The Canarsie real estate endeavor is also a true story. A Spanish person or a Black person couldn’t buy a house in the neighborhood. I knew a few people that were Jewish, Irish, or Greek, but other minorities simply weren’t in my neighborhood. In that time period, I didn’t really know any Italians. I’ve had numerous friends that grew up that way. It’s the first time we’ve really seen a movie that touches on the half Puerto Rican, half Italian ancestry. You’re going to be on edge, but you’re going to leave the theater with a really good feeling.ĭanny Glover as Eddie ‘Rocks’ Travor in Back in the Day. The story really comes together and it’s less predictable than most boxing movies. I felt like the backstory was even more important than the boxing. I understand how things happen and those things make me really proud about this film.īesides starring in a movie and getting another movie complete-which is an ultimate achievement-I’m the most proud of creating a story within a genre that’s been done so many times, and making it fresh. I did have to do some research on the boxing, but I didn’t need to do much outside research to capture the feel of the streets. What’s it like writing these stories that are both historic and personal? Can you elaborate a little on the research and your writing process? Then, showing the strength of the mob back in the day versus how it is today, where it’s depleted and under-seen, is another. That led to a racial protest where Al Sharpton was stabbed, which was one aspect of the era. Yusef Hawkins came to the area to look at a car and was killed through an act of racism. Things like the racial protest scene actually happened in 1989. So that childhood was your influence for Back in the Day?ġ00 percent. Growing up in those surroundings, I have a very good idea of how to write these types of projects and how to show the street and the gangsters present in that time period. I grew up in a tough neighborhood in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, which gives me a unique perspective from those things that I’ve seen on the streets. I love telling stories and I think I can capture some of those stories from my youth. And making my own movies helps me get other roles, because I’m also showcasing myself as an actor.Ī lot of actors are involved in their own projects, either as writers, directors or producers-which also includes “big actors.” Not all of them write, but they are involved in one way or another. This is actually my fifth script, so it’s the fifth movie that I’ve gotten distribution for. The collaboration showcases you in many ways. The movie will definitely feature Southern Brooklyn prominently, and future shoots around Gravesend and Bensonhurst are likely.Can you elaborate on the process of writing and acting?Īs a filmmaker and screenwriter, if you can get your work done, then you can raise the money to do your projects. After losing his mother and suffering his abusive, alcoholic father, he’s taken under the wing of a local mob boss (Madsen), who supports him as he rises as a boxing talent to eventually become a world champion. The film, written by DeMeo, takes place in the 1980s and the current day, following Anthony Rodriguez (DeMeo), a half-Italian, half-Puerto Rican youth growing up in Bensonhurst. Consider this a scoop – none of these stars are listed on the IMDB page, which does note that Michael Madsen, Joe D’Onofrio and Paul Borghese will co-star, and Borghese is serving is director. We’re told Danny Glover will be in the movie, and even Mike Tyson has a cameo. The bar will serve as the scene of an “argument in the neighborhood bar,” and crew on set this morning told us that DeMeo and Shannon Doherty will both be in the area for today’s filming. Writer, producer and actor William DeMeo, who got his big acting break in A Bronx Tale and named his production West Street after the Gravesend street he grew up on, is back in Southern Brooklyn today, filming scenes for his upcoming feature-length indie flick Back in the Day at Night Light Cafe (1657 Sheepshead Bay Road).
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