1	Film & TV Keep your eye out for up-and-coming actor Rick Gonzalez. read more...
2	Music The rhythms of salsa rebel Wayne Gorbea. read more...
3	Books Joe Conzo, Jr. documents the birth of hip-hop. read more...
4	Calendar Our monthly list of premier events throughout the U.S. read more...

FILM & TV

The Next Big Thing

Puerto Rican actor Rick Gonzalez
is blowing up the screen.

So you want to know how it all got started?” Rick Gonzalez asks. One can’t help but wonder. In a short time, the handsome 28-year-old New York native has developed quite the following, along with a repertoire that seems to be growing at the speed of light.
It’s going to be a big year for Gonzalez, who grew up in Brooklyn and attended the prestigious High School of the Performing Arts, made famous in the movie Fame. With several projects slated for release in 2008, Gonzalez is drawing attention from producers who recognize that his growing fan base and connection to Latino audiences, not to mention talent, all point to a star on the rise.
One of the producers who can be counted among Gonzalez’ admirers is John Singleton, best known for directing Boyz in the Hood and producing Hustle and Flow. Singleton, who worked with the actor on Illegal Tender (see page 67), met Gonzalez on the red carpet at an event.
“He made a beeline straight for me and said, ‘I’ve seen it four times,’ ” says Gonzalez, who at first wasn’t sure of what Singleton meant. “Then I thought, oh, he’s talking about War of the Worlds.” The Steven Spielberg sci-fi suspense film grossed $234 million in 2005 and helped fuel Gonzalez’ popularity and reputation.
Gonzalez suggested the two work together and got the opportunity six months later when the chance to work on Illegal Tender surfaced. Gonzalez knew writer and director Franc. Reyes. Gonzalez had been a Reyes fan since he directed Empire, Reyes’ breakout film starring John Leguizamo as a drug dealer ready to quit the life.
“So I called him one day, and I said ‘I like this film, and I think you speak to Latinos. I like that you write from a perspective that’s close to me,’ ” Gonzalez says. “Then he says, ‘You know what I would do if I were to make a movie?’ and in that second he improvised the story for Illegal Tender.”
The story centers around the life of Wilson DeLeon, Jr. a college student who is coasting by, living a relatively easy life. When his mother’s secret past resurfaces and turns the family upside down, Wilson is forced to take a stand for the first time in his life.
The day after developing the idea Reyes coincidentally bumped into Singleton, who asked Reyes to write it, Gonzalez says.
Gonzalez, who was already a veteran of about a dozen film projects, was tasked with a lightening-quick 28-day shooting schedule. Not a problem, says the actor. His mission was to make the character leap from the page, wrestle with the film’s universal themes and bring something of himself to the role.
“I think most actors try to bring something of themselves to a character,” he says. “Sometimes in a role, you want to transform, but in doing this drama I wanted to bring a breath of fresh air. I tried to find what Rick would do and what would Wilson do [under the film’s circumstances] and that’s what you will see on screen. In the end it’s really a story of an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances.”
Another Gonzalez flick with a similar theme is What We Do Is Secret. The film, based on the punk band The Germs, documents the birth of punk music. It premiered at the L.A. Film Festival and may see a larger release this year.
“In studying the character Pat, I started to love where [band members] were coming from. I have an affinity for their love of the music,” he says. “When I was reading the script, I saw the bond that they had, and the fact that people were drawn to their circle.”
Other Gonzalez projects that should draw viewer attention this year are Oranges, Pride and Glory and The Promotion. And a packed schedule should keep him on the radar for a while.
“I hope I stay on this path, telling good stories like [these], diversifying ideas and stories and getting the chance to work with directors that have great ideas and that can fit someone like myself,” he says. “I would love to produce one day, because I would like to get involved in developing more projects.”

Where to Watch

Want to see more of Rick Gonzalez? A trip to the video store might see you running down the Drama, Comedy, Horror, Independent, Family and New Release aisles in order to find everything. Here’s a selection of some of his best:

Mambo Café (2000): Starring alongside Thalia, Gonzalez plays Ricky in this, his first film. Ricky tries to save his Puerto Rican family’s failing New York City restaurant by cooking up a plan: when a hit is put out on a local gangster, Ricky attempts to make sure he’s killed at the restaurant, believing the notoriety will stir up some business.
The Rookie (2002): Dennis Quaid is a former minor league pitcher whose career prematurely ended and now finds himself coaching high school baseball. His young players, Gonzalez as Rudy Bonilla among them, believe his shot is still not over and make a deal with Quaid: If they win the championship, he must try out for the majors.
Old School (2003): When a 30-something (Luke Wilson) moves onto a house on a college campus, his two friends (Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell) decide to reclaim their youth and start a fraternity. Gonzalez plays Spanish, a college kid hoping to find a spot in the inaugural group of frat brothers, made up of oddballs, loners, a homeless man and other misfits.
Coach Carter (2005): An inner-city basketball coach (Samuel L. Jackson) takes on the job of instructing an unruly bunch of players unused to discipline. Timo Cruz, played by Gonzalez, proves an especially difficult challenge as he’s lured away from the game by his drug-dealing friends and must fight to win back the coach’s respect and a spot on the team.
PULSE (2006): When a young man is found dead four friends discover that the virus that took his life might just have come from his computer. Gonzalez’s plays Stone, one of the pals.

TOP 10 DVDs
February

Bordertown
(Rated: R; Drama)
A journalist, played by Jennifer Lopez, is sent to Mexico to report on the rapes and murders of dozens of young women and discovers the horrific real story.

Charm School (Niñas Malas)
(Rated: NA; Comedy)
A rebellious teen, played by Martha Higreda, is sent to learn ladylike ways at a charm school that boasts it can turn any girl into a domestic goddess.

Death Sentence
(Rated: R; Suspense)
Kevin Bacon stars as a family man out for revenge after his eldest son is killed during a gang initiation. The DVD set features two versions of the film, the unrated version and the theater version.

Drama/Mex
(Rated: NA; Drama)
Produced by Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, Drama/Mex explores dark indiscretions in two different stories. In one, a man finds he is losing his girlfriend to her irresistible former lover and in the second, an office worker is pulled from suicide by a provocative teen.

El Cid
(Rated: NA; Classic)
The digitally remastered classic 1961 film about the Spanish knight Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar starring Sophia Loren and Charlton Heston and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Feel the Noise
(Rated: PG-13; Musical)
An aspiring rapper seeks refuge with the father he never knew in Puerto Rico, where he discovers reggaetón and develops a new dream.

Illegal Tender
(Rated: R; Suspense)
A college student full of promise, played by Rick Gonzalez, is forced to protect his mother when his father’s killers come back to settle an old score.

The Original
Latin Divas of Comedy
(Rated: NA; Comedy)
Comedians Marilyn Martinez, Sara Contreras, Monique Marvez and Sandra Valls joke about growing up Latina in different parts of the country from Miami to Texas to Jersey.

Things We Lost in the Fire
(Rated: R; Drama)
Halle Berry is a newly widowed mother who invites her late husband’s drug-addicted and troubled best friend, played by Benicio del Toro, into her disrupted home.

We Own the Night
(Rated: R; Drama)
Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Walberg star as two brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Phoenix is the party-loving manager of El Caribe nightclub, a drug and gangster den, and Walberg is NYPD on the case.