BETOCUEVASLIVE’S
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH
ZEV BERMAN, DIRECTOR OF BORDERLAND!
Zev Berman, director and co-writer of Borderland,
recently took some time to talk to betocuevaslive about our favorite topic,
Beto Cuevas,
and his involvement in Zev’s latest opus.
Zev, first of all, a non-Beto question.
As many know already, Borderland is based on the
true story of a group of college students who become
involved with a murderous cult in Mexico.
What exactly drew you to this particular tale of
murder and mayhem, and how did you first hear about
it?
Borderland is indeed, based on a true story. In
1989, a Texas college student went missing on the
Mexican border. He had come down to South Padre
Island and Matamoros, Mexico to celebrate spring
break, along with thousands of other college kids.
His disappearance prompted an extensive man hunt, and
the investigation eventually turned up a drug cartel
that had gotten involved in the occult. They had
kidnapped this boy with the intention of using him in
a ritual sacrifice, and I’m not going to say another
word about it. I was there in ‘89. I was a part of
the chaos, as everyone was looking for him. The story
received national attention, and it left an
impression. I thought, “Wow that could have been me!”
Years later, I brought some ideas to another writer,
Eric Poppen. We developed the story together and had
a really enjoyable collaboration writing the script.
So you heard about it by being
there yourself. What an experience. And now you’ve
turned it into a major creative work. Well, so let
me ask you about Beto’s participation in the film.
Though he has a long-standing interest in acting,
Beto is best known as a successful rock musician. How
did you come to know him, or know of him, and what
led you to consider him for a role in Borderland?
We were interested in exploring popular Latin
musicians for the role of Santillan, as a way of
expanding the character’s appeal. I met with several,
but I didn’t connect with anybody. Our fictional cult
leader, Santillan, needed to appear sensitive,
refined, and burn with a magnetic intensity. Beto was
suggested, and I was told that he had acted once
before in a small role. We spoke on the phone for
over an hour, and I felt he had all the qualities I
was looking for: Intelligence, honesty, warmth, and
commitment. Beto made it clear that his interest in
acting was completely sincere. He put himself on tape
for us, and right away I knew we had our cult
leader.
Actually Santillan, Beto's character in the film,
is based on the persona of serial killer Adolfo Constanzo.
A pretty dark guy, to say the least. Why did you
think he (Beto) would be a good fit for this
particular role?
The real cult leader Constanzo was educated, charismatic, and soft spoken.
He was originally from Cuba, and had been a male
model at one time in his life. These traits
seemed like a perfect fit for Beto. I also think
there’s a natural connection between being a rock
star and a cult leader. Beto’s effortlessly
charismatic. He’s used to dealing with a public who
loves him. Beto is also quite grounded regarding his
celebrity, and I encouraged him to draw on his
experiences as a foundation for the role. Most
importantly, as a performer, he has made a career of
sharing himself very honestly,
and I think that’s what every actor needs.
So how was it, working with him? Were there any surprises?
I mean, considering this was Beto's first substantial
film role, were there any aspects of his performance that were unexpected?
Working with Beto was a pleasure, and he has since
become a good friend. He was quite prepared, and
researched the role thoroughly. We rehearsed for a
couple days in Tijuana, and hit on some key
discoveries that helped us both feel we had
discovered the character. I was amazed at how easy it
all seemed for him. Beto really surprised me when he
showed me some hand drawn designs for his character’s
tattoos. His drawing and painting are quite
accomplished, and we took the designs to the make up
department and they integrated them with our original
designs. The result is up on the screen.
Speaking of that “result”, and our (the fans') expectations:
you know we all feel we "know" Beto from his years
with La Ley. Many of us have had the opportunity to
meet him, and it's safe to say we think he's a pretty
cool guy. Do you think we will be shocked by his
transformation into Santillan?
Shocked? Definitely.
This is will be a very different Beto than fans have
seen before. I hope his fans give him the room to
show what he’s capable of. It’s part of what I
respect about Beto, that he’s willing to explore all
different sides of himself. Let’s face it, we all
have light and dark sides to our personalities, and
it takes courage to allow them out into the light.
Before you go, do you have any
juicy anecdotes from the set? Anything funny you want
to share? Or any other little thing you think we
would be interested in hearing?
I enjoyed watching Beto’s fans just walk up to him
like they knew him. This one guy handed Beto his cell
phone and asked Beto to sing to his girl friend. He
charmingly complied.
That’s great. So, tell us, what's up next for you, Zev?
Do you have any new projects in the works?
Yup. A whole new way of looking at Vampires.
Can’t say anything else.
OK. when you’re ready --
I know we would all love to hear more about it.
But, when you’re ready!
Now, last but not least, do you think you might work
with Beto again? (You know I have to ask!)
In a heartbeat.
OK! Thanks so much for your time, Zev.
We are all looking forward to actually seeing the
results of all your hard work. Borderland premieres
in March 2007 at the prestigious South By Southwest
Film Festival in Austin, TX. Next stop, your local
movie screen! Enjoy!
Interview by Susan Enterline
Borderland is Zev Berman’s second full-length feature film.
His first, Plain Dirty, is widely available on DVD,
with occasional sightings on Showtime and other cable networks.
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