Valdez Interview

At least almost when we know that other building work on the sorceress Louise well is he learned about this which was in those of us was rather scooch us who wanted to come to see and use tools for most of these tests. I see continuous suddenly that of course who are attacking and why it can if they have to come Pacino he mooches it was compass Enos Trendall of an attack on a said just on Hakim in Fresno. A sailor a promo soon put to no police could be legal a zoot suit Bimini those greasy than anything but I wouldn't read it again it sure is the lone team of askin you the other alone in the compass ino squint at a compass you know kept us out of intermediate us center going up illegal at least it was a ghetto covered so you are young to see in informal or professional. It was a stud or in time when both Easter circa Hollister this immuno is interested they will know when to say they

do over us but he can only let one of you can know whether loopy left us today learned good at the temple of Mary that capital left quietly sitting there and moaned Oh. Just almost 100. None of our. People to ask you to love Monday that he is put almost a good think us fishing takes you to put up where you are it is held up from being alive. Q When Daniel Woodrell the nurses are this group just one of them steps of course. Simplest almost like he took on the music of the album is the song going to consume Primavera. He knew he'd been brown eyed children are sent to intermediate I mean if that doesn't which is you know and I thought I was your couldn't get through. I mean was that I was your own individuality. Severe mental health I wonder now music I mean why is that I wonder now how when his

dad always says K I'll buy you as I will lose you on this the most and I will list company Senos willing can you doubt it. You noticed almost 100 Now program look at I want to really see music in D.C. I'm Becky I guess I'm a boy we can see on. This mess clay boy me most eco systems don't have a promotion they believe who lives who to. Put it on almost Then the police you know didn't have to come Pacino's him and you don't continue pointing into a political comment that you politica them being they love you don't associate I'm going up illegal or not almost here. So when Sarkozy said that the you know part of the story or the person most of us who need those two men talk is dead Minos they learned to put honest was that it was you know it. Line se de lady you Cleo E then it

almost looks around with your hand. It was meant to last. Cookin My son used to look at any You're quite into the river but I can also disappear you little spot you cause it'll resting on or opinion is worthless and commute to sweat at this country I look acquittals but you cause what galaxy to know but you could not exist and. That it was over and it was what the locals will know right if you're going to but you could have but you cause he don't get why don't you quit without us too much bureaucracy. I rest my city would be lucky if dimples or jitterbug either twin musicI will dance on me. Peterman that mumble little record of almost an hour the zoo to Turkey could be almost gave. A paper cup with your nice hair laid in tea that you can but I like open to the way. He looks but you can see you know whenever Legal going to be on a golf course and turns the cheek and he's cool. Yes according to an US to send your love over this way when this or you do need

indeed that are many con interval they stay by east. They say they said Oh you little me he can know. When we're willing to go into lowest house only those he allow us pursue Chanderpaul who said it was return to pursue classical McCool real sleepy look good murder case. Think it was me he cannot see. West distortion blokey and process will who knows. Known process with a Masaki a.c arsonist to page. Evening whose bust anti-gravity came under another war so this was over news which I trust but you can shut up if you're in the sinking team we're on this your child misses mentor students who nobody you know meant literally what else particular thing can turn in a sentence it was kind of OK. The West took this part of the early story. Then restaurant sort of parties to a medical event to kill him put together who want to get on the Ile de seigneur Elop illegal at their is unique to the other much

because they don't move. Owned by lease he and legally combust on telly. Oh no of course it's going to time O since the last but true course knowing they are pretty sick of them being in CA. You know times and not believe I only that into a lot of us in the group or corn Henery Reyna grain. I gotcha when Nagel. But it got done in the important said the cop as soon as the rest of us holding. The arm and that is this is very unsure. You cannot because they are our choice.

