First of all, can you tell us who you are, where you from and what you all about?

What, you haven't heard of me?  What a slap in the face!  The name's Dave Gebroe, I've been directing short films for about ten years.  I came of age in New Jersey, went to Boston University film school, then tried to make ends meet while perfecting the art of no-budget filmmaking for as long as it took until I felt I was ready to make the jump to features.  Then I moved back home to Jersey, set up shop in my parents' basement, and nickel-and-dimed "The Homeboy" into existence.  The idea was to do the first hip-hop flick made by guys who knew hardly anything about the genre.  Because of this, it has a unique sensibility that is definitely its own.  Now I've got three new features I'm working on--one's a horror movie, one's a comedy, and one's a drama.  Who knows, maybe I'm schizophrenic.

The Homeboy, your latest movie, has been getting some mad reviews all over the net, now since I have not checked this movie out yet, can you tell me if this white rapper is for real, or is he just an actor pretending to be a rapper?

MC2 is an actor, Dave McCrea.  Although I have to say, he's quite convincing in the role.  He might as well be real.
   
I read that you have produced various shorts in the past, just by looking at the titles of these it appears that you are a movie maker with a difference, doing stuff that has more of an edge to it. Do you ever see yourself doing other kinds of movies, like drama or love stories?

As I mentioned above, I like to keep busy in all different types of genres. The two threads that seem to run through all of my work and connect everything I do is my desire to peek into a whole new world I know nothing about--this keeps things interesting for me from a creative standpoint, as I find stark everyday reality a bit boring to attempt to reconstruct, being surrounded by it all the time--and to have the actors play it straight no matter how insane the circumstances are.  Whenever the actors are delivering their lines with a wink, it reads as cutesy to me.  And that's not funny. Only John Candy can pull that off.  And hell, he's dead.
   
You got a new horror movie coming out, can you tell us a bit about it?

Yeah, it's called "Zombie Honeymoon", and it's based on a true story about my sister and her husband.  He died tragically in a surfing accident, and I wanted to recast their tale as sort of a pulpy b-movie.  It's kind of like "Romeo & Juliet" covered in entrails, a tragic love story that with all the gore and rollercoaster-like thrills of the horror genre, still has a strong emotional center & characters that you very much care about.  I go into production on "Zombie Honeymoon" in March 2003.  It's as different from "The Homeboy" as you can possibly imagine!
   
Okay let's get back to The Homeboy, do you think the success of the movie is based on the fact that we are seeing more white rappers coming out in the hip hop game and that this movie comes at just the right time?

I think that definitely has something to do with it.  Although honestly, the script was already finished before Eminem's "My Name Is" was even released, so it was just good timing.  As everyone knows, it's tough to get distribution for a first-time filmmaker without a big-name cast, so anything helps.  Hopefully it'll catch on for all the wrong reasons and then become a cult classic for all the right ones.
   
In terms of movie makers, which ones really inspire you?

My favorite films are generally from the Golden Age of Hollywood, the 1970s. Everything from "The Graduate" to "Raging Bull".  Favorite directors include Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, David Cronenberg, The Farrelly Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, The Coen Brothers, and Wes Anderson.  My favorite recent films include "The Royal Tenenbaums" & "Donnie Darko".  Favorite of all time is "The Graduate"--I've seen it nearly a hundred times.
   
The Homeboy, is this going to be released internationally?

Yes, my distributor--Urban Entertainment (the co-producers of "Undercover Brother")--has deals in the works with the UK, South Africa, and Japan, where it might also get a theatrical release.  This will all happen once it's been out on video for several months, and then had a pay TV run, as well.  I'm pretty excited to be big in Japan.  Always wanted to be.  Maybe I can do a gig at the Budokan at some point.

What was is that you wanted to bring out in this movie?

I just wanted to make a funny movie.  Although it does take some opportunities to make some jabs at the hypocrisy of the music industry--the whole "nigga/nigger" debate.  I like funny, and rappers seemed like a nice vehicle for some really amusingly written dialogue.  Again, it's a peek into a whole different universe, and a pretty surreal one at that.  The typical hip-hop flick takes place in a big city--this one's out in the middle of nowhere, in the Jersey suburbs, and there's actually very little rap included in the movie.  It's pretty out there!
   
Perhaps the next movie you do should be called "The Homoboy" and it can be about gay rappers?  What do you think?

There'd have to be enough money involved to take on a project that'd ensure career suicide.  But with the right amount, I could retire and just sleep all day, so maybe I'd consider it...
   
Speaking about your next work, will there be a sequel?

The idea has definitely come up, and we know exactly what would happen in it if we did do it--but there'd have to be enough interest in the first one to go ahead and write it.  These characters--MC2 and Hoolie Hooligan--definitely warrant revisiting, but I'd need a much bigger budget than the first one, as I'd be interested in doing something more about the nature of huge international fame than about one-hit-wonder obscurity.
   
So can you give us a little run down of what it was like on the set of this movie?

Generally, it was pretty easy-going.  Although on a production of this size, where it's a small crew attempting to make something great and lasting on a tiny budget with few resources, you have to work hard to get it done.  It only took 13 days to shoot it, and I got it to the end of editing for a total of $55,000, so you have to bust ass to make that happen without the typical mistakes that'll trip you up and make you fall flat on your face.  But I did it, dammit.  It's a combination of having fucked up plenty on my earlier shorts, and being psychotically determined to protect the initial concept so it comes out like I imagined it.  For the most part, nobody stood in the way of that happening, so it was a pretty free-flowing process most of the way through.
   
On a more personal level what music are you listening to right now?

I listen to music constantly, although funny enough--almost no hip-hop.  This is what I've been grooving to recently--The Mamas & The Papas, The Beach Boys, Yo La Tengo, Parliament, Wilco, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Elvis Costello, Moby Grape, John Fahey, Sonic Youth, and a lot of other stuff, mostly modern rock and 60s stuff.
   
So are there any last words you would like to leave us with?

Yeah--make sure you track down "The Homeboy" & spread the word about it.  Try to get the DVD--there's some amazing bonus features like director's
commentary (some of the funniest you'll ever hear), deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes footage.  I guarantee you a memorable experience.  Oh, and...don't kill people.  It's so rude.

Watch Trailers of The Homeboy here:

Low Quality/Slow internet connection:
(3.3MB QuickTime MOV file | 4:3 Full Screen | 240 x 180 pixels)

Medium Quality/56K internet connection:
(6.5MB QuickTime MOV file | 16:9 Letterbox | 240 x 180 pixels)

High Quality/Dual-Channel ISDN (or better) internet connection:
(13.6MB QuickTime MOV file | 16:9 Letterbox | 320 x 240 pixels)

Ultra-High Quality/T1 internet connection (warning, extremely long download):
(65MB QuickTime MOV file | 16:9 Letterbox | 320 x 240 pixels)

For more info visit The Homeboy's official website.

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