Viral story about Phoenix man’s mistaken bachelor party invite to be made into movie

Phoenix man Will Novak accidentally got an email invite for an east coast bachelor party meant for a different Will Novak.
Published: Apr. 24, 2023 at 8:05 PM MST
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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Remember the viral “Angelo’s bachelor party” saga? It was back in 2019 when Phoenix man Will Novak accidentally got an email invite for an east coast bachelor party meant for a different Will Novak.

The whole thing went viral on social media. Will Novak in Phoenix ended up going to the bachelor party, and it was a huge hit, and now, it’s likely to be a hit on the big screen. It was just announced Monday a movie is being made about it all, centered around Arizona Will’s role in all this.

Will Novak is an ordinary family man and a self-proclaimed dork. “I play a lot of Dungeons & Dragons and Super Mario Brothers. I’m kind of a nerd and they’re more fun,” Will Novak laughed. “They” meaning the guys from the infamous and viral Angelo’s Bachelor Party.

It was a group of guys from the east coast heading to Vermont for Angelo’s Bachelor Party, where their friend Will Novak, who goes by Bill, was on the invite list- except his email was one letter off from Phoenix Will Novak’s email who accidentally got the invite instead.

So, both Will Novaks went. “While we were there we skied, the other Will Novak broke his shoulder on the ski slope,” said Novak. “Everywhere we went everyone was like, ‘Hey it’s Angelo! Hey, it’s Will! Hey!”

The entire situation went viral in the best way. “I got reached out to from people all over the world, ‘Hey will you come to my bachelor party in Helsinki, Finland, and Sydney, Australia,” Novak recalled. The story was such a hit, talks began to turn this into a movie, and then the pandemic hit. “With COVID a lot of comedy movies really weren’t happening and it kind of died,” said Novak.

But now, with a writer and producer, it’s back on. The film is to be centered around Novak’s unexpected thrust from quiet Phoenix life into full-blown bachelor party mode with a bunch of strangers. “If it could premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival that would be my dream. I’m a Phoenix guy, I’m an Arizona guy,” Novak said and started laughing. “Emma Stone reach out. If she wants to play my wife…in the movie or in reality!”

Turns out Novak’s 15 seconds of fame seemingly turned into four years of it, and you could say he has big dreams with the riches that may come from the movie. “Some of my friends are like, ‘Oh, you’ll never have to work again!’ Oh, it’s not like that, it’s more like I may get to pay off my minivan. If I can pay off my sweet 2018 Pacifica, I don’t know if you can see that bad boy. 88,000 miles on it no big deal. But yes, trying to pay off a minivan that’s the goal!” Novak laughed.

Novak said he and the guys still stay in touch quite a bit. This whole thing also means a lot more to all of them. Shortly after the wedding, Angelo’s wife was diagnosed with cancer and ended up sadly passing away, so Novak said they would love to take the money made off this movie and donate it to Angelo’s young daughter and her future college fund to make sure she’s taken care of for life.