Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly Hollywood blog. Last week, I shared marching orders (aka assignments) that I received from Richard Lawson based on a table read in his class for the first ten pages of a screenplay I recently resurrected and dusted off. I also mentioned that I made wonderful progress with his assignments. Today, I want to share a cool update on one of them.
One of his assignments was to get clear on the casting for these characters. (If you can see people playing these characters, then you can understand how to write them better.) This assignment came about because Richard asked me who I saw playing these Latin characters, and I couldn’t name any actors. I said that while it’s easy for me to envision white actors in specific roles when I write, I struggle to do the same with Latin actors. I said, “I need to find my people because they are out there.” So, I researched different Latin actors I could see playing the protagonist and antagonist. I then created a folder on my Google Drive to house some of their photos and links to interviews and scenes that capture the essence of these characters. I have since continued this process for three more Latin characters in the script.
Equipped with this reality, I read through Act One again and was able to see and hear these characters better. This newfound clarity brought even more tangibility to them, and I made some tweaks to the dialogue. As I mentioned above, I can visualize white actors in specific roles, so being able to do the research and visualize Latin people was thrilling, exciting, and empowering. They are out there, indeed, and they incredibly talented, vibrant, and important to the fabric of art and creation. I’m reminded of a series I wrote many years ago and how excited I was to visualize Latin actors for those roles. This assignment helped me flex my brain again to rediscover the pool of Latin talent out there.
The other powerful lesson in doing this assignment was that “I know what I know.” These characters have been with me for such a long time that when I found the actor that was perfect for the role, I didn’t need to look any further. I didn’t need to second-guess or ponder further. I didn’t need to go down the rabbit hole of doubt and confusion. Once I found the actor, I knew they were perfect for the character. Done. Finished. Move on. My impulses, instincts, and intellect are correct. I can feel it. Each photo, interview, and scene that I pulled up confirmed my decisions.
Here are the Latin actors I see playing characters in my feature film: Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ryan Guzman, Iñaki Godoy, JD Pardo, and Justina Machado. What an incredible, powerful list of Latin talent. I will continue reading through the rest of the script and make changes to dialogue as I go.
And going through this process, I couldn’t help but think about all the Latin talent that has inspired me (and continue to inspire me.) I guess the following is my homage and shout-out to them, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. Shout-out to incredible, visceral actors like Justina Machado, Edward James Olmos, Jimmy Smits, Zoe Saldaña, Victor Rasuk, Lauren Velez, Rosie Perez, and Marlene Forte. Incredible showrunners, executive producers, and writers like Gloria Calderón Kellett, Tanya Saracho, Steven Canals, Linda Yvette Chávez, Marvin Lemus, and David Hinojosa. Exciting directors like Aristotle Bam and Kristian Mercado Figueroa. Dynamic, exciting authors like Xochitl Gonzalez. Unapologetic and hilarious drag queen icon Bianca Del Rio. Shout-out to the Latin artists I listened to who dominated the Freestyle music scene like Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Lisette Melendez, Corina, Noel, TKA, and 2 in a Room.
See you next week!
Chasing The George 