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Your upcoming movie 207 - in a few words, what's it going to be
about?
207
is a short film I wrote about a group of high school girls who decide to skip
school in order to have fun with some boys. The lead character Olive is a good
girl, by the book, and is peer pressured into skipping in order to keep her
friends. However, things take a turn for the worse as they are kidnapped by a
group of sex traffickers who plan to sell them.
With 207 being about human/sex trafficking, what
made you want to write a movie about this exact topic, and did you do any
research on the subject?
My friend Paris Bravo [Paris Bravo
interview - click here] who I consider to be like a little sister approached me
with the idea. I thought it was a very important topic and I decided to jump
on board immediately and write it for her. I have a 6 year old daughter who
means the world to me and I want to educate her on this matter. I think this
is a huge problem the world faces that doesn’t get enough attention and I
wanted to be the one to see it through. I conducted research on the matter to
ensure we made it as true to the subject as possible. (Other) sources of inspiration
when writing 207?
Other inspirations for the film was studying other movies about the subject
like Taken, Gone Baby Gone and even The Last House on the
Left. What are the challenges
of bringing 207 to the screen from a producer's point of
view?
Some of the challenges I have faced as the producer, writer, casting director,
actor and stunt coordinator for this film was COVID-19. With a pandemic like
this occurring finding a solid group of people to work with was a little
difficult but not impossible because I have a very good group of people on my
team. Other challenges was locations because a lot of places are closed down.
Fortunately, Savannah Liles' mother allowed us to shoot in her home, which was
big enough to get everything we needed. The budget was another problem.
Funding projects is never cheap but we have done an amazing job thus far. Do talk about 207 director Mico
Saad [Mico Saad interview - click here], and what's your collaboration like?
Mico Saad is an amazing person. He is multi-talented and we connect on so many
levels. We understand each other and whatever I’m missing Mico has and vice
versa. He’s creative, artistic and motivated just as much as I am to succeed
and tell amazing stories. It’s always a pleasure to work with him.
You also
appear in front of the camera on 207 - so what can you tell
us about your character, what did you draw upon to bring him to life, and
did you write him with yourself in mind from the get-go?
Detective Santos is a hard charging latino detective. When writing this film I
knew I wanted two detectives that would balance each other out. With my
military experience and background in martial arts, boxing, wrestling and
stunts I knew I wanted to be able to show some of that with Detective Santos.
I wrote him specifically for me to play, and I feel like I will be able to
bring the character to life just as I imagined.
What
can you tell us about the rest of 207's cast, and as a
writer/producer, to what extent were you involved with the casting
process?
The cast of 207 ranges from all ages and is very diverse. My daughter is
playing the leading character's sister. A few of my buddies (Jeff Schreiner,
Austin Durden, Omar Heyward, and Jesse Ricaldi) that I train stunts with and
have shot other projects with will be playing the henchmen and my other friend
Mark JP Hood will be playing Detective Howard, my partner. All of the above
listed were cast by me and they are all talented. The girls were all
selected by Paris Bravo [Paris Bravo
interview - click here], and what I have observed thus far is that they are
very talented and charismatic. Savannah, Orli and Arielle will complement
Paris very well. Jentzen Ramirez was a last minute add to the project but he
is young and possesses an amazing amount of skills, and you will see some of that
in this film as well. According to my information, you're presently
in the middle of shooting 207 - so what can you tell us about the
shoot so far, and anything you can tell us about the further schedule of
the shoot? 207 has been going amazing. Everyone has been well prepared and
motivated to bring this project to life in order to shed light on the horrible
topic known as sexual trafficking. Mico has been doing an amazing job with the
direction of the film and our camera man Jeffrey Santone has been capturing
all the right shots alongside our sound guy Justin Naranjo. We have one more
day of shooting left at the time of this interview and I can’t wait to see
how it comes out. Any future projects beyond 207?
Limelight Productions has a few other projects lined up. I am constantly
writing screenplays and I am excited for the future. Three projects off the
top of my head that are coming down the pipeline are Joe Riv which is an
action film with inspiration from John Wick. COVID, which is a
drama/thriller about the current pandemic we are in, and Double Trouble,
which will be an action short/9 episode series about a stunt team that robs
Hollywood. I am very passionate and love working with amazing people, and
whenever an idea comes to mind I will bring it to life. I am also stunt coordinating
Peaches for Mico Saad. What
got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject?
