"Code 3," a comedy movie about a burnt-out paramedic, is hitting the big screen on Friday, Sept. 12, with a star-studded cast that includes Rainn Wilson, Amee Carrero and Lil Rel Howery.
The movie follows Randy, played by Rainn Wilson, who's on his last 24-hour shift as a paramedic with his partner, Mike, played by Lil Rel Howery, to train his new replacement, Jessica, played by Aimee Carrero.
Another element of the movie is that the man behind it is a proud Gamecock alumnus.
Patrick Pianezza, who conceived the idea for "Code 3", graduated from USC in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in public health and in 2008 with a master's degree in health administration.
At first, "Code 3" was just an idea that emerged from a creative writing class Patrick Pianezza took at USC. He worked for the university as a campus medic while a student and was also a paramedic in Lexington County.
Patrick Pianezza said he had more than enough real-life experiences to illustrate the crazy world of paramedics.
“The professor for that class ... said to write what you know if you want to tell a compelling story,” Patrick Pianezza said. “And I just came home from this really bad shift, and I was like, ‘You want a story, I'll tell you a story.’ … That was the impetus for the entire film.”
That was nearly 20 years ago, but the movie’s seed was planted. The first draft of the script was created around 2010, and the movie was shot in 2023, though the script changed significantly since then, Patrick Pianezza said.
“Comedy was a way to tell the tragedy of the stories that we were telling in a meaningful way," Patrick Pianezza said. “The original script was very dark and very episodic … There was no real narrative through point until much later iterations in the script.”
Patrick Pianezza works alongside his brother, Paul ‘Pizza’ Pianezza, who produced the film, and good friend Christopher Leone, who co-wrote and directed it.
Patrick Pianezza said it was a dream to work alongside them for such an important project and that the challenges of making a movie felt much less burdensome.
“To do something like this that few people get the opportunity to do with people that not only do you respect, but you actually enjoy hanging out with, makes the work of the project go by much more easier,” Patrick Pianezza said.
Obtaining the movie's cast was one challenge they didn't feel worried about. Pizza Pianezza said it was thanks to Patrick Pianezza and Leone for getting such a talented crew.
“The way you get actors like that is if you have an amazing script,” Pizza Pianezza said. “To get bigger names like that, they need to trust the director, and they did, because Chris is a great director, but the script has to be fantastic, full stop.”
Leone said the script was challenging to write but that Patrick Pianezza had a great and unique perspective that set the project apart.
“When you see something about paramedics, it's usually like a very serious drama,” Leone said. “The fact that Patrick thought that the way to tell the truth was comedy was really amazing to me.”
The trio grew from each other’s strengths and ended up better than they started, Patrick Pianezza said.
“Chris is an … incredible writer and director ... He always had me write the first draft of things, and either intentionally or not, it made me a much better writer,” Patrick Pianezza said. “For me, I feel like I got a college education in like a month about how films are made.”
Leone was unfamiliar with the behind-the-scenes of the paramedics that Patrick Pianezza based the movie on. It shocked him to discover that some scenes in the movie weren’t just fantasy but real situations paramedics go through, Leone said.
“Patrick had lived it for so long, for more than a decade … (and) I didn’t know anything about what EMS did before this,” Leone said.
Even though many years have passed since Patrick Pianezza was a student at USC, he said he feels great pride in being a Gamecock.
“Oh, I tell everyone,” Patrick Pianezza said.
“It’s a problem,” Pizza Pianezza said about Patrick’s love for the university. “We’re in LA, and we’re right next to the University of Southern California, USC, right? If anybody looks at him, he’s like, ‘The real USC.'"
Patrick Pianezza said what has pushed him the hardest to create the film is paying tribute to those working in the medical field, just as he did.
“I said from the (beginning) that this is my love letter to EMS,” Patrick said. “It’s a job that I have loved, and for me, what I hope is that the people who are doing the job feel seen and recognized and appreciated for the work that they do.”
"Code 3" comes out in theaters on Friday, Sept. 12.