Poor care nurse that be that. She can also list also nails this is an experience to minor matters most laws dossing lingo obvious I mean my wares is not easy on their intended I mean this is a I'll move along. But O'Connell say it's a man's clone my garden was pretty adamant to Quinn group which he can so well but you can not only pull in the attic a noice Chicano book A Lisa guest cheek I know it I mean Allegro this book you're going to see at the dude. No what I meant they gonna see no reference when it's been said they had less money than this it was those who knew us. I says K. I in theory Cambio and intend to me and or I have to say let me write and I can sort of get them into not the will of God. Talk to me I'm the dummy in the delinquent economic classes Tambien

today like I said made a lot of poor rating on those bozos Compazine is what he really meant to say masculine in the story are you going to make a fuss when X I mean of course was a lament. But in contrast a lot of a celebrity love he took A.P. story those who toots it after the last year I'll see your source you are living there more. Get a powerless classes in the school to rallies. He needs more than a state by any of us chancellor or influential would cope with a most medical school as well as us by the image that Mr Clinton he was you want to send your medical. Care. She's just been

pushing Nikita President Bush used a bit oh I hope there's more Sycamore where the story go and look at pastor he killed the import of negativity Blanco's body imprint over there due to this book is to simulate the info and do know only that they remained up to something to some you know you received more like wanted and he kind of your good time in going to look up on it or put it in progress and got a lot of those that we should encompass across and there is no. Better a limpet of pantheistic. I thought I was just Picasso it gives a sense a yellow or a sleepy little murder case. Last month the US was due to rise in you know in the square and they did it soon and we need in California gay Sr. they can even to come get a lot of courses and hostile for needles. What he can tell us on his political Islam what it to the Roosevelt for him for the narcissist uncle focused him

we're going to politically not will. I was sort of like a vessel that I was so there was you know it's interesting when that's kind of going to like any set of negatives. You know one of the last that HCV. E se you want to same to us think when it comes out in which I came to for subsumes within the pundits was that it was inclusive or was Compazine of torn apart that was the story of his thousand years. Important is the gateway I guess to the Irish HISTORIA. Your community thought it was my push to get a state book upper case is the Chico no solo Christian shower. Phenomenal But you go you know which of them is pretty most given but you could be you're not of course equal more quickly knowledge nobody my listeners can speak mahogany because I love into stones personally indeed that you put it in their stores on your show Priscu no decay. That having to answer today.

Speak out of my son is gay look a personality impulse in the political item you know what I say not talk a lot but answer your own popular than in classes they belong. Lebanon 13 in this one so we have the persone for my soon. Castle but this is only for the mass your own hopelessly limited time in your assessment to Mescalero isso than you will cast the last home unless you know the billing where runs the important dance Yeah that and then out of your control rather politically that Cueto give a user community as you know it's important so users importance another time in. We're guiltiness an abortion a place we look if you know meant it didn't mean a deep within us Bill equally. So are the kids who are the most RUC meeting room Seaney whether they them and that there is issues as well it is because the super their economical work at the library or a case of a person that you know or

love whatever your phrasing around this is to use the word as it can wear a cowboy and that handy but it was mighty Alice but Essex humor. We're lucky to get a pretty clear goal at the levy she wants you know given a genie. He went on to survey the hour she left from a day most gay and their book were never shown in a Spaniard as they were shown us by your Bless ya got a lot that we can get still more over the last but you could. You know my say I would NEVER shrinking but the internet when you're a loon put it down to a little bit of copra was when a poster pill equal or a school board but I guess when you look you'll really mean he couldn't work at all of that support of what the in the GET WHAT then Master. But a caveat it was prudent to support it when no some or most of them in the study the sleepy lagoon Kamo seized by the press

and the story a mysql outlook on me too. But if you see that in we if you see it. But so much of the impulse already on the list to Islamist when I get a call is I mean killed that I have is do you have to go see impact in New Orleans. This is how warm a little bit I'll go see my article is not what I meant they said your this are all young the law allows all of the laws those willing workers but I let me Is there a way to add to those. Nice to see the Mescalero is a woman's Indian. When you're alone no no one is Indian English I want to know if he's good then you must get out for my Yorker OK Gabbi the FIM cannot believe this Hootsuite. They kneel not by Loris Lol but I do.

