Director Greg Carter has created an urban version of Romeo & Juliet called A Gangland Love Story to bring Shakespeare to the masses. The film’s theme, “Three families, Two Lovers, One War,” is centered on a Houston drug cartel and its high society members.
Starring Reagan Gomez as “Julia” and A.J. Lamas as “Romano,” the movie tells the tale of two young lovers trapped into families of the illegal trade. They inevitably escape their clashing clans by fleeing in none other than a customized Cadillac.
“I wanted to take Shakespeare’s work to those in the streets and hoods,” he said. “I felt compelled to do it.”
During the making of his first film, Fifth Ward, Carter was astounded by the overwhelming amount of peers from his neighborhood who were unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s most famous work. Therefore, he chose to create a contemporary remake of the classic that was widely relatable.
“I wanted you to feel like it could be your story and feel like ‘I’ve been her or him,’ regardless of race,” Carter said. To do this, Carter made a conscious effort to make the characters culturally accurate but not overly cliché.
“I wanted to reach for something a bit more noble and higher,” he said, explaining that he also wanted to try something a little different.
Carter cast Latinos and African-Americans to play the roles of the modern day Capulets and Montagues, saying they notoriously take pride in their decadent rides. He intentionally cast the lead roles with actors who have a sense of Hollywood royalty, because the original characters had access to wealth and political power. He shares that he always knew he would make Julia a black woman.
“I love black women and have always had a fascination with writing and creating roles for them to do more,” he said.
The film was originally titled Elbows and Vogues (Houston’s signature rim and tire) to symbolize the feuding families in the tale. Instead, the initial title became the title of the movie’s theme song, which will be released on the Swisha House produced soundtrack.
“We’ve never done anything like that before,” Paul Wall said. “It was a great experience doing the soundtrack.”
In A Gangland Love Story, the characters don’t interact with others outside wealth and power and carry weapons to publicize the drug game.
Carter wanted to convey the negative effects of that lifestyle while being accurate to Shakespeare and show “that, in the end, that is a life that leads to absolutely no where.” –callye peyrovi
