Greetings from the set of the new Danny Trejo movie THE BILL COLLECTOR. I am your humble writer and co-producer of this movie also starring World reknowned worship leader Dr. Ron Kenoly. Rather than retype in all what this is about - because I’m really busy wrangling extras - I’m going to post our press release that will tell you all about it. In the coming days, when I can steal a moment, I’ll be blogging here to tell you some secrets from the set.
Spy Kids actor Danny Trejo to play “Frankie” in Messenger Films production
The Bill Collector
Norfolk, VA - Messenger Films is pleased to announce that veteran character actor Danny Trejo will play tough-guy villain Frankie Gutiérrez, a loan shark and small-time hoodlum, in the new production The Bill Collector, scheduled to start shooting October 6, 2008 in the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area of Virginia.
Danny Trejo has been featured in such notable films as Grindhouse (directed by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez), Halloween (2007) (directed by Rob Zombie), Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (starring Will Farrell), Con Air (starring Nicolas Cage), From Dusk Til Dawn (directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring George Clooney), Heat (directed by Michael Mann and starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro), and all three Spy Kids movies (also directed by Robert Rodriguez).
Danny Trejo has also appeared on the TV programs The Young and the Restless, Stargate: Atlantis, King of the Hill, The X Files, Walker, Texas Ranger and Baywatch.
In The Bill Collector, Lorenzo Adams works as a manipulative, overbearing bill collector in Norfolk, Virginia. When his boss leaves for a three-week vacation to a remote island, Lorenzo takes charge of the office. Lorenzo’s checkered past comes back to haunt him, however, when the very next day, Frankie Guttiérrez (played by Danny Trejo), a loan shark and small-time hoodlum, shows up on Lorenzo’s doorstep. Frankie informs Lorenzo he has eighteen days to pay a debt in full, or forfeit his life. Lorenzo comes up with a cockamamie scheme to pay Frankie back when he stumbles across the Life Enrichment Center (an inner-city mission), and brings in the “rejects” from the Center to collect money for Lorenzo. Good things seem to come to all involved, as people who never had much of a chance in life (as well as those who have “blown” their chances) find meaning and hope in their new work.
The Bill Collector also stars Tom Ohmer as Lorenzo’s boss, Stan Davenport. Tom played in Charlie Wilson’s War (starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts) and TV’s The Unit, Crossing Jordan, and The O.C among many other movies and TV programs.
Internationally known worship pastor Dr. Ron Kenoly appears in The Bill Collector as Pastor Kevin, the director of the Life Enrichment Center. Kenoly’s emphasis on jubilant praise and musical excellence has endeared him to congregations all over the world. His first critical success came in 1992 with the worship album Lift Him Up. Welcome Home was also critically acclaimed, becoming Billboard’s “Top Indie Contemporary Christian music album”, and winning a Gospel Music Association Dove Award for “Praise and Worship Album” in 1997.
Also in The Bill Collector is Elisabeth Omilami, who plays Wanda, Pastor Kevin’s wife. Elisabeth has appeared in such movies as We are Marshall (starring Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox), Madea’s Family Reunion (starring Tyler Perry and Blair Underwood) and Ray (starring Academy Award winner Jamie Fox).
The Bill Collector is written, directed and executive produced by veteran filmmaker Cristóbal Krusen. Among other films, Cristóbal is the writer and director of Final Solution, a true tale of racial reconciliation set in apartheid-era South Africa, and he is also the co-writer and director of First Landing, the true tale of Reverend Robert Hunt and the founding of Jamestown, Virginia.
