Nuevo Laredo Film Shoot

Nuevo Laredo, shooting on location. The film is about the drug cartel wars. Couldn’t be a more dangerous film to make under more dangerous conditions. The camera is hidden in the director’s lapel to disguise what we’re doing. I’m acting in a scene with Ed Asner in a crowded plaza. It’s intimidating to work with such a notable actor, but I do my best.  Asner is right in my face, shouting about a terrible shooting he just witnessed. “Wow, this is an intense scene,” I think, then realize he’s not acting. Gunmen are roaming through the plaza, randomly killing people. The director doesn’t even say “Cut.” He just starts running. We all run … blood and mayhem everywhere … I run for a parking garage, the gunmen right behind me … can’t find my car … a car speeds out of control down the ramp—the driver has been shot through the head … bullets still flying … only one thing to do: as the car passes, I grab the door handle and hold on for dear life flying towards the exit, gunfire all around … “I’m going to die!” … the car careens out of the garage onto a street of restaurants and clubs. On a balcony, tourists sit calmly sipping margaritas … the car hits the building, the balcony collapses … I pull myself out of the wreckage and see lying next to me two debris-and-blood-covered American women still drinking their margaritas, continuing their conversation as if nothing has happened …