TriBeca Gets a Taste of the Bronx
Written by Jon Minners
As seen in the Bronx Times Reporter
Bronx
resident Antonio Ortiz may only be seven-years-old, but he’s already a
veteran of television and film with his latest role being showcased at this
weekend’s TriBeca Film Festival.
The young Melrose Avenue resident will get some much needed exposure this Saturday, April 29, during the screening of Just Like the Son, a story that chronicles 20-year-old Daniel Carter’s (Mark Webber of Drive Me Crazy) attempt to help an eight-year-old Boone, played by Ortiz, find a better life.
“Everyone should come out and see the movie, because I’m good in it,” proclaimed the already modest Ortiz when asked about this weekend’s premiere, during a humorous and fun spirited interview. “It’s not just because I am good at it. The movie itself is good.”
The film surrounds Daniel’s connection with Boone. Daniel meets Boone while doing community service at an East Village grade school. The boys strike up a friendship during which Daniel learns that Boone’s mother is sick and may be hospitalized. He also learns that Boone has an older sister, Charlotte, who lives in Dallas. When Boone does not show up for school a few days later, Daniel begins to ask questions and learns that Boone was placed into a temporary foster care in upstate New York.
After being turned down as an adoption candidate, and failing to convince his father to help him gain custody, Daniel decides to take the law in his own hands. He puts all his street smarts to use and breaks Boone out of foster care and they head to Dallas. While the goal is to locate Boone’s sister, the heart of the story, according to representatives associated with the film, is the unexpected and beautiful bond Daniel and Boone form during their road trip adventure; a bond that was duplicated between the actors playing the roles.
“I had so much fun filming the road trip,” said Ortiz of the three-week film process. “We got to see so many different things. I enjoyed the filming of the movie. I like Mark; he’s funny – he’s my friend.”
This poignant story of unlikely friendship and redemption, directed by Morgan J. Freeman, who directed American Psycho 2, contains powerful character performances from not only Webber and Ortiz, but also Rosie Perez, of White Men Can’t Jump and Untamed Heart and Brendan Sexton III, of Black Hawk Down. “People are going to really like it,” said Ortiz, who plans to attend the film’s premiere on Saturday. “I can’t wait to see it. I can’t wait to do more. I just like acting. It’s fun. You get to be different characters all the time.”
Ortiz has played a number of characters since the age of three when he first got into acting. His mother worked for a not-for-profit organization. It was there that Ortiz ran into a model that worked for her. “I said she was beautiful,” he remembers, and the rest was history. The model, enjoying the spunk of the young child, gave the card of her former manager to Ortiz’s mom and the future star received his first audition for a K-Mart ad, booking the appearance during his first audition; a rare feat for someone so green in the industry.
Since then, residents may have seen him in the national “Meet the Elliots” campaign for Verizon, commenting on crash tests in a Toyota commercial, or showing off his break dancing moves in his spot for Universal Studios. Antonio recently appeared in the acclaimed TNT movie The Knights of South Bronx opposite Ted Danson, has a recurring role on the Nickelodeon series Blues Clues, and was featured on Chappelle’s Show. “I’m going to continue acting until I am 50,” he assures, balancing his love for the art form with another love for Hip Hop dance and an enjoyment of playing the drums and guitar.
And Ortiz does it all while balancing his schoolwork, attending a Catholic school where students recognize his work. “They ask me if I have been on television and I say yes,” he said. “That’s really a lot of fun and now more people will notice me.”
In addition to acting, Ortiz hopes to parlay his studies into a career in veterinary medicine or a plane engineer; maybe both. At the same time, Ortiz has dreams of being a magician, but acting is still in his heart. The youngster is getting ready to shoot a Puerto Rican film and has landed an audition for what will be a surefire blockbuster hit, Spider-Man 3.
“I love Spider-Man,” said Ortiz. “I liked part two more, because of Doctor Octopus, but the Green Goblin is cool too. I like the evil guys and I told my mom before they said they were making Spider-Man 3 that I wish I could be in the next movie and now my wish may be granted.”
But Ortiz, who credits Van Helsing as his favorite movie, because he is a “vicious child,” would like to star in a vampire movie. “I’m very interested in that stuff,” he said. “I like all the action…I like the weapons.”
And on that road to success, Ortiz credits two people the most. “My mother thinks I am really good,” he said. “When I am nervous, she says calm down and I feel better. She’s a huge groupie. My mom and dad; they believe in me. When they do that, acting is just fun.”
For more information on Ortiz and the movie Just Like the Son, go to www.justlikethesonmovie.com. For more information on the film’s screening at the TriBeca Film Festival, go to http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/.
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