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Baron's Big Score
Warriors guard and filmmaker Stacy Peralta document gang life
Last Tuesday I had breakfast with filmmaker Stacy Peralta over on the other side of town: Snug Harbor in Santa Monica. The skate champ-turned-documentarian was in a downer mood. It seemed odd that he was off as his new film, a frenetically beautiful exploration of LA's black gangs called Made in America, stands out as a singular document of American tragedy. Even for me, someone who feels he knows about LA gangs, Made in America is a deeply affecting film. I thought I knew, but I had no idea, really. The G's are so open with Peralta and his camera. It's unpredictably the film this director was born to make: fatalistically empathetic, hardcore.
Peralta produced the film with Golden State Warriors point guard Baron Davis, arguably the greatest basketball player ever to come out of Compton. It's a trip that the Hollywood studios won't bite on Made in America, which got standing ovations and rave reviews in Utah. Long after Sundance packed up in Park City, this outsider duo has yet to find distribution. Studios keep telling them that black audiences won't turn out for a flick with such grim subject matter — as if this story were only of interest to black folks, who must only be fed pablum. The documentary's $2 million budget is, as Peralta pointed out to me, less than the craft-services tab on a summer blockbuster.
Peralta produced the film with Golden State Warriors point guard Baron Davis, arguably the greatest basketball player ever to come out of Compton. It's a trip that the Hollywood studios won't bite on Made in America, which got standing ovations and rave reviews in Utah. Long after Sundance packed up in Park City, this outsider duo has yet to find distribution. Studios keep telling them that black audiences won't turn out for a flick with such grim subject matter — as if this story were only of interest to black folks, who must only be fed pablum. The documentary's $2 million budget is, as Peralta pointed out to me, less than the craft-services tab on a summer blockbuster.
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