If you run into a car chase this summer while drive through Santa Cruz, don’t be alarmed. It’s part of a new action film, “In Grit Fashion,” being shot in the city. This is no “Lost Boys” sequel. It’s a gritty tale of a conman just released from prison, a hitman, and a cop gone bad, racing for $5 million in diamonds. It’s a low budget production too, coming in at $15,000, less than it cost to film about a quarter of a second on James Cameron’s Pandora.
The filmmaker, Nelson García, is not yet a household name. He is only twenty years old, and did not attend film school—then again, neither did Hitchcock, and “The Birds” worked out all right for him. After reading up on film and talking to the pros, he’s managed to put together a cast and crew of 75. His screenwriter, 22-year-old Michael Nader of Cabrillo, actually went through three drafts of the script before getting it to where it is now—less than the Coen Brothers might have, but certainly more than Ed Wood.
Filming began on June 26 and should wrap up in mid-September. After a month or so of editing, it should be in theaters and festivals by November. So watch out for it. Whether you know it or not, you may have a cameo.
