Tío Louie Reporta: Countdown to Cannes– 7 DAYS OF 7 NY LATINOS AT CANNES 2015 (Part 7)

HOLA is proud to present Tío Louie Reporta, where filmmaker and Executive Producer of Prime Latino Media, Louis Perego Moreno (also known as Tío Louie) interviews actors and multimedia-makers in the business.

Something is abuzz. With internationally acclaimed Latinos winning Academy Awards for Best Director two consecutive years, PRIME LATINO MEDIA is proud to announce that seven talented and accomplished Latino multimedia-makers and actors from the familia are climbing up the career ladder in a short film at the Cannes Film Festival from May 13-24, 2015. Acceptance into the Festival de Cannes with their film will benefit from a prime viewing position within the Short Film Corner. U.S. Latinos are taking the world over by storm in media and entertainment and our New Yorkers are part of the revolution.

Countdown: Day 7 of 7

PLINIO VILLABLANCA: Sunnyside

Short Film: Sunnyside

Actor:      Plinio Villablanca (American-born, of Chilean and Nicaraguan descent)

Writer-Director: YoungKi Jin (from South Korea)

Synopsis: A quintessential immigrant story that peers into the life of a day laborer and illustrates how difficult it is to live and survive in NYC.

•      When acting roles are hard to come by, why did you turn down the role of the lead character? The director asked me to read for the role of a Mexican immigrant. I felt that a Mexican actor would understand it better. I didn’t turn it down. Then he asked me to do some improvisations for the role of a landlord that has about 20 Mexicans sleeping in his garage and I got the part. He went to Mexico to cast the Mexican actor and he brought him up here for the shoot. He then shot it in January 2014.

      •     Describe the path your career has taken as an actor to the present. When I was a kid, my aunt, my father’s sister, would take me to a lot of movies. I played a lot a paddleball and handball on Carmine Street in lower Manhattan and I got to know an older gentleman in the film biz, Les Lone, and he sometimes taught at NYU’s film school. It was this guy who pointed out my passion for the film industry and encouraged me to pursue acting. I chuckled in response. Once back in the same neighborhood, I picked up a newspaper and saw a play advertised about Latinos in the South Bronx and realized that I could relate to the characters and felt I even knew them. One of the actors was David Zayas (from Showtime's "Dexter" and currently in Fox’s "Gotham"). When I saw the older gentleman the next time, I told him that I would like to seriously pursue acting and Les directed me to the renowned acting school, HB Studio. I have about 18 years in the industry. Since then I have done theater (i.e., Othello, Macbeth), commercials, indie films and short films. I prefer theater over film. The theatrical production I am the proudest is Miguel Piñero’s The Sun Always Shines for the Cool.

Plinio Villablanca, at right, with
Cheryl D. Hescott in a stage
production of Macbeth.

  •      Tell me about the importance of mentors and who was yours? Les Lone who was teaching at NYU’s Film School was my mentor. He told me stories about the industry. When I saw Dennis Hopper in an interview in the Actors' Studio talking about seeing James Dean and how that inspired him to study more, that touched me. Les really offered me good guidance by recommending I study Actors' Studio Method Acting Technique with Salem Ludwig. This was really tremendous for me.

     •      What $0.10 worth of advice [originally known as "your two cents", but now adjusted for inflation] would you offer an actor? You really have to work hard at the craft because there is no guarantee at success. When I started at HB Studio I wanted to do theater and people thought I was crazy. I felt there was more continuity behind a character through that medium. You start with this character and you keep on going and I find a lot of depth in a theatrical portrayal. I recommend doing theater and working at your craft.

Louis E. Perego Moreno (Tío Louie) is President of Skyline Features, he is an interactive content producer and educator who for the past 33 years has owned a bilingual (English- and Spanish-language) multimedia and educational production company developing documentaries, television programming and advertising commercials featuring Latinos, Blacks, Women, Urban Youth and LGBT people. He is also the Executive Producer of Prime Latino Media, the largest network of Latino multimedia-makers and actors in the metropolitan New York area that gather once a month to interview proven leaders in the community.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT

FACEBOOK Group: Prime Latino Media 

Twitter: @PLMSalon

Instagram: PRIME_LATINO_MEDIA

LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/louisperegomoreno