Danny Trejo Tried To Warn Them - The Story of American Me
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What is the story behind the movie American Me?
You know that actor Danny Trejo? Well he once turned down a movie role and that movie ultimately got some people killed. Now this story actually starts with this guy, Edward. And Edward is 44 when all this begins and he's living in Los Angeles. And bro is an actor. You've probably seen him in Blade Runner and Battlestar Galactica. At one point he gets nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie Stand and Deliver, which makes his career blow up. But one day in 1991, Edward gets the opportunity of a lifetime, because a movie studio offers him a chance to direct and star in the lead role of his own movie. And this is great news for Edward. So he gets to thinking. He really wants to make some sort of mafia movie, like The Godfather or Goodfellas, something people will love.
And ultimately, he decides to make his movie based on a true story of the Mexican mafia, The movie will eventually be called American Me. And since Edward's movie is based on a true story, he wants everything to be legit. So he takes the extra step to hire actors and consultants who personally know or have worked with the Mexican Mafia. One of those actors that Edward tries to hire is this guy, Danny Trejo. Now, Danny, he's a really interesting guy. Up to this point in the story, he spent most of his adult life in prison for all kinds of things, dealing drugs and stabbing a guy in the face. And at one point, he was charged with attempted murder and was facing the death penalty. But after he got out of prison, he got clean, he got sober, and he turned his life around and got into acting.
Who is Danny Trejo and what is his connection to American Me?
And you've probably seen him in a million different movies and TV shows. Machete, Breaking Bad, he's been in all kinds of things. But at the time Edward tries to hire him for his movie, American Me, remember, it's still 1991. So Danny is somewhat new to acting at this point, and he isn't really famous yet. Regardless, Edward knows Danny is the real deal. He knows Danny is friendly with a lot of real members of the Mexican mafia because, you know, he was in prison with a lot of them. So Edward sends Danny the script to American Me to get him to be in it. And Danny reads this script and immediately he's like, oh, hell no, I am not going to be in this movie. Cause there's a big problem. The movie is supposed to be a true story about the two heads of the Mexican mafia gang.
However, Edward's script has taken some artistic liberties with the story. For example, there are major events in the script that didn't happen in real life, including one of the top members of the Mexican mafia getting essayed by another male while locked up in juvenile hall. And Danny knows the real members of this gang, they're not going to like this. They'll see this as a sign of disrespect. Not only that, he knows that all of the members of that gang have taken an oath to seek revenge on anyone who disrespects them. Which means that this script is probably going to get some people killed. So Danny agrees to meet with Edward to talk to him about this script. I mean, he's got to tell him how dangerous it is to make this movie.
So they meet up at a local deli. And when Edward walks into the place, he's suddenly dressed like a cholo because I guess this is some form of method acting. And Danny like cringes because he knows he's really a rich Hollywood actor with no prison or gang experience at all. And so now it is very apparent to Danny that this guy has no idea how serious this all is. And he tries to warn him, Edward, you can't do this. You can't base this movie on real gangsters and then disrespect them by adding essay scenes that didn't happen in real life. And Edward's like, but it's more theatrical this way, so I took some artistic liberties. And Danny's like, artistic liberties? This is the Mexican Mafia. They'll kill you.
But see, Edward, he ain't trying to hear all that. I mean, movies based on true stories take artistic liberties all the time, and he wants his movie to be good. So Danny warns him again. You need permission from the top.
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