The Italians," released today on Amazon Prime Video, with potential releases later on Apple, Google Play, and Vudu. Danner is not only the director and producer of the movie; she plays one of the film's central roles as Angelina, an Italian mother with a fierce personality.

According to film website IMDB, Danner is a "world-renowned acting coach." She runs several acting studios, one of which is at 10820 Washington Blvd. in Culver City. Her past students include Christian Slater, Salma Hayek, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Penelope Cruz, Chris Rock, Gabrielle Union, and Zooey Deschanel.

While it is not directly based on a true story, Danner says the film taps into her experiences as a child in an Italian family, experiences that helped her relate to the film's writer, Lisa Visca.

"I remember being afraid to bring anyone home," Danner said. "When you sat down at dinner, you didn't quite know when spaghetti was going to fly."

This isn't her first rodeo in any of the roles she has taken on for "The Italians." The movie is Danner's eighth directorial project and a dramatic pivot from her previous film, "Miranda's Victim." That film was released last fall and told the incredible true story about the creation of the Miranda Warning after the brutal assault on 18-year-old Patricia Weir.

For Danner, acting in this movie was a unique experience for her despite having more than a dozen acting credits before "The Italians." She says playing Angelina resonated with her because of the character's resonance with her roots.

"It was an amalgamation of my mother, grandmother, and sister," Danner said of the character she plays.

While the story takes place in various set pieces over several years, the comedy focuses on the interactions between Nico, his fiancé, Lily, and the rest of his family over multiple dinners. Matthew Daddario plays Nico, while Lily is played by Abigail Breslin, who first hit the Hollywood scene as young Olive Hooper in 2006's Miss Little Sunshine.

Danner didn't write the script, but she adapted it to an hour and 40-minute film for Visca over multiple years. One advantage of moving to the big screen is the ability to incorporate more diverse settings into the script, going beyond the dinner table that remains central to the film's plot.

"I found this house with a beautiful kitchen," Danner said, "Then, we went to Saint Monica's church to shoot some scenes there...we were lucky enough to find some wonderful locations."

While Danner puts a great deal of effort into the film's setting, she believes its charm centers around the characters and their interactions. Angelina's reaction to the many "red flags" that Lily raises throughout the film, but other antagonizing factors like the next-door neighbors, Nico's overbearing ex-girlfriend Geena (Olivia Lucardi), and their local priest Father Joe (Luca Riemma) get involved in the drama.

"It's about forgiveness and great Italian food," Danner told Culver Crescent. "I hope people will go hug their families afterward."

"The Italians" premiered at the ITALIA Los Angeles Fashion and Art Festival in March, where Danner was awarded Best Director. It has since screened at the Cinequest Film Festival and the San Luis Obispo Film Festival and had its international debut at the Ischia Global Film Festival in Italy.

For a limited time, "The Italians" is available on Amazon Prime Video at a discounted price here.