At this point in his career, you'd think that John Leguizamo would have seen it all. But according to the veteran actor, the sets of action-packed movies like "Carlito's Way" and "Summer of Sam" have nothing on what he experienced while filming his latest flick, "The Take"—an intense indie pic shot in East L.A. that was selected as the Closing Night feature for our 13th Annual Gen Art Film Festival.

"In all my two decades in the biz I have had some hairy experiences, but this was the toughest set I have ever been a part of, and the most exciting and supportive," Leguizamo, who plays the victim of a violent armored car heist, has said. "I think because of the tension it made the movie better. It was Murphy's Law (and I don't mean Eddie's). Anything that could go wrong did." From shootouts with local hoods on day one to losing their gun-toting villain, Tyrese Gibson, to a "Transformers" re-shoot on day five, 18 days worth of set drama reached a tipping point when Leguizamo opened his trailer door to discover that he was rolling down the Santa Monica Highway—the producer had run out of money and it was being towed.

Budget constraints aside, as Felix de la Pena, a family man obsessed with extracting revenge on the criminal who gunned him down, Leguizamo delivers one of the most intense, but believable, performances of his career. (Which must be why he's so eager to work with first-time director Brad Furman again!) You can see the fruits of their labor yourself when this must-see flick opens tomorrow night at the Mann Criterion Theatre in Santa Monica.

The Mann Criterion Theatre is located at 1313 3rd Street; click here for tickets and showtimes.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:film, Gen Art Film Festival

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