FEELING 'GREEDY'
From the streets of Stockton to the big screen, Keith Lea makes it to San Francisco's Black Film Festival
Story by Steve Echeverria Jr.
Record Staff Writer
Published Sunday, June 1, 2003
KEITH LEA KNOWS ABOUT REVENGE, VIOLENCE AND REDEMPTION. He learned most of those lessons growing up on the streets of east Stockton.
But, at times, re-creating those tales for his first full-length feature film -- "Greedy" -- seemed more stressful than surviving Northern California ghettos.
"I tell about experiences I've been through. It's not pretty, but it's the unheard voice of the inner city," said the 31-year-old, who dropped out of Franklin High School his senior year. "But after months of not getting any phone calls to get back into production, everything seemed in limbo. Nothing feels like that."
After more than two years, the up-and-coming filmmaker finished "Greedy: A West Coast Crime Story," which premieres June 14 at the fifth annual San Francisco Black Film Festival. Lea is the only Stockton resident to have a film accepted and shown at the event.
And it wasn't easy.
Before Lea thought about making movies, he survived a gunshot wound and a stint in jail. Small, compact and reserved, Lea is wearing jeans, a
T-shirt and a black baseball cap emblazoned with "Director" on the front as he discusses his film with The Record. One might think of him as, well, behaved. He possesses the street smarts that gives him the credentials to make a street film, but he's also comfortable in his role as filmmaker and advocate for his art.
After mastering the video camera, Lea found himself in the middle of a sporadic production that tested his patience and drive. In the end, festival judges think his underground tale of a vendetta was a worthy selection at the annual event.
"You have to believe in yourself," said Lea, who splits time between Los Angeles, the Bay Area and San Joaquin County. "I'm here to show people that it can be done. If you really have the inner strength, there's no limit to what you can do. You don't have to be limited to hanging on the corner selling drugs."
According to festival organizer Ava Montague, Lea is part of this year's group of filmmakers twisting traditional themes and setting trends.
"Keith did an excellent job of marketing his film and including a soundtrack," Montague said.
"Greedy" was shot and edited using a digital video camera and computer software. The independent film tells the story of Tay, a drug dealer who seeks revenge on his former partners after they double-cross him. It was filmed entirely in Sacramento using a cast primarily made up of rappers.
Lawrence Gable plays the lead role and said the story is very familiar.
"I lived the movie," said Gable, 26, who raps under the name Chopah and helped write the script with Lea. "In the movie, people try to be loyal, but they want more than they're getting. When they don't get what they want, then they turn to violence."
Released by Sacramento-based Black Market Records, "Greedy" also features a soundtrack with many California hip-hop heavyweights, such as E-40, Brotha Lynch Hung and X-Raided. ::: Advertisement :::
With release of John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) and the Hughes brothers' "Menace II Society," (1993) "hood flicks" sprang to life in the early 1990s, illustrating life in the ghetto. The genre found a niche in the mainstream, but most films have found more success in the direct-to-video market.
Lea had seen a lot of real life tales from the hood, but it was Matty Rich's movie "Straight
Outta Brooklyn" (1991) that made him think directing films, was possible.
"I said to myself, 'I can do better than that,'" said Lea, who was living in San Francisco at the time. "So I went to the library and got a book about writing screenplays."
Soon he was working in music videos for East Bay rap artists such as Spice One and MC Hammer. He then started interning on several movies, such as "Panther" (1995), directed by Mario Van Peebles, and "So I Married An Axe Murderer" (1993), a comedy starring Mike Myers.
After taking some film courses at San Francisco City College, Lea began shopping his completed scripts around Hollywood.
He had a lot to write about.
His mother, Diane Lea, said the loss of Lee's brother profoundly affects his art. Lea's 22-year-old brother, Kenneth, was shot and killed in Texas in 1991.
"He's proof that even after tragedy you can live and breath again," she said.
But trying to get in Hollywood's door was a wake-up call. After too many rejections to count, he came back to Stockton, where he found his opportunity.
Cedric Singleton, CEO of Black Market Records, held a talent showcase at Stribley Park. Lea pitch the idea of making a movie, and soon they were developing "Greedy."
But the road to a finished project was rocky.
They got into a pattern of filming for three months, then stopping because funding had dried up.
Organizational problems and creative differences also slowed production, said Gable.
"The hardest part (of the production) was people coming together or not being on time, and that includes myself," said Gable.
But in April, after 21Ž2 years of stop-and-go production and a $250,000 investment, the film was finished.
Now, the butterflies are swirling inside Lea's stomach as the world premiere of the 80-minute movie approaches.
And while sitting in that darkened theater, seconds before viewers get their first taste of Lea's directorial debut, he'll have only one thought.
"There's no goal that's too hard to achieve," he said.
* To reach reporter Steve Echeverria Jr., phone 943-8571 or e-mail [email protected]
'GREEDY'
* WHERE: Brava Theater, 2789 24th St., San Francisco
* WHEN: 6:50 p.m. June 14
* ADMISSION: $9
* INFORMATION:
(415) 771-9271 or www.sfbff.org
From the streets of Stockton to the big screen, Keith Lea makes it to San Francisco's Black Film Festival
Story by Steve Echeverria Jr.
