Gang-froid

"In my movie, the gang is called Deuces," explains Steve Anderson, who has spent the last couple of years in L.A.'s most infamous neighborhoods writing and directing two films about black gang members. His first, a short called Hearts of Stone, so impressed Oliver Stone that he became executive producer of Anderson's feature-length debut, South Central. Anderson, who is white, is anything but a typical boy 'n the hood. "I've taken some heat, " he acknowledges. "But I'm not trying to teach black people anything. I'm trying to show everyone something: the lack of father-and-son relationships. I could have set it in any community. If Martians had kids, this story would fit. "

BLAISE SIMPSON