The Dog in the Fight

Tony Luke Jr. raises the steaks and cooks up his own close-up.

by A.D. Amorosi

THE BOXER: Tony Luke Jr. stars in The Nail, debuting this weekend at CineFest. He also recently unveiled his frozen mail-order cheesesteak.

Tony Luke Jr. is sitting in his car in front of his family's sports bar on Oregon Avenue and across from his famed sandwich stand. He just got off the air at WMMR's studios, and before that, he was on Fox 29. These days the local entrepreneur is a double threat: He's debuting frozen cheesesteak and The Nail, a film he conceived, produced and starred in. It debuts at the Philly Film Festival and Cinefest this weekend.

"Local media's given me a fair shake," says Luke, appreciatively. But he's made his own shakes. His family made its fame serving roast pork and steak sandwiches. Luke expanded the cheesesteak empire with homemade commercials and franchise locations in New York and New Jersey.

He writes and records songs. He had a small but formidable role in Invincible, and bigger parts in Sal Mazzotta's mob flicks. He's got a video game, Double-0-Luke, at tonylukes.com and a mini-network (tonylukes.tv) of television spots, film roles and instructional vids for cooking his frozen cheesesteak just right.

He works with his three grown children ("Tony runs my franchising, Michael does the food with Joey") so he doesn't have to miss family time. Michael even has a film he's writing with his pop (Ride into Terror) after having written a teen comedy, Wrong, on his own.

"I'm an excitable guy who loves everything I do."

Suddenly he stops talking. He needs a minute to relax.

"Know that adage that goes be careful what you wish for?" says Luke, a big man topping out at 300 pounds. "Nothing's truer."

Minute's up.

"It's that necessity-as-mother-of-invention thing," says Luke of his frozen cheesesteak.

"People called after seeing me on the Food Network [Throwdown with Bobby Flay, 2006] wanting me to ship cheesesteaks," says Luke. "But they don't ship well. At the same time I'm watching kids eating these frozen Hot Pockets things when they came up with a cheesesteak one."

He's wound up now.

"Then cheesesteak strombolis, cheesesteak pizzas. I wanted to come up with something frozen resembling a real Philly cheesesteak."

Luke repeats this next line a few times as if to prove he's no traitor to the grill 'n' grease grail that's our hometown snack: "A frozen food product will never taste as good as something off the grill. But I will give you the best frozen cheesesteak out there."

He went through four frozen food companies and focus groups before creating a patent-pending sous-vide process of slow-cooking sandwiches in airtight bags. You can either place the Cryovac bags of Black Angus sirloin strips and cheese in hot water while toasting the roll ever-so-quickly (Tony's preference) or microwave the entire package for quicker results.

Getting the sandwich right was crucial to him and Ray Rastelli III of Rastelli Foods Group, a vice president at the company that now distributes Tony Luke frozen sandwiches. Rastelli is also a big benefactor of Luke's film The Nail.

"I'm 47," says Luke. "I've been trying to do food, acting, singing, boxing and making movies since I was 15. The only credit I'll allow myself is that I never, ever give up."

He never gave up on music. As part of The Nail's score, Luke sings "And We Call Them Coach" in a sticky soulful voice you can hear at thenailthemovie.com.

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He never gave up on movies. Though Luke was the most memorable moment of Mark Wahlberg's Invincible as the manic cape-clad fan, Luke wanted more for his acting career and wasn't sure how a beefy Italian guy was going to get that. Leo Rossi — an actor Luke met on Sal Mazzotta's Mafioso: The Father, the Son — wound up in another film with Luke, Bobby Moresco's 10th & Wolf. That's when Rossi told Luke he should write his own script to highlight his strengths then work like hell to get it made.

Luke penned Rain Dog in three days. He changed the title to The Nail, got money from Rastelli ("a saint") and shot it in 18 days with director James Quattrochi.

Joey Nardone, the character Luke plays, is based on Luke's own youth — his desire to be a heavyweight boxer and never getting breaks — interwoven with hard-luck stories of some of the guys he grew up with.

Think of The Nail as The Wrestler without a long blond wig.

"I started thinking about my dad and based this kid, Jesus, in The Nail, on him," says Luke talking about a young character Joey befriends.

"My pop didn't have an easy childhood — he and his mom got beat by his father. But my dad — never, ever, did he hit us."

"[Nardone] is a hard-working stiff, living in a rough neighborhood trying to do the right thing but getting lousy breaks. He's done some lousy stuff to get by. So that when he gets his one big shot he has to pay for the bad things he's done."

While Fox International was in talks to distribute The Nail abroad, Artist View Entertainment decided to take the film worldwide. They'll screen it on Showtime cable services this summer before releasing it into American theaters.

"I got told by Sony and Fox that it would cost $30 million to promote this thing. They might love me. But I'm unknown. No matter who distributes this thing, I hope The Nail represents the Philly I know, the one that's realest to me."

(a_amorosi@citypaper.net)

The Nail screens at the 2009 Philadelphia Film Festival and Cinefest on Fri., March 27, at 7:15 p.m., Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St.; and Sun., March 29 at 2:15 p.m., Ritz East, 125 S. Second St. Call 267-765-9800 or visit phillycinefest.com for tickets or info.