David Rodriguez
Photo: Angela María Ortíz S.
His feature film with Paul Sorvino and Chazz Palmintieri is the first feature film fronting the HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles this week…and that’s only the beginning
David Rodriguez is a charming and intelligent creator with some big plans, and he’s already started to make them come true. Back in 2006, he wrote and directed Push, a serious story about “drugs, sex, and the allure of fast money that blur the boundaries between two very different sides of society.” Three years later, American Bully (also known as Anytown) told the story of a middle-American teenage boy who is affected by 9/11, terrorism, and the war in Iraq, when he becomes involved in an isolated high school altercation that escalates into a hate crime that shocks the entire nation. And now he’s bringing us Last I Heard, starring Paul Sorvino and Chazz Palmintieri, leading a cast of talented veterans in a story of an old-style mob boss finally being released from prison and finding the world a very different place.
The organizers of the HollyShorts film festival were so impressed with Last I Heard that they broke precedent and decided to show it at the TCL Chinese Theater just before their opening short subjects. Rodriguez has worked with them before–they included his short The Blue Wall in their program a few years ago, and when they saw his feature they wanted it to be part of it. “I’m absolutely flattered,” Rodriguez said before his SeFija! Interview began. “I can’t wait to be part of it.”
SeFija! Publisher Angela Ortíz had a chance to sit down with Rodriguez and talk about the movie, his motives, and his plans for the future. Here are some highlights from their talk…
Beyond the Thursday night premiere, the future is bright and full of possibilities for David Rodriguez. He’s in the middle of an assertive and successful PR campaign for Last I Heard, and he and his partners have recently sold a concept to AMC as well. “It’s called The Street Attorney,” he told Angela. “A dramatic docu-series that revolves around a criminal defense attorney who specializes in organized crime cases.” The attorney at the center of the show is a remarkable man–a crusader who was shot in the back for his involvement years ago, and who remains partially paralyzed to this day. “He’s the kind of guy who’s overcome every kind of odds you can – a real trooper. I’m incredibly excited about that show.” And he’s juggling other projects as well. “I read a script recently that I just fell in love with,” he told Angela. “Another New York story, this one about forgiveness and redemption. It’s kind of youthful, and it has some sports in it, which is really cool. I hope that gets made.”