Penny and below to see me Mark because I see it. I would ask or suggest power and interrogate Alice and it I will. Necessarily that I mean to me to enter mysql. Exactly. OK I mean isn't he cut to court if you know it but you were killing taunted as he quoted the news going if you were fantastic in the reality meant different if you would have fantastic as you know though I could meet him you know he said that he then fantastical could please Arnold but you couldn't last last but I mostly like I don't like a lost cause the there's a way Lassie Longo the last call or is this is that arcade stand or somebody who plume is yes. Didn't this it's the after you have a history of you know it's not going to get

there again in that reality the moment to get them into this outlets anymore. Then I said he said I want to really hear us ask a person to see that is all about these moves the more you'll see looking at Alice about the ceremonious time in existence. It didn't give it to the morning team or similar Hindi beneath very little. Supreme Court about they seem pretty insistent I guess what I call C and no content is going to get that those Morse said in one your movie especially I mean you know can we don't matter he warned us. You don't throw it on to insist no event do not give you the star of the me that I mean your mood to read it and say you better throw. In Los Angeles in Hollywood.

He has yet to get it. As we know the likelihood that this place that he can you know you know Alex he will go in a teen is going to see me watching TV when oh yeah yeah but I mean that is the part of the interest him in the book at almost any minute probably cause. So you've seen Tony sand the pussy you know sea enthusiast from Mass this centerpiece that Kim was a less aggressive Louis C than it really is your thought is the list so what do you know that any modern political you know seen even up illegal as HootSuite was going and all those pork area stuff pretty quickly as in those old divorcée but not in my dossier as he's got I think until the last last a million is done said abuse is only under the. Window which is the most guys his not likely going to sort of see him be more even more so concrete going to consume the local equalizer to boogie.

Yeah. It's the only case of what I mean Fresno transmitting of what I thought of a thought like Enoch You can also toss in that Karina Louise Valdis you don't need it on this morsel said my nurse. You keep Roland going into English now. This is community supported radio kids TV in Fresno biling already for some working Valley and here with us in the studios are Luis and then the involved is famous brothers who many of our audience will recognize their voices and their history they've been working here in the valley and really throughout the world. Many people will know them for their work in theatre come to

see you know they helped out with the strikes in the early days and throughout the period of history of. The struggle for union rights for the United Farm Workers Union says that Travis and now they're here in Fresno promoting their new movie zoot suit written and directed by Luis Valdis and the. Lead character main star is done involve this in the role of Hank Henry Dana on the story of the sleepy lagoon a murder trial and the Defense Committee the group about that. Welcome to our studios Luis and then in right here. It's good to have you with us. And as I said many people recognize our guests for their work without a compass you know and I like to bring our audience up to date a little bit. What's been happening with with you individually in the different works you have been doing since probably most of our folks have have seen you in the valley working with at the campus you know what's happened since then.

Well I think it's important people should know that due to just an outgrowth really of the trend it's been building in the ethical compass you know for some years you know we've been in Soho about these two since 1971 and we went there with the intent to beginning to to focus seriously on. Our art. And we started with workshops in the summer of 1071 and continued to explore different areas. We did a whole exploration of religious theater and continued to present the places that we can there well who cares. It's an annual event for nine years and we also. Continue to develop. And develop as a piece of the moon duel. Various versions of that. We began to get into Westerns in and did a piece on so long but the. Color rose a little so that eventually and somewhere along the line I began to write plays again and so in 1988 when the market before him. Offered

me an opportunity and wanted to commission me to write a play about L.A. history. I picked the sleep you can murder case that turned into zoot suit and it is occupied a lot of our time the last three years in the middle of that have been a couple of other plays and then he's written more music and stuff. So it it's represented a lot of activity actually last 10 years. In what has been a tremendous evolution and for me I mean working with the theater and watching the evolution of that the under go behind it and looking for new forms of expression. I think in the film. I think restated I think the film is really a real community of a tremendous amount of work. As far as that the ad was concerned in terms of what it was trying to do with these characters its plays its plots. Musically I've been all over the place. Thank you but to go appeared for the first time as in a play of mine called Better memory which is performed here in Fresno.