Record Staff Writer
Published Sunday, June 1, 2003
KEITH LEA KNOWS ABOUT REVENGE, VIOLENCE AND REDEMPTION. He learned most of those lessons growing up on the streets of east Stockton.
But, at times, re-creating those tales for his first full-length feature film -- "Greedy" -- seemed more stressful than surviving Northern California ghettos.
"I tell about experiences I've been through. It's not pretty, but it's the unheard voice of the inner city," said the 31-year-old, who dropped out of Franklin High School his senior year. "But after months of not getting any phone calls to get back into production, everything seemed in limbo. Nothing feels like that."
After more than two years, the up-and-coming filmmaker finished "Greedy: A West Coast Crime Story," which premieres June 14 at the fifth annual San Francisco Black Film Festival. Lea is the only Stockton resident to have a film accepted and shown at the event.
And it wasn't easy.
Before Lea thought about making movies, he survived a gunshot wound and a stint in jail. Small, compact and reserved, Lea is wearing jeans, a
T-shirt and a black baseball cap emblazoned with "Director" on the front as he discusses his film with The Record. One might think of him as, well, behaved. He possesses the street smarts that gives him the credentials to make a street film, but he's also comfortable in his role as filmmaker and advocate for his art.
After mastering the video camera, Lea found himself in the middle of a sporadic production that tested his patience and drive. In the end, festival judges think his underground tale of a vendetta was a worthy selection at the annual event.
"You have to believe in yourself," said Lea, who splits time between Los Angeles, the Bay Area and San Joaquin County. "I'm here to show people that it can be done. If you really have the inner strength, there's no limit to what you can do. You don't have to be limited to hanging on the corner selling drugs."
According to festival organizer Ava Montague, Lea is part of this year's group of filmmakers twisting traditional themes and setting trends.
"Keith did an excellent job of marketing his film and including a soundtrack," Montague said.
"Greedy" was shot and edited using a digital video camera and computer software. The independent film tells the story of Tay, a drug dealer who seeks revenge on his former partners after they double-cross him. It was filmed entirely in Sacramento using a cast primarily made up of rappers.
Lawrence Gable plays the lead role and said the story is very familiar.
"I lived the movie," said Gable, 26, who raps under the name Chopah and helped write the script with Lea. "In the movie, people try to be loyal, but they want more than they're getting. When they don't get what they want, then they turn to violence."
Released by Sacramento-based Black Market Records, "Greedy" also features a soundtrack with many California hip-hop heavyweights, such as E-40, Brotha Lynch Hung and X-Raided. ::: Advertisement :::
With release of John Singleton's "Boyz N the Hood" (1991) and the Hughes brothers' "Menace II Society," (1993) "hood flicks" sprang to life in the early 1990s, illustrating life in the ghetto. The genre found a niche in the mainstream, but most films have found more success in the direct-to-video market.
Lea had seen a lot of real life tales from the hood, but it was Matty Rich's movie "Straight
Outta Brooklyn" (1991) that made him think directing films, was possible.
"I said to myself, 'I can do better than that,'" said Lea, who was living in San Francisco at the time. "So I went to the library and got a book about writing screenplays."
Soon he was working in music videos for East Bay rap artists such as Spice One and MC Hammer. He then started interning on several movies, such as "Panther" (1995), directed by Mario Van Peebles, and "So I Married An Axe Murderer" (1993), a comedy starring Mike Myers.
After taking some film courses at San Francisco City College, Lea began shopping his completed scripts around Hollywood.
He had a lot to write about.
His mother, Diane Lea, said the loss of Lee's brother profoundly affects his art. Lea's 22-year-old brother, Kenneth, was shot and killed in Texas in 1991.
"He's proof that even after tragedy you can live and breath again," she said.
But trying to get in Hollywood's door was a wake-up call. After too many rejections to count, he came back to Stockton, where he found his opportunity.
Cedric Singleton, CEO of Black Market Records, held a talent showcase at Stribley Park. Lea pitch the idea of making a movie, and soon they were developing "Greedy."
But the road to a finished project was rocky.
They got into a pattern of filming for three months, then stopping because funding had dried up.
Organizational problems and creative differences also slowed production, said Gable.
"The hardest part (of the production) was people coming together or not being on time, and that includes myself," said Gable.
But in April, after 21Ž2 years of stop-and-go production and a $250,000 investment, the film was finished.
Now, the butterflies are swirling inside Lea's stomach as the world premiere of the 80-minute movie approaches.
And while sitting in that darkened theater, seconds before viewers get their first taste of Lea's directorial debut, he'll have only one thought.
"There's no goal that's too hard to achieve," he said.
* To reach reporter Steve Echeverria Jr., phone 943-8571 or e-mail [email protected]
'GREEDY'
* WHERE: Brava Theater, 2789 24th St., San Francisco
* WHEN: 6:50 p.m. June 14
* ADMISSION: $9
* INFORMATION:
(415) 771-9271 or www.sfbff.org