{"id":1186988,"date":"2026-03-24T06:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/?p=1186988"},"modified":"2026-03-24T06:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:37:28","slug":"george-zouvelos-once-a-week-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/george-zouvelos-once-a-week-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"George Zouvelos Channels Old-School New York Grit in Once a Week for Life \u2014 and Has Advice for Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an era dominated by franchise logic and algorithm-friendly storytelling, filmmaker Once a Week for Life <\/em>writer, director and star George Zouvelos isn\u2019t interested in franchise logic or algorithm-friendly storytelling \u2014 his process is stubornly rooted in lived experience, moral ambiguity, and the contradictions of real people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a Week for Life<\/em>, is a New York crime drama that nods to its influences while carving out a voice of its own. The cast includes The Sopranos<\/em> alums Robert Funaro, Al Sapienza, and John Fiore, as well as Armen Garo (The Departed<\/em>, The Wolf of Wall Street<\/em>) and John Kapelos (The Shape of Water<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos stars as volatile NYPD lieutenant and Navy SEAL veteran Adam Glanis, who battles PTSD and addiction while leading a fugitive task force. When a botched sting resulting in the death of his partner ignites a dangerous chain reaction involving a mob crime family and City Hall power players who want him dead, Adam faces an impossible choice: die, or survive by becoming something worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos calls the character \u201ca moral masochist\u201d \u2014 \u201ca guy who has to either atone through ruin or live by his own code.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a Week for Life <\/em><\/strong>Is a Story Told Through Personal Damage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
(L-R) Manoli Ioannidis, George Zouvelos and George Kolombos attend the <\/em>Once A Week For Life premiere at Cinema Village on March 19, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for Jane Owen Public Relations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos \u2014 an-award-winning actor, writer, and director, and filmmaker, employs a deliberate visual strategy. Desaturated tones dominate Adam\u2019s drug-addled point of view, while scenes outside his consciousness appear sharper, more vivid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a mistake\u2014it\u2019s a creative decision,\u201d says Zouvelos. \u201cAdam is telling the story backwards, and he\u2019s high, he\u2019s drunk. When you\u2019re in his head, things aren\u2019t vivid. Outside of him, the world sharpens.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film’s title reflects the rhythmic nature of the dangers, betrayals, and ethical choices Adam faces in his line of duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That subjectivity extends to the narrative. Zouvelos avoids telling audiences what to think, instead offering fragments of perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t make declaratory statements,\u201d he explains. \u201cI want the audience to decide who they trust. I\u2019m not spoon-feeding anything. I\u2019m breadcrumbing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos takes a restrained approach in which violence and sex are implied rather than shown, and the emphasis is on aftermath: addiction, guilt, destroyed marriages and the erosion of a life out of balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need for gratuitous violence or arbitrary sex,\u201d he says. \u201cThe story is about what\u2019s happening in their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adam, perpetually intoxicated and haunted, becomes less an action hero than a cautionary figure. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t even get the satisfaction at the end,\u201d Zouvelos notes. \u201cThat\u2019s life sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Zouvelos on Coffee Cans and Creative Control<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
George Zouvelos and family attend the <\/em>Once A Week For Life premiere at Cinema Village on March 19, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for Jane Owen Public Relations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The origins of Once a Week for Life <\/em>are as authentic as its sensibility. Zouvelos, who grew up in Astoria, Queens, and has worked as an EMS and with the Brooklyn District Attorney\u2019s office, draws heavily from real-life encounters across New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spent years jotting thoughts and experiences onto scraps of paper, storing them in coffee cans \u2013 distilling an archive of memory and experience he still mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pain in there,\u201d he admits. \u201cThat\u2019s where the work comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Authenticity is the film\u2019s backbone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI write about things I know\u2014real people, real suffering, real humor,\u201d Zouvelos says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That approach extends to the cast. Some performers draw directly from their own backgrounds, including a retired NYPD detective who appeared in the film and insisted on keeping her unfiltered delivery intact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Actors Are Diamonds\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Writer-director-star George Zouvelos, left, and actor John Kapelos attend the <\/em>Once A Week For Life premiere at Cinema Village on March 19, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for Jane Owen Public Relations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos\u2019 directing philosophy is simple: create space for character, not performance. \u201cActors are diamonds,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t shine\u2014they reflect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He often lets scenes roll before and after \u201caction\u201d and \u201ccut,\u201d capturing something less rehearsed and more organic. \u201cI don\u2019t want acting,\u201d he adds. \u201cI want behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach resonated with his cast, including Kapelos, who was struck by the film\u2019s dark comedic tone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was much funnier \u2014 much more humorous and much hipper than I was expecting,\u201d Kapelos says. \u201cThere was a texture to the movie\u2026 a Sidney Lumet-type quality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Ground<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