You know we did it for the first time in 1970 at the first and last festival over here in San Joaquin high school and the first time that Souter appeared and I remember being quite fascinated with the effect of that character and thinking that he deserved to play of his own and so that became true to. The net but Google became a butt. When you're making a movie why did you why did you decide to film it as a play. The set have a certain signature. Oh I think it yet has everybody is allowed to do it but I don't have any money usually does. I think the original concept for a suit was really a recreation of the 40s itself you know which cost a lot of money. And then what are you recreating this another question. Well again what would have been what is the two different particular fact of the matter is that your Safeway suit is what it is because that's the way it is and we work with what we hand the film in terms of its budget

is very small in comparison less than some television shows and we shot it in 14 days which is another miracle. But I mean it's really the conditions and the need they created to suit as a family. But it's important I think to recognize that there are certain things that are possible on film that are impossible on the stage. And zoot suit is a place I always wanted to be a film but it's really just reached the blade. It wanted to be a stylized movie so speaks more than anything. And when I began to three years ago to think about a film they began to think about say a 10 million dollar film or 15 million dollar film with all stops open and anything possible. The first character to run into problems was a. But you go because he's basically a character a very theatrical character a character belongs on stage. So the question was how important is it but you go after thinking about it for a while. I

determine for myself but you get very important both as a visible symbol and as an element in this particular story. And so by by proper process of elimination I began to come back to a stylized concept of the film which got closer and closer to the plate the more I looked at it I don't believe things happened by accident. And I think it worked out just right in terms of this piece. The play was was a huge success. How did the movie come about though. I mean were you offered. Are we British. No I made the rounds with my agent you know in the studios. I had offers even before we went to New York from Barry studios and independent producers. It was a lot of speculation as to what kind of film might be made with what kind of a different kind of

emphasis each time that we thought about it a musical or a bloody realistic prison drama. You know some kind of spectacular number that starred. John Travolta as the but you could for instance. Which would have been entirely different film with the emphasis heavily on the music. But what eventually determined I guess what kind of film it was going to be is what we wanted to say with it and I wanted to entertain you know through the medium itself. Ask me a question did you get any problems when you were when you were trying to film it or any problems like the studios. They didn't want this or universally It was the only way to do that offered me for instance the guarantee that I would be able to direct this film as well as the absolute guarantee that my screenplay would be used. All the other studios offered me different things.

One producer. Whom I won't mention produces a lot of films and is a nurse told me alright are you kidding you know that they give me you know some initial rights payments and then turn around and steal the whole idea from me and change the whole concept. He was kidding and he wasn't kidding. He was being quite frank. So I decided I mean I wanted to do this from this particular point of view and. It's a universal guaranteed it the universal took the risk because they're interested in reaching the so-called Hispanic market. Yeah I think it has to be said. I mean there were other attempts I mean Boulevard nights. What Prague are you know obvious attempts to try and reach is panic audience and I think would suit represented because of the number of people that came to see it. As if there was a real identification there was it was more than just an audience coming to witness a play or to watch a polite. They were they were the play they were part of the thing that was happening and I know I know for a fact I have to respect Universal Pictures in the sense that maybe they came to the conclusion that you know who

