I'm really excited for writer-director Carlos Portugal and the cast of "East Side Story" as they prepare for tomorrow's screening of their movie at noon at the Showcase Theatre as part of Outfest 2007. I've championed this film for almost a year now and hope it leads to big things for all involved including the three gorgeous leading men Steve Callahan, Rene Alvarado and Cory Schneider.
The film tells the story of Diego (Alvarado), a closeted young gay Latino who works in his grandmother's restaurant and is having a secret affair with Pablo, a closeted real estate agent. Diego wants to leave it all behind and open his own restaurant somewhere else. Things change when a gay couple moves in next door in a neighborhood that is beginning to undergo gentrification. Diego is instnatly attracted to one of the men, Wesley (Callahan) and the feeling is mutual and electric. But the road to love is not at all smooth, mostly because Welsey feels stuck in his relationship with his bitchy boyfriend with whom he has just bought this house.
"Wesley and Jonathan are just not meant to be together, it's just not the right match and it just happens to be that Wesley and Diego are across the street from each other," says Callahan. "It's the typical romantic comedy: they're with the wrong people and you've got to get them together for the final scene."
"It's such a great story with so many elements to it and it has such a great cast and direction," Alvarado tells me. "It was a phenomenal experience and I think that's why everyone can relate to it. It hits everything: It's funny, it's got some drama to it. It's a great film and I loved being a part of it."
Callahan said the casting of Alvarado was key to the film's success: "Rene is great and they did such a good job casting him because Diego carries the movie, he's in almost every scene of the movie and if that part was miscast, it wouldn't work."
This film debuted at last year's LA Latino Film Festival and has played all around the country winning several audience awards along the way. I spoke with Portugal and the three lead actors last week at the Outfest opening night party.
"Being a gay Latino movie that was shot here in Los Angeles,. this is the perfect ending for it," Portugal says of the Outfest playdate. " It's a movie that has a heart, it has some gorgeous, hunky guys and a lot of comedy and amazing performances.It's a movie that talks to the heart about not what it's like to be different, but what it's like to be human. Wanting to have a home, family and friends and be happy where you're at."
Although Portugal is close to sealing a December DVD release for the film, he is hoping a distributor will want to release it in theaters: "It deserves to be seen on the big screen."
The actors have nothing but praise for their director.
"The beauty of working with Carlos is that he let all of us explore, let us go out there and have fun with it," Alvarado said. "There were times we did one scene, one take. There were times that we did 30 takes. He let us constantly try different things."
For Schneider, he's been happy with the feedback for the film even if his character of Jonathan was thoroughly unpleasant in most of his scenes that made the final cut. The DVD will include many additional scenes that flesh his character out more: "People I know have come up to me after screenings and say things like, 'I didn't know you could be funny.' I guess that was surprising. And they also want to know if I'm really that bitchy and I'm not."
Callahan is excited that "East Side Story" is getting a coveted Outfest slot and says: "I'm so proud of the movie, I'm so excited about it. It's a romantic comedy, I think it has a great screenplay - the story is great and there are really great characters. It's a sweet love story."