Designing a Soundtrack

Helping me design a banging soundtrack is Mad Large Music.
Coming out of the Bronx, partners Hassan Shareef and ATM
are an underground production team who have produced
tracks for Benzino, Bleek, A. Cage, The Rucker Park Soundtrack
and State Property. Currently they're in the studio working with
Carl Thompson, Cassidy, Game, Syleena Johnson, Riz, DK and new
recording artist Miss Kola. They're expanding their studios where
they'll be producing major artists and developing new talent.

Soundtrack Supervisor:
Hassan Shareef

"Ethnic Terrorism" Research

There's a glut of research on race and gang tensions, now coined "ethnic terrorism." I've decided to add just a few articles, for those not familar with what's going on here in L.A. I also venture to say, although this is getting a lot of press in California, "ethnic terrorism" will soon become a national problem .

Development: Cast, Storyboards, Locations

Latest updates in the development of the short movie.

CAST WISH LIST: Because Just 2 Get By is an intense character-driven drama the leads are essential in making this movie work. I've worked with Remo and Jon on a previous urban short, playing opposite each other. During rehearsals I knew immediately they were both amazing professional actors with stunning screen chemistry, great acting instincts and skills, and gargantuan ranges. These kids have what it takes to bring the roles to life, so they are on the top of my cast wish list. I'm convinced that when the short is completed, and is screening in film festivals, people will agree that these two actors are destined for stardom. Here are their headshots.

Remo Green
Role: Dante Rivers
Bio: Coming Soon.
Visit http://www.blanket-party.com/just2getby/remo.html for Remo's bio and title track "Just 2 Get By."



Jon Fritschi:
Role: Rey Sandoval
Bio: From a young age, Jonathan Fritschi has always been drawn to the performing arts, acting, singing, and dancing. In grade school he participated in the first of many talent shows, impersonating Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and won first prize. He auditioned for Agent & Scouter Stephanie Duke, and was trained for the AMTC competition. Jon won best dancer and singer, and was signed with Shirley Grant Management and Funny Face Today.

Maintaining a busy schedule as a professional actor, Jon has done many commercials, educational shorts, and VH1's Save The Music. He is currently attending high school where he is the first chair violist in his school orchestra. He is also the school news anchor, and intends on majoring in Mass Communications in college. His extracurricular activities include intramural football, singing, dancing, and producing videos.






STORYBOARDS: I've had the great fortune of connecting with a talented visual artist who is collaborating with me on storyboarding the short movie, an 11 page script adapted from the feature length script. William Brown IV, a native Angeleno, brings to the project his experience as a multi-media artist, tattooist, and ex-gang member. When he read the script he confided that he was touched by the choices the lead characters must make to survive. Stay tuned for pics of William working and the final storyboards.

Pic & Bio Coming Soon.


LOCATIONS: The short movie will be photographed entirely on location in, and around the city of Los Angeles, from the barrios of Echo Park and East L.A. to the streets of Downtown and Skidrow. To ensure the story's grittiness, we've selected locations that reflect the tone and ambience of this edgy coming-of-age urban drama.

Los Angeles skyline:
Downtown Los Angeles:

Downtown Los Angeles:


Downtown Alley:
Downtown Alley:



Downtown Chinatown:
Downtown Chinatown:

Downtown Fashion District:

Downtown Fashion District:


Fashion District Santee Alley:
Echo Park Lake:

Echo Park Lake:
Echo Park Lake:


Los Angeles River:
Los Angeles River:



Los Angeles River:
Los Angeles River:


Los Angeles River:

Downtown Los Angeles Industrial District:
Under First Avenue Bridge
Downtown Los Angeles Industrial District:
Under First Avenue Bridge
Downtown Los Angeles Industrial District:
Under First Avenue Bridge


Downtown Los Angeles Industrial District:
Under First Avenue BridgeDowntown Los Angeles Industrial District:
Under First Avenue Bridge

Downtown Los Angeles Skidrow:

Downtown Los Angeles Skidrow:
Downtown Los Angeles Skidrow:

The Struggle Begins

As many of my ideas for films and screenplays come from real life, Just 2 Get By is a compilation of real life stories I've encountered, stories of real people's lives that touched me, and that inspired me to put the puzzle pieces together.

Here are parts of the puzzle:

I heard the tragic story of a teenage kid, homeless, struggling, who loved his father dearly, enough to lie for him, but who was unsure he'd make it to his 16th birthday because of the world he was born in.

I heard the frightening tale of a teenage kid, a Central American immigrant's kid committed to his family and to succeeding in America, but who was being tortured by street gangs, and given no way out.

The third part of this real life story equation is where I come in, moving to L.A. from Oakland, by way of the Bronx. Living in L.A. I begain to encounter the race and gang tensions present in the city, the ones everyone talks about, the ones of movies like CRASH.



I saw newspaper articles & tv reports about brown and black tensions, about people being killed because of their skin color, because their language, because of invisible lines in neighborhoods that keep blacks on one side and latinos on the other. As tragic as all this is, I've also encountered a true connection between brown and black people here in L.A. Historically, when L.A. became a city in the 1800s it was considered a brown-black town, so the roots of these two peoples have always been connected. Growing up in the Bronx, brown AND black was my community. Here in Cali, it is, as well -- except that I encounter these stresses more.

The final piece of this puzzle is that I'm a self-admitted hip hop head. And NO hip hop is not dead. Yes, Hip Pop is what gets featured these days, but true hip hop is alive and kickin', dealing with hard-hitting issues, and providing voice to the voiceless; it's not just about dance, the beat, and the bling. True hip hop is also about the struggles we encounter in an imperfect world, and the ways we use hip hop culture to explore those issues.

So, with those four elements in play, I wondered "what if..." What if these two teenagers were best friends in a neighborhood dealing with brown and black and gang tensions?" That's when I began conceiving Just 2 Get By. Since beginning this project and completing the screenplay in a cabin up at Big Bear Mountain, graciously donated to me by Werner & Sylvia Marroquin, I've seen that the issue of brown-black tensions is in the forefront these days. I believe it's a timely issue, a hot-button topic that is not going away unless we sit at the table and dialog about it, as a family needs to. This is my attempt.

Please join me on this journey to complete the short movie that me and my crew hope will lead to financing a feature film with commercial distribution, and fosters discussion and positive change in our communities.

Stay tuned for Just 2 Get By The movie.