Well originally I was in the Marine Corps. From there I began my journey to
become a professional wrestler which then bled into stunts. I started working
as a stuntman and then wanted to be an action actor. Although I was working on
projects for a year I had no formal training other than stunt training,
wrestling training and promo (talking with a microphone on camera playing my
wrestling character). It kind of came naturally. However, I am now currently
studying my craft at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles where I am going
for my BFA Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. I have also worked with acting coaches
and attended classes to work on my craft.
You've also got a background in
wrestling - now to what extent has that influenced your acting career (and
vice versa)?
As stated above wrestling has helped tremendously. I have been wrestling on TV
since 2015. I have done work with WWE, Impact, New Japan Pro Wrestling and
Championship Wrestling from Hollywood playing a larger than life character named
Danny Limelight. Throughout the course of my career I have played a good guy
and a bad guy. This has helped me with acting because I am able to tap into
raw genuine emotion when learning the role I will be playing. I can flip the
switch as needed. Performing in front of a live audience is very different as
you get to feed off of them and react to their emotions, but being able to do
take after take when needed in acting allows me to understand the character
more and take more risks and try different things. Besides acting, you've also assumed various
other jobs in the filmworld, from writing and directing to producing and
stunting - so what jobs do you enjoy the most, which could you do without?
Limelight Productions has been something I have wanted to bring alive for a
long time now. Being able to write, direct, produce, act and conduct my own
stunts has truly been a blessing. To be honest I love doing my own stunts.
However, lately writing has been my favorite. Being able to tell the stories
that pop up in my head and see them come to life on the screen has truly been a
blessing. If I had to pick one to do without I would say directing. I rather
tag my partner Mico in for that job lol. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to 207, in
whatever position?
Prior to 207 I have done work on other projects. I was a stuntman and
acted in the film Speed of Time, I wrote directed, produced, stunt
coordinated and starred in the film TNT. I wrote and starred in a film
called Above the Line, which Mico directed. I wrote a short film called
Sunny which was horror film about a little girl possessed by a doll
which my daughter starred in alongside Jeff Schreiner, and I produced it.
Before these bigger projects I did a lot of short films and action scenes just
to experiment and learn. Everything has been a learning experience that I am
truly grateful for. I have applied everything I have learned previously going
forward and can only get better from here by mastering my craft. Actors, writers, filmmakers, whoever
else who inspire you?
I am most inspired by Denzel Washington and Dwayne The Rock Johnson. I believe
Denzel is the best actor on the planet and I own all of his movies. I
constantly study what he does and love how he takes risks. The Rock has
inspired me my whole life from wrestling, to being the highest paid actor and
just an inspiring man. If I can put both of them into a bottle and absorb the
energy and apply it to my craft I would. They are so talented and I would love
to work with them one day. Your favourite movies?
My favorite movie of all time is Training Day, which is also a Denzel movie. I
also love the MCU
movies like Endgame and Iron
Man and Spider-Man because I am
a huge comic book nerd.
...
and of course, films you really deplore?
If I had to pick one movie I hate I would pick
Anchorman. I am just not a fan of that type of comedy. Your/your
movie's website, social media, whatever else?
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I can be found on Instagram/Twitter/TikTok @DannyLimelight and Facebook by
searching Danny Limelight Rivera. I can also be reached via email
Dannylimelight@gmail.com Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
I
would just like to take a brief moment to thank everyone involved in this
project: Khaleesi Rivera, Mico Saad, Mark JP Hood, Paris Bravo, Savannah
Liles, Orli and Arielle Gottesman, Jentzen Ramirez, Jeff Schreiner, Omar
Heyward, Jesse Ricaldi, Jeffrey Santone, Justin Naranjo, Austin Durden,
Jessica Bravo, Tony Bravo, Wendy Liles, Lisa Gottesman, the people donating to
the cause and anyone I may have forgotten. I am very fortunate to be working
with passionate people and I constantly surround myself with people that
possess the same traits as myself. Thank you for allowing me to talk about this
film and myself. I am grateful. Thanks
for the interview!
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