(L-R) George Zouvelos, Nicholas Levis, Brian Chan and Bill Galatis attend the <\/em>Once A Week For Life premiere at Cinema Village on March 19, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for Jane Owen Public Relations<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though steeped in crime, the film carries an undercurrent of social commentary, one Zouvelos is careful not to turn into preaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe film says something about where we are without saying it outright,\u201d he explains. \u201cWe focus too much on differences. Left, right \u2014 it doesn\u2019t matter. We\u2019re all people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos says the film was influenced by the political climate in New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city is constantly shifting with the current polarizing from the left and right. Extremes are dangerous,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am somebody who likes to play both sides, because I don’t agree with either. We are people. There’s blood running out through our veins – we should celebrate our commonalities and stop focusing on our differences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, \u201cAnd that’s what New Yorkers do. Whether you’re left or right, whether you like Trump or hate Trump, love or hate the mayor\u2026It’s irrelevant. What’s relevant is, let’s focus on our commonalities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zouvelos is more skeptical of performers as political arbiters, arguing for storytelling that reflects human complexity rather than prescribing ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cActors are not supposed to be giving political or social commentary. Actors are supposed to be entertaining people, and that’s what we forget,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor some people who reach a certain status in Hollywood, it feels that it’s their moral obligation to tell the rest of us how to feel. Yeah, some of it is virtue signaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe audience should be entitled to feel any which way they want without being vilified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advice for a Fellow New Yorker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
George Zouvelos, with Dikran Tulaine, left, plays a “moral masochist” in <\/em>Once a Week for Life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet<\/a>. Zouvelos sees the dustup over the New York City-born actor\u2019s recent comments about opera and ballet in the context of his own belief that we should all embrace imperfection, own our mistakes, and keep moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I were his publicist?\u201d Zouvelos says. \u201cI\u2019d put him in tights and a tutu, have him take ballet lessons, make him dance down Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Have him appear with the New York City Ballet, fall on his butt and show how difficult that art form is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTimoth\u00e9e should be humble. Do a satire about himself and turn it into something real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He continued, \u201cIf I had flubbed like that, right away you\u2019d see my body look like a sausage in tights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all about honesty, Zouvelos says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou fall, you get up,\u201d he adds. \u201cYou keep going. Because the cemetery is filled with unfinished business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once A Week For Life<\/a>, produced by Fiat Lux Film Studios NYC and Nicholas Levis, is now in select theaters and available on VOD starting April 14.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main image: George Zouvelos at the Once a Week for Life premiere at Cinema Village on March 19, 2026 in New York City. Photo by Slaven Vlasic\/Getty Images for Jane Owen Public Relations<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an era dominated by franchise logic and algorithm-friendly storytelling, filmmaker Once a Week for Life writer, director and star","protected":false},"author":1953,"featured_media":1186990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_comments":false,"cm_data":"","cpt_newsletter_id":0,"tpd_coauthor":[],"tpd_feed_delay":{"delay_type":"default"},"is_tpd_lists_single_post":false,"tpd_featured_posts_arr":"","tpd_franchise_content":"","hide_featured_img_single_post":false,"msn_featured_video":[],"_msn_custom_title":"","tpd_featured_video":[],"tpd_sponsored_post_logo":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_link":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_width":0,"tpd_sponsored_enable_nofollow":true,"tpd_disable_incontent_ads":false,"tpd_disable_right_rail_ads":false,"tpd_disable_after_content_ads":false,"tpd_disable_header_ads":false,"tpd_disable_sticky_footer_ads":false,"tpd_disable_video_ads":false,"tpd_disable_outbrain":false,"tpd_affiliate_disclaimer":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[41543],"tags":[],"coauthor":[],"feeds":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1186988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interview"},"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/George-Zouvelos-Once-a-Week-for-Life-428x241.jpg","fimg_url_thumb":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/George-Zouvelos-Once-a-Week-for-Life-428x241.jpg","fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/George-Zouvelos-Once-a-Week-for-Life-788x444.jpg","author_name":"Emily Smith","author_avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c91ae55d0e01004294e326a1e9d9efb67ad98f52712ba68064cb4e3409ef80?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_link":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/author\/emily-smith\/","coauthors":[],"primary_category":{"term_id":41543,"name":"Interview","slug":"interview","taxonomy":"category","url":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/category\/interview\/"},"featured_img_medium":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/George-Zouvelos-Once-a-Week-for-Life-788x444.jpg","post_categories":["Interview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1953"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1186988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1186988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1186990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1186988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1186988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1186988"},{"taxonomy":"coauthor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthor?post=1186988"},{"taxonomy":"feeds","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feeds?post=1186988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}