More Than a Movie

“These boys were mine and now I give them to you.” For the season finale of More Than a Movie, we sat down with friend of the pod Aitch Alberto to dive deep on her feature filmmaking debut. We discussed everything from adapting a beloved YA novel and convincing the author to give her the rights, to taking over directing duties from Miguel Arteta, and what it’s like to have financiers derail the post-production process. If you’re curious about the A-to-Z of getting a movie made in Hollywood today, listen to Aitch detail the process in our exciting sendoff for the season.

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“We won Sundance! What the fuck?” If you’re an outsider, the film industry can be seemingly impossible to penetrate. It’s even more difficult to tell your story - and have it seen - when it’s a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale about a queer Latina and her alcoholic father set in a small town in New Mexico.  That story became the indie filmmaking miracle In the Summers, a deeply personal tone poem that won the top two prizes at Sundance 2024, America’s most prestigious film festival. To explore the movie's journey from pre-production to Sundance, we interviewed the star of the film, music legend Residente in his first major acting role, and director Alessandra Lacorazza, whose life story inspired this new queer/Latino classic.

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“He did it for $7,000.” Before Machete, before Spy Kids, before From Dusk till Dawn, there was El Mariachi. Eager to make a name for himself in the world of film, but with no industry connections whatsoever, Robert Rodriguez went and directed a movie on his own - guerilla style - in Mexico, with a production budget of only $7,000. Producer Elizabeth Avellan is back to tell us how Robert came up with the idea and the crazy story of how he pulled it off. Spoiler: it involves signing himself up to be a medical lab rat so he could raise some of the funds. We also interviewed Mr. Mariachi, Carlos Gallardo, a true pro who not only starred in the film, but also had his hands involved in the producing, special effects, and camera departments while on set.

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“Let’s just shoot the play.” If you’ve listened to the first season of More Than a Movie, you may remember the one property that kept getting mentioned over and over - Zoot Suit - the play, and later film, that linked a generation of Latino actors and became a foundational text for the Chicano arts movement. Even many of our guests this season - from Andy Garcia to Lou Diamond Phillips and Enrique Castillo - have a connection to Zoot Suit, so we were incredibly honored when the legendary creator himself, Luis Valdez, came on board for an interview.  We discussed his early political work on the ground with Cesar Chavez, founding the iconic Teatro Campesino, and everything Zoot Suit - the conception of the play, directing the film adaptation his way, and essentially launching Edward James Olmos’ movie career.

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“I was filming Plan B in the fall and editing Language Lessons on the weekend.” Everybody in Hollywood will tell you, it’s incredibly difficult to get a film made. Making a movie during a global pandemic? Even more difficult. Directing two movies during lockdown, in your first-ever attempt at feature filmmaking? Seemingly impossible. But not for Natalie Morales. We talked to the multi-hyphenate about her transition from acting in some of our favorite sitcoms to finally stepping behind the camera and how on earth she was able to get her two incredible debut films off the ground in the heart of Covid

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“What if it’s Miles Morales?” We’ve seen Spider-Man on screen before. In fact, we’ve seen him in three different live-action iterations over the last 22 years. And yet somehow, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse feels startlingly fresh, a major shock to the system.  We had never experienced anything like it in the world of superhero films, live-action or otherwise. Not only is the animation innovative, vibrant, and unique, but for the first time ever, we followed Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino Spider-Man that injected new life into a genre that was starting to feel rote. To understand how this miracle of a film came to be, we interviewed Academy Award winner Phil Lord, who co-wrote the Spider-Verse movies and introduced us to cinema’s newest, and best, Spider-Man.

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“The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world of family films. Enter the Spy Kids: a wildly popular franchise that now spans five films and has grossed over $550 million at the box office.  We sat down with Robert’s wife and producing partner, Elizabeth Avellan, to discuss how they launched the first ever Latino superhero movie and Alexa PenaVega, the titular Spy Kid and star of this beloved series, who shared stories from the set.

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“You need to help me cast the Vatos Locos.” Season one of More Than a Movie offered a deep dive on American Me - Edward James Olmos’ notorious directorial debut about the formation of a real-life Mexican prison gang. In this episode, we take a look at the film that came just one year later - allegedly delayed in part because of the release of and reception to American Me - that has a startlingly similar premise, but a lot more heart. We talked to Jesse Borrego, the actor who played Cruz, about being tasked with finding the Vatos Locos and training them in the ways of chicanismo; and Enrique Castillo, who had to shape the character of big, bad Montana while filming in a fully-operating maximum security prison with real inmates.

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“I walked out of the play.” Fresh off winning a Student Academy Award, Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso was looking for her next film project. After some initial hesitation, she decided to adapt the much-beloved (but somewhat problematic) stage play Real Women Have Curves into what would become a major Sundance sensation.  We sat down with Patricia to talk about the changes from stage to screen, discovering a young America Ferrera, bringing authenticity to the film, and why the doors of Hollywood stayed closed to her after this smash success.

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"There’s a whole audience you’re missing.” On this episode of More Than a Movie, we met with the producer of La Bamba, Academy Award winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford, and explored how a white kid from Santa Barbara ended up becoming the driving force behind a film about a Mexican-American rock star. We talked everything from obtaining life rights to casting Lou Diamond Phillips, and what it truly means to be an ally in Hollywood.

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