My mother has always been interested in the elderly and the process of aging and I think she transmitted that to me at an early age.  When I was born, all of my grandparents on both sides of my family were dead, but my mother wanted me to have the experience of having a grandmother.  So she took me to a nursing home near my school.  We picked out an older lady in the recreation room and I began visiting her every week after school. Somewhere along the way--I guess--we must have asked her permission, but who has time for formalities when there are warm hugs to be shared and stories to be told. At any rate, Miss Bessie Mae became my grandmother and I visited her for ten years until she passed away.  Even though she is no longer with us, I still keep in touch with her family and visit them whenever I return home to Maryland.

It was during these weekly visits to the nursing home that I first became acquainted with the care, and sometimes lack of care, that the elderly receive in America.  While Miss Bessie Mae had a family that loved her and cared for her well-being, there are many seniors who are lonely, abused and neglected.  In making this movie, I hoped to shine a little bit of light on the plight of the elderly and also intergenerational relationships.  Many young people feel that old people must be treated with kid gloves and probably wouldn't be interested in speaking with them.  But while some may be that way, most are not.  They still have a sense of humor, human desires and the same needs as everyone else for love, companionship and a sense of purpose.


It's funny how you reveal so much of your own personality, or maybe your own baggage, when you write and direct a film.  I didn't realize until after I made "Among Thieves" how much of my own inner conflict regarding situational ethics is apparent on screen. Let me elaborate.  I grew up in a strict religious home where most issues were either black or white-with no middle shades of gray.  Now, as an adult, I find myself wrestling constantly with how much "gray" is in the world.  For example, if I am walking past a grassy area that has a sign that says "Do Not Walk on the Grass!" I will do everything in my power to keep from walking on the grass.  But now, if there is a child being bitten by a dog in the middle of that grass, I have a dilemma.  While most people wouldn't hesitate to sprint across the grass and rescue the child, it would probably take me a fraction of a second longer while I weighed the needs of the person who made the reasonable request that I not walk on their grass with the needs of the child who is being mauled on their lawn.  While this is a "no-brainer" for most people, it is not so clear to me. I feel we can't be so quick to throw out rules that are not convenient.  I feel that most people practice a very fluid form of situational ethics - whatever feels right at the time.  The ends justify the means.  I find that hard to accept.

(caution: spoilers) So when I sat down to write this script, I decided to try to create a scenario where it was alright to kill a stranger.  I wanted to take something that is inherently wrong and make it seem right.  What's funny is that most people automatically think that this is a pro-euthanasia movie.  But I actually don't consider it to be so.  I just wanted to demonstrate how much "gray" there is in the world and show both sides of the situation.


We shot for 7 days in April 2004 in South Central, L.A. "Here's me (left) washing one of the pictures vehicles during the shoot." The differences between shooting in Pasadena or Beverly Hills and South Central are fascinating.  In South Central, we found the residents were very happy to have us shoot there - letting us put "video village" in their yards without any prior notice and actually volunteering to move their cars, so we could park our trucks in the most strategic locations when we did not have the street permitted.  Whole families would come and watch us shoot for hours.  Not once did we have any nuisance complaints.  Whereas, when I have shot in Pasadena, you get the distinct impression that the residents don't want you there.  And if you step out of line, they've got the EIDC on speed dial.  At our location in South Central, we found the residents warm and welcoming, in spite of the neighborhood's reputation.

Making "Among Thieves" was the most challenging experience I have ever faced in my life.  It was physically, emotionally and financially exhausting.  But it was also one of the happiest times as well. 

There's nothing like putting your life-savings on "one spin of the wheel" to really make you feel alive.  Who needs Las Vegas, when you can go out and gamble with your credit cards and savings and make a movie.  If you're looking to live dangerously, there's nothing better than financing your own films!  I highly recommend it.

I'd like to thank the cast, crew, vendors, mentors and friends of "Among Thieves" for helping turn my dream into reality.  It is better than I ever imagined, thanks to you.  You all are amazing and I will appreciate your generosity forever.  Thank you!