More Than a Movie

“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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“I didn’t think I had a shot at Richie.” Nearly 40 years after its release, La Bambaremains a cinematic landmark for representation and one of the highest-grossing Latino films of all time. We interviewed the star of the movie, Lou Diamond Phillips, about  landing his big break, inhabiting the role of Chicano music icon Richie Valens, and bonding with the late singer’s family on set.

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“I remember saying to myself, ‘that’s my part.’” For the season two premiere of More Than a Movie, we sat down with Andy Garcia to discuss the path to his legendary acting career, navigating Hollywood as a Latino, and manifesting his role as the successor to the most notorious crime boss in film history.

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On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film.

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In More Than A Movie, host Alex Fumero dissects a cultural phenomenon and looks at its impact on different communities. EXILE Content Studio’s latest podcast Shoot the Messenger: Espionage, Murder, & Pegasus Software (subscribe here) is a deep dive into one of the hottest phenomenons today - cybersecurity and spyware. We all use our phones daily, as almost an extension of ourselves - but what happens when our phones are no longer safe?

Jamal Khashoggi’s life, assassination, and betrayal opened up a timeline for a new digital battle: cyber-surveillance weapons.

In 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey and was never seen again. Weeks later, the Turkish intelligence released secret tapes of Khashoggi’s last moments before being brutally murdered, causing an international uproar. It has been four years since Khashoggi’s murder, and what we now know is that the first weapon used against Khashoggi was digital and it’s called Pegasus - a kind of software that can be used to hijack your phone; a military-grade, spyware software.

A new biweekly serialized podcast, every season Exile Content Studio investigates one international new story. You may have heard the headlines — this is the deep dive. The first season examines the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his inner circle that has had the world’s most sophisticated military-grade spyware confirmed on their phones. It’s called Pegasus. How did this spyware come to be, how does it work, and how vulnerable are you?

Shoot the Messenger is hosted by Rose Reid and Nando Vila and is a production of Exile Content Studio.

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We recap what we've learned, especially the whirlwind final months when we got to the bottom of what happened here.

We set out to find out what happened during and after the production of the movie American Me. It took six months, but we think we've determined who did what, and why they did it. Instead of fuzzy memories and street rumors, we finally talked to some of the people closest to the events. We put the events in context for the listener and provide our major takeaways. For perhaps the first time ever, we learn the "why" to one of the most notorious movie productions in American history.

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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A former member of the Mexican Mafia who was in the criminal syndicate at the time of the movie, explains how it all went down.

A former member of the Mexican Mafia explains the process of extorting Edward James Olmos and the fallout on the street after the release of the movie, including the reasons for the killings of people who participated. He explains how the gang works, to what they took offense, and why people died. 

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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Danny Haro was Edward James Olmos' right-hand man during his extortion and the production of the movie

Danny Haro worked with Edward James Olmos throughout his career and was instrumental as the link between the filmmaker and the Mexican Mafia. He coordinated the delivery of the script to the prison and served as the go-between for Olmos and the Mexican Mafia. 

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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Antoinette Levine was one of the best-known location managers in Hollywood when Edward James Olmos asked her to get him into a prison. 

Antoinette Levine was one of the premier Hollywood location managers in the early 1990s, with a talent for finding gritty Los Angeles backdrops for directors like Tony Scott. When she pitched Edward James Olmos on her vision, he went for it — then asked her to get him into Folsom Prison. With some convincing, she was able to get the movie to film in an active, working prison, a Hollywood first.

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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While American Me was being filmed, a documentary was being shot behind the scenes following the real-life gangsters who were working on the movie.

Filmmakers Susan Todd and Andy Young join the podcast to talk about "Lives In Hazard" the documentary they made behind the scenes about the neighborhood gang members and the inmates at Folsom who were integrated into the cast and crew. We'll hear about the real-life or death scenarios behind American Me as documented by the filmmaking duo.

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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Writer Erick Galindo grew up with American Me and remembers vividly the impact it had on the streets of L.A.

Podcaster and writer Erick Galindo doesn't hold back in the recounting of his childhood in East and Southeast LA in the 1990s. And in those days, the movie that every kid in the barrio knew backwards and forwards was American Me. Erick says he saw firsthand how the film impacted recruitment into gangs and the word on the street when it came to the murders connected to the movie.

More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.

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Milton Grimes represented a Mexican Mafia leader who sued the production of American Me for stealing his life story.

Milton Grimes represented Rodney King after his beating by the LAPD. He has served as a defense attorney in nine death penalty cases in 56 jury trials, and once got the call to represent notorious gang leader Joe “Peg Leg“ Morgan in his lawsuit against the movie.

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Actor Sal Lopez spent months close to Edward James Olmos on the set of American Me and remembers the day he was told that people from the movie were dying. 

Sal Lopez trained as a dancer, but his real breakout was when he went to his first casting call. Sal was part of the first wave of Mexican American actors to break into the mainstream, and American Me would be his magnum opus. But Sal was also in France at the peak of the movie’s success at the Cannes Film Festival when he was told that people connected to the film in LA were being killed.

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The actors who played Puppet and Little Puppet, Danny de la Paz and Daniel Villarreal, share their experiences on-set and in the aftermath.

Danny de la Paz (Puppet) and Daniel Villarreal (Little Puppet) weren't just actors cast in American Me — they were part of a family of actors and filmmakers assembled by Edward James Olmos over the years that culminated with two powerful performances in American Me. They also share how the news hit them when they heard about the murder of gang interventionist and crew member, Ana Lizarraga.

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Actor Jacob Vargas shares his experience on and off screen with gangs, movies and American Me.

Jacob Vargas caught a big break when at the age of 20 he was tapped to play Paulito in American Me. Since then he's had a career most actors would envy and continues starring in TV and film even today. How has he thrived as a Latino in Hollywood? What was it like being a kid in LA growing up around real gangs? And what impact did American Me actually have in his neighborhood? Was it the cautionary tale Olmos claims it was or did it somehow make kids think gangs were cool?

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Edward James Olmos is one of the most decorated and respected actors alive, especially in the Latino community. Who is the man responsible for American Me, and why did he make it?

Most of us know Edward James Olmos as a legendary actor, but he's also an activist who for decades has worked on behalf of Latino causes from Hollywood to Washington D.C. But when both of those sides of him collided to make a movie that would stop gang violence what resulted may have been the exact opposite. Why did Olmos make American Me and what went wrong in the process?

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American Me was supposed to help end gang violence — instead, it may have led to the murders of at least three people.

Host Alex Fumero unpacks the story of American Me, a film directed by legendary Latino actor Edward James Olmos, and his choice to base the film on a real-life gang called the Mexican Mafia or La Eme. Did Olmos' decision to fictionalize the lives of these men lead to the murders of several crew members?

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