www.montereycountynow.com JULY 2-8, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 31 FILM Elijah Carnazzo’s agent called to say he’d booked a role in a Netflix film. “From there, it was pretty crazy,” the Pacific Grove native recalls. Voicemails for Isabelle, the 2026 romantic comedy in which Carnazzo plays Tour Guide Walter, has hit No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 movies—a fact that still feels surreal to the young actor who grew up doing summer shows at PacRep and lugging a trombone bigger than himself through Pacific Grove High School. The film is a love letter to the romcoms of the ’90s and early 2000s. It follows two sisters—one a chef in San Francisco, the other gravely ill— through a story that balances grief with warmth. “Definitely a rom-com,” Carnazzo says. “But what I see in it is a story about sisterhood and a story about family.” His scene is small, but hard to forget. As a tour guide leading a group through San Francisco’s streets by motorcade, complete with a police escort, he becomes the unwitting focal point of a comedic catastrophe when his very loud, very R-rated outburst turns every head on the bus straight to him. “It’s a funny little scene,” he says. “We got to drive around the streets of San Francisco. It was a big addition to the portfolio—the biggest thing I’ve done so far.” The path to Netflix was paved early by a Peninsula arts education Carnazzo speaks about with real gratitude. He grew up performing in PacRep summer productions of Oliver! and The Wizard of Oz with his family, played trombone in the county’s All-Star Jazz Band at the Monterey Jazz Festival and stacked up theater credits at Pacific Grove High. “My music and arts education is something I look back on as really formative,” he says. “The trombone was bigger than me when I started.” Carnazzo’s résumé has grown steadily since. He holds a co-star credit on a TV show—Penelope, also on Netflix—and his film Trash Baby premiered at the South by Southwest film festival before winning the top prize at the Carmel International Film Festival. He’s currently on stage at New Canon Theatre as Paris in Romeo and Juliet. This fall he heads to Loyola Marymount University to pursue a theater arts degree. “It’s really gratifying to represent the local community in a project that is reaching audiences around the world,” he says. Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix. Watch it at netflix.com. DANIEL DREIFUSS Getting Noticed Pacific Grove’s Elijah Carnazzo rides a tour bus to the top spot on Netflix. By Agata Popęda Actor Elijah Carnazzo is happy that now when someone asks him, “Are you in something I might know?” that he can mention a film in Top 10 on Netflix. MO MANDEL RYAN RODRIGUEZ DAUOOD NAIMYAR JOIN US FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT OF COMEDY LIVE FROM THE BARREL ROOM. FRIDAY JULY 24 www.folktalewinery.com MORE GREAT TICKETED EXPERIENCES COMING SOON Bubbles, Brunch & Beats Dine in The Vines An elevated brunch experience accompanied by smooth grooves. Fine dining paired with amazing wines among a beautiful setting in the vines. DAUOOD NAIMYAR MO MANDEL RODRIGUEZ
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