This viral Arizona moment might become a movie. Here's what we know

When Will Novak of Phoenix mistakenly received an invite to a stranger’s bachelor party and crossed the country to attend despite having never met the groom-to-be, it sounded like something that was straight out of a movie.

And now the viral story of Angelo’s bachelor party from 2019 might actually become one.

“We’ve got producers, we’ve got a writer — you know, it’s sort of us putting the for-sale sign out there, saying, ‘Hey, we’re ready to talk,’” Novak told ABC15.

The error happened when Angelo Onello’s brother, Devin Onello, made a typo when sending out the email about their Vermont ski trip bachelor party. Instead of inviting Will Novak of New York — who goes by Bill — they’d accidentally looped in Will Novak of Phoenix.

Novak replied, “Count me in!” And the rest is history.

“These guys obviously have a sense of adventure, and what are strangers other than best friends that you haven’t met yet?” Novak previously told The Arizona Republic.

Though it's been a few years since the story went viral, Devin Onello said the bachelor party attendees, who have been friends for decades, "still laugh about it these days."

"Everything blew up so quick. I mean, it just went from one night being no one, to the next day night being part of a global sensation, you know?" Onello told The Republic.

Arizona is a reality TV casting hotspot: Casting directors, former contestants explain why

What we know about the movie about Angelo’s bachelor party

The film project, whose working title is “Reply All” — named after how Novak sent a reply-all email to the group invite to Angelo’s bachelor party — is in its early stages and now has a screenwriter, Peter Hoare ("The Main Event," "Killing Hasselhoff"), according to Deadline.

Though there was interest in turning Novak's story into a movie soon after it happened, the pandemic impacted those discussions.

Novak told The Republic he'd started getting calls from film producers "literally the weekend after." Ultimately, he decided to team up with Joe Russo, whom he met while working on the set of the 2007 Peter Berg film "The Kingdom" in the Valley.

When a TikTok that resurfaced Seth Meyers' 2019 segment about Novak garnered 2.7 million views earlier this month, Novak said, "It was kind of time to strike while the iron was hot and let people know, 'Hey, we've got all our kind of legal ducks in a row and we're ready to get going.'

Film producers Russo and Jordan Finnegan recently signed a deal for Novak’s life story rights, Russo told The Republic, and the movie is being made through Finnegan’s production company, Visceral Media.

Further “newsworthy developments on the project are pending,” Finnegan told The Republic, as film and TV writers prepare to potentially strike next week for the first time in 15 years if a contract agreement isn’t reached.

"We have a brilliant screenwriter and hilarious take on the creative side and a substantial amount of incoming interest from world-class content entities on the business side," he added.

“We hope the (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers) will make a fair deal with the (Writers Guild of America) so we can continue to push this great project forward,” Russo said.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego chimed in on the possible movie about Angelo's bachelor party on her personal Twitter account.

"Movies about Phoenix residents should film in Phoenix!" she posted on April 26.

'It was nothing but an epic weekend'

"I just want to see it happen. I want it to be a good time, a fun time at the movies," Novak said.

Devin Onello agreed that any movie that might result from this should be a feel-good comedy.

Ideally, he'd like to see the wide range of dynamics and personalities in the group depicted, and he looks forward to seeing which actors might play them. Onello would enjoy seeing someone like Zach Galifianakis — "you know, 'Hangover Part II' that type of deal" — play him and hopes to have the opportunity to provide input with his memories and experiences.

"I think the whole story was the last, like, fun, feel good story before COVID hit. Like, hopefully this is the first feel-good movie after COVID has kind of ended, you know?" he said. "I'm just hoping that the world gets, you know, some laughs out of our adventure. ... It was nothing but an epic weekend."

The story of Angelo’s bachelor party

On Jan. 7, 2019, Novak received an email with the details of Onello’s bachelor party, which would take place in less than two weeks at Okemo Mountain Resort in southern Vermont.

“Bring your 80’s attire, ridiculous awesome get ups, etc. For skiing, ask yourself ‘What would Angelo wear?’ …. Wear that!” Devin Onello’s email reads, in part, according to Novak’s GoFundMe page.

“All, I do not know who Angelo is. I am a Will Novak who lives in Arizona. Vermont seems like a very far way for me to travel for the bachelor party of a guy I’ve never met,” Novak responded. “That being said … count me in! From the contents of this email, Angelo sounds tremendous and I want to help send him off in style. I hope his bride (or groom) to be is awesome.”

Add to your watch list: From 'Psycho' to 'Bill and Ted', these 34 movies were made in Arizona

Onello responded, “We all agree, we are all very excited to meet you.”

“We insist on you coming, this would surely make (Angelo’s) day,” he added. “If you think we are kidding we are not. You better be coming, as we all are all dying to meet you.”

He shared the pricing details and asked for a Facebook link so “we can at least check you out, we are crazy but not stupid.”

Longterm friendships have resulted from Angelo's bachelor party

Novak started a GoFundMe to help pay for some of the costs. After exceeding his $750 goal several times over, he was able to fund the trip and said he gifted the extra $3,121 to Onello and his wife-to-be, Devon Cianciaruso, known to her friends and family as Didi.

Various brands got in on the action as the story garnered an international audience. From free beer to a complimentary Maserati SUV rental car upgrade, Novak received support from near and far.

Angelo Onello didn’t find out about the surprise guest until shortly before Novak’s arrival. The party greeted their new friend with fireworks and a heavy metal concert. A ski day, bar crawl and a weather delay later, the group had become fast friends. And Will Novak still keeps in touch with some of them, especially Bill Novak.

Devon Cianciaruso Onello died of ovarian cancer at age 33 in March 2022, according to an obituary, and is survived by Angelo and their daughter Vivian. Devin Onello believes that a tribute to her in the movie could be a good idea.

"Just thinking about it, it'd be kind of cool to have some type of pictures at the end of the film," he said. "Even, like, some type of picture of my brother's late wife, you know? ... Just something that made it feel like: Wow, this really did happen."

Novak hopes "it's a positive thing for everyone involved because they've been a positive impact on my life."

"When the GoFundMe went over (the fundraising goal), I gave the extra money to Angelo. When Angelo's wife passed, we did a fundraiser for his daughter's college fund," he said.

"Angelo's family is wonderful. They've been very open to me. They've changed my life in many ways. Like, if this happens, I want to make sure that they're a part of it, (that) they're, you know, taken care of — Vivian, which is Angelo's daughter, is, you know, helped out in some way, just as I hope my kids get some money for their college fund."

Reach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Viral bachelor party trip could become a movie. What we know