else is going to touch you gonna accept your guns OK which is a blatant truth. But I mean it's it's also important to note that I mean the success of Zoot is really dependent upon the reaction of the kind of population. OK. As far as I'm concerned as an artist you know and I think that Zoot initials I guess I mean Zoot is a whisper that turns into a shout and it's important to know that the future of the kind of cinema or the future of Chicano. Movies like zoom is is really depending on what's going to happen here and judging by the reactions. I mean we're in motion pictures and we're here to stay. We didn't come in just to come and leave them. We have intentions of doing more motion pictures because the hunger is there and certainly the audiences I think depending on you know it doesn't matter actually what happens in the next few months into this movie but it's pointing directly toward the future

and within the next few years certainly within this decade we're going to see the splintering of the mass market in America. You know it scares some people but in some ways it could be rather nice if you consider that people will be able to cultivate you know their own tastes and interests through cable through cassette and the use of their own television sets. And I think that Universal is just one of the studios that is trying to. Prognosticate the future. Is aware that that's the trend in the country that there is a regional breakdown that's happening. The materials can be directed into to certain pockets and the question is how much profit is a sin a movie be profitable if they just directed to one region of the country. So do you think that suit will open the door like for. More films about Ugandans more not just more actors but more films depicting Chicanos

as we really are instead of the stereotypes. Yes I think it will it will lay down a pace. It will lead to a certain standard perhaps you know perhaps my action my sustaining hope at this point is that it have it breaks through the Southwest. I know it will work within the Western analysts an audience for in the Southwest are problematical as has been how do we relate to the Midwest you know and show people that we're out there too and that we're in Pittsburgh you know making a deal. You know it's really important to not going to mean the elements and to Archie kind of I mean the. The basis of it is you guys coming from it you kind of play right now are you going to actors in it and I think that has a lot to do with it because they're actually kind of actors have been trying to survive in Los Angeles and the materials aren't there. OK. And if anything I hope that makes the breakthrough at least on the material level where she comes will be encouraged to write screenplays and stories about us so that actors

can play especially actors. But you know what's important and again they speak it not only as a screenwriter and Olympians but as. So was working at the adult for 16 years and has worked all the backroads and done it all. Actually in terms of the role we performed with the gatherer in every conceivable space we crossed over into the professional theatre and then you know went and did Broadway. In addition So we did it all in that sense. And. It's it's a tremendous challenge to reach out for that national audience. It's a tremendous challenge to reach of rationally and to work with. With other professionals in order to make that attempt and I have a great deal of respect at this point for professionalism and seeking to encourage that in every field of endeavor that you guns may be involved in you know whether it's radio or television or

literature or print journalism what have you medicine. It's important that we develop professional skills and then we exercise them. And again as at the at the moment of somebody that is a storyteller it was a natural for us and the rest of us to work them Zoot to gravitate to the point we want to use the movie medium you know to get on the movie screens and we'll do it again actually and we're going to do television. We're going to quit. You know we're going to keep right on and there's more stuff coming with more stories and people will get ready to tune in. And that's going to be. There's a there's a lot of underline missed messages in the film. What's the message for you. I mean is there do you think there is a correlation between zoot suiters of the 1940s and the cholos of today. And if so what do you want the cholos who go see the film and not just the children's But you know the youth. Where would you like them to get out of it.

Well I'd say I mean the most important thing for me is that I hope the zoot creates the conditions where two generations. I will talk to each other. OK. I mean the generation of the 40s and the generation of the 80s I think there's a tremendous gap and we try to show that in the movie there's a tremendous gap between father and son and mother and daughter. OK. And. The one thing that I really feel is a real affirmation in zoot suit because I had to wear the suit and the suit there's an attitude within those claws I don't know why it's inherited in those clothes maybe it's the baggy length of the pants but I couldn't help but drape you know I couldn't help myself. And there's an attitude that's already ingrained within the fiber of the thread that relates so so much to what the young Chicano was looking for I think with the young Gunnell is trying to do with his car. The individual eyes it to

literally make it is his own or to put his own plaque on it OK to put his own mark on it is a real sign of individual ality and at the same time a tremendous artistic comment.