More Than a Movie: American Me

In More Than A Movie, host Alex Fumero dissects a cultural phenomenon and looks at its impact on different communities. EXILE Content Studio's latest podcast Shoot the Messenger: Espionage, Murder, & Pegasus Software (subscribe here) is a deep dive into one of the hottest phenomenons today - cybersecurity and spyware. We all use our phones daily, as almost an extension of ourselves - but what happens when our phones are no longer safe?   Jamal Khashoggi's life, assassination, and betrayal opened up a timeline for a new digital battle: cyber-surveillance weapons.   In 2018, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey and was never seen again. Weeks later, the Turkish intelligence released secret tapes of Khashoggi's last moments before being brutally murdered, causing an international uproar. It has been four years since Khashoggi's murder, and what we now know is that the first weapon used against Khashoggi was digital and it's called Pegasus - a kind of software that can be used to hijack your phone; a military-grade, spyware software. A new biweekly serialized podcast, every season Exile Content Studio investigates one international new story. You may have heard the headlines — this is the deep dive. The first season examines the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and his inner circle that has had the world's most sophisticated military-grade spyware confirmed on their phones. It's called Pegasus. How did this spyware come to be, how does it work, and how vulnerable are you?   Shoot the Messenger is hosted by Rose Reid and Nando Vila and is a production of Exile Content Studio.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We recap what we've learned, especially the whirlwind final months when we got to the bottom of what happened here. We set out to find out what happened during and after the production of the movie American Me. It took six months, but we think we've determined who did what, and why they did it. Instead of fuzzy memories and street rumors, we finally talked to some of the people closest to the events. We put the events in context for the listener and provide our major takeaways. For perhaps the first time ever, we learn the "why" to one of the most notorious movie productions in American history.   More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former member of the Mexican Mafia who was in the criminal syndicate at the time of the movie, explains how it all went down. A former member of the Mexican Mafia explains the process of extorting Edward James Olmos and the fallout on the street after the release of the movie, including the reasons for the killings of people who participated. He explains how the gang works, to what they took offense, and why people died.    More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Danny Haro was Edward James Olmos' right-hand man during his extortion and the production of the movie Danny Haro worked with Edward James Olmos throughout his career and was instrumental as the link between the filmmaker and the Mexican Mafia. He coordinated the delivery of the script to the prison and served as the go-between for Olmos and the Mexican Mafia.    More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antoinette Levine was one of the best-known location managers in Hollywood when Edward James Olmos asked her to get him into a prison.  Antoinette Levine was one of the premier Hollywood location managers in the early 1990s, with a talent for finding gritty Los Angeles backdrops for directors like Tony Scott. When she pitched Edward James Olmos on her vision, he went for it — then asked her to get him into Folsom Prison. With some convincing, she was able to get the movie to film in an active, working prison, a Hollywood first.   More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While American Me was being filmed, a documentary was being shot behind the scenes following the real-life gangsters who were working on the movie. Filmmakers Susan Todd and Andy Young join the podcast to talk about "Lives In Hazard" the documentary they made behind the scenes about the neighborhood gang members and the inmates at Folsom who were integrated into the cast and crew. We'll hear about the real-life or death scenarios behind American Me as documented by the filmmaking duo.   More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer Erick Galindo grew up with American Me and remembers vividly the impact it had on the streets of L.A. Podcaster and writer Erick Galindo doesn't hold back in the recounting of his childhood in East and Southeast LA in the 1990s. And in those days, the movie that every kid in the barrio knew backwards and forwards was American Me. Erick says he saw firsthand how the film impacted recruitment into gangs and the word on the street when it came to the murders connected to the movie.   More Than a Movie: American Me is a podcast that digs into the history and mystery of American Me, a film directed by and starring Edward James Olmos that had a huge impact on Latino cinema and culture. In every episode, our host, Alex Fumero will be diving into the controversy behind the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Milton Grimes represented a Mexican Mafia leader who sued the production of American Me for stealing his life story. Milton Grimes represented Rodney King after his beating by the LAPD. He has served as a defense attorney in nine death penalty cases in 56 jury trials, and once got the call to represent notorious gang leader Joe “Peg Leg“ Morgan in his lawsuit against the movie.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Sal Lopez spent months close to Edward James Olmos on the set of American Me and remembers the day he was told that people from the movie were dying.  Sal Lopez trained as a dancer, but his real breakout was when he went to his first casting call. Sal was part of the first wave of Mexican American actors to break into the mainstream, and American Me would be his magnum opus. But Sal was also in France at the peak of the movie's success at the Cannes Film Festival when he was told that people connected to the film in LA were being killed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The actors who played Puppet and Little Puppet, Danny de la Paz and Daniel Villarreal, share their experiences on-set and in the aftermath.   Danny de la Paz (Puppet) and Daniel Villarreal (Little Puppet) weren't just actors cast in American Me — they were part of a family of actors and filmmakers assembled by Edward James Olmos over the years that culminated with two powerful performances in American Me. They also share how the news hit them when they heard about the murder of gang interventionist and crew member, Ana Lizarraga.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actor Jacob Vargas shares his experience on and off screen with gangs, movies and American Me.   Jacob Vargas caught a big break when at the age of 20 he was tapped to play Paulito in American Me. Since then he's had a career most actors would envy and continues starring in TV and film even today. How has he thrived as a Latino in Hollywood? What was it like being a kid in LA growing up around real gangs? And what impact did American Me actually have in his neighborhood? Was it the cautionary tale Olmos claims it was or did it somehow make kids think gangs were cool?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Edward James Olmos is one of the most decorated and respected actors alive, especially in the Latino community. Who is the man responsible for American Me, and why did he make it? Most of us know Edward James Olmos as a legendary actor, but he's also an activist who for decades has worked on behalf of Latino causes from Hollywood to Washington D.C. But when both of those sides of him collided to make a movie that would stop gang violence what resulted may have been the exact opposite. Why did Olmos make American Me and what went wrong in the process?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

American Me was supposed to help end gang violence — instead, it may have led to the murders of at least three people. Host Alex Fumero unpacks the story of American Me, a film directed by legendary Latino actor Edward James Olmos, and his choice to base the film on a real-life gang called the Mexican Mafia or La Eme. Did Olmos' decision to fictionalize the lives of these men lead to the murders of several crew members?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.