Shabooty Interview Series: MANNY PEREZ (FORGED)

Shabooty Interview Series: MANNY PEREZ (FORGED)

I interviewed Manny Perez once earlier this year about the Dominican movie LA SOGA. Which is an insta-classic, and a bonafide NetFlix favorite. Manny‘s post-La Soga movie just dropped on DVD, called FORGED. I had been anticipating this movie for a while now,  and it didn’t disappoint. I wanted to ping Manny‘s brain and find out some movie secrets, and learn more about FORGED. Some of these questions have spoilers in them, so I suggest you watch the movie!!! But either way, consider your ass tickled with a feather!

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Shabooty: I noticed a lot of the Pennsylvania brew, Yuengling — was that a paid product placement?
Manny Perez: I wish, but no..

If my eyes didn’t trick me, the registration sticker on the Cadillac’s windshield said ’06. Was that a prop car sitting in a garage for 5 years til you could make the movie? How’d you go about picking that car?
We wanted to make the film out dated and also when working with “no money” we searched or looked around for cars that we can afford and so we found these out dated cars and asks for favors from the owners and they lend us the vehicles for the film. The vehicle plays a character in the film, thus representing the presence of Chuco’s dad in the film, since that car belonged to his father “in the film story”.

Here’s more of a general movie question I have always wanted to ask. About ‘money’ in a movie… the money in a duffel bag. A) was that real money? B) was it bundles of $1 dollar bills with a 20 on top? C) Is there a company that gives you prop money?
LOL, those are plain white papers with a few fake 100 dollar bills around the bundle of plain white papers, created by our production designer Jaime Whittlock, same person that worked with us in LA SOGA.

The scene when your character’s mom’s house gets ransacked. Is there a set designer for that or you guys just go hard and tare the place up as a “fun day” on set?
Lol, Thanks again to Jaime Whittlock, we have an amazing team, again same team as LA SOGA: Myself, Josh Crook, Jaime Whitlock, Zeus Morand and William Wedig.

How did you decide on Scranton, PA [as the location of the film]?
The Executive Producer is from Scranton and when we got there, we realized the the town would play a character in the film’s story, and so Scranton was perfect for the film.

Another movie question I’ve always wanted to ask. When there is a hooptie car in a movie that won’t start, then all of a sudden on cue, it starts… do you have a mechanic on set that helps that “hooptie car magic” come to life?
It’s all part of the movies, we basically play with it and set it so it doesn’t turn on then we play with it so it can turn on on cue. Lol.

Second to lastly, (an obvious question, but I figured I’d make sure), your character had a limp in the movie because he shot himself in the foot, correct? How does an actor master the pimp-limp?
Man, thats my secret! :)

And finally, what projects you working on post-Forged?
I did an amazing film in Los Angeles called “CROSSTOWN” and I’m currently in the Dominican Republic working on another film called “EL REY DE NAJAYO”… Bad ass like LA SOGA, but more intense, and LA SOGA was intense.

Thanks Manny! Everyone go get that new FORGED movie out on DVD!

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Permalink Posted in: celebs, interview, movie, shabooty, shabooty exclusive, video November 1, 2011