Movie critics try to evaluate the complete context of a film before putting text to screen. They ask themselves: who made it, what was the motivation, was it successful? In the case of first-time filmmaker Attila Korosi, Live and Die in East L. A. was a success, despite its, at times, indolent dialogue and impuissant performances from two of the main characters: Ishaan Bahri and Korosi himself (which he admitted to of his own acting during Q&As at the Sony Studios premiere).
Korosi's own personal back-story makes watching this film so fun! Thousands of independent directors set out every year to make cinema but few, for example, are capable of funding features with acclaimed actors such as Richard Cabral (Mayans M. C.), Robert LaSardo (The Mule) and Cesar Garcia of Breaking Bad. It is reported that Korosi used his earnings (and charm) from ride-sharing proceeds to co-produce this film - knowing this before watching his complex storyline play out, sets the viewer up for a good time (and don't get me started on the cleaver scene - gasps could be heard in the audience at the theatrical screening I attended)!
Now ask yourself this: how did this unknown writer/actor/director/producer get this film off the ground (shot in difficult-to-access East L. A.) and get it sold even!? The answer is attributed to his talent for using natural charisma to entice pros to work with him - i.e: an Emmy-nominated actor, an Emmy-nominated supervising sound editor, additional music from an award-winning songwriter (who was former staff at Hans Zimmer's music studio no less) and A CAST OF OVER 100 ACTORS!
Maybe this won't win any awards but Korosi has proven himself to be a veteran producer right from the starting line - which is fitting, because he came to the States by utilizing a running scholarship to move from a war-torn country with the dream of making movies in America and he crossed the finish line with an Amazon Prime release - won and (not) done.
