DAVID FISCHER
Associated Press
11/8/2006
MIAMI - When Billy Corben and Alfred Spellman learned their new documentary was a top seller at a Miami flea market, they found themselves both surprised and confused - especially since the film hadn't even been released in theaters yet.
But instead of contacting an attorney, the 28-year-old Miami-natives decided to embrace the positive reaction and interview the flea market vendors on camera.
Between bootleg DVDs and strong word-of-mouth, "Cocaine Cowboys" - named for a term made popular by the media in the '70s and '80s - had already become an underground hit in Miami before its theatrical release Friday. The video of the flea market vendors can be found online, along with footage from a barber shop that shows the movie all day for its customers and interviews with hip-hop artists who have seen the film.
"Yes, it's our copyrighted material, and people are bootlegging it and selling it and making money, and we're not," said Corben, the director. "So what are you going to do about that? How do you stop it? It's like a phenomenon."
A vendor named L said he first got a copy of "Cocaine Cowboys," which follows the history of the Miami drug trade, from a friend in New York.
"I started playing it, like, playing it the store," a vendor identified on the video as X said. "People walk by and they be seeing a lot of money on the TV. They be like, 'Man, what's that about?' I let 'em know its called 'Cocaine Cowboys.' That's interesting to people in Miami. They love to hear stuff like that."
While the filmmakers might be losing money up front, Spellman, the film's producer, is confident the exposure will pay off down the line.
"The hip-hop industry has realized that when the streets embrace something, you can't buy that kind of buzz," Spellman said
"You cannot buy the type of word-of-mouth buzz that starts at the street level. It's friends telling friends, and those are the people that trust each other the most. The word-of-mouth advertising is the best form of advertising you can have."
Spellman said the real key to making "Cocaine Cowboys" was in the people the filmmakers were able to interview. Besides talking to police, lawyers and journalists who lived and worked in Miami during the '70s and '80s, Corben and Spellman were also interviewed people involved in the drug trade.
"When making a feature documentary it's all about access," Spellman said.
"I think that with the benefit of 25, 30 years hindsight now, we can kind of a reflect on what the industry did to the community, in both a positive and negative way."
"Cocaine Cowboys" includes interviews with Jon Roberts, who trafficked more than $2 billion worth of cocaine for the Medellin cartel, and Mickey Munday, who flew more than 10 tons of cocaine from Columbia to the United States. Both men served prison sentences for their part in the drug trade.
The filmmakers also spoke with former hit man Jorge "Rivi" Ayala, who remains in prison for murder.
Spellman said the hip-hop community has been a major factor in the film's underground popularity. Fans include artists like Trick Daddy, Fat Joe, Pitbull and Pharrell Williams.
"This documentary has surfaced from South Dade in Miami to West Dade in Miami to North Dade," Miami-native Trick Daddy said in an interview available on the production company's YouTube channel. "The street is getting its recognition for it. I mean the difference between this movie and 'Scarface' is that's just for the movies. This is a documentary. This is totally different. These are facts. Anything else is fiction."
Corben and Spellman are relatively young, but they are not novices. The pair started making short films together 12 years ago while they were high school sophomores. They formed their production company, rakontur, when they made their first feature-length documentary, "Raw Deal: A Question of Consent." The in-depth look into an alleged gang rape at a University of Florida fraternity house was widely praised when it played at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. To follow "Raw Deal," the pair had initially considered doing a narrative film about the history of drugs in Miami, but Corben said they eventually settled on doing a documentary. While there are other stories to tell than those portrayed in films like "Scarface" or shows like "Miami Vice," Corben said the pair ultimately decided it would be better to tell the real story behind Hollywood version.
Corben and Spellman are already working on their next project, "Clubland." The Web series will take a behind-the-scenes look at the Miami Beach nightclub business.
"Cocaine Cowboys" opens this weekend in Miami and New York, followed by a Los Angeles release Nov. 7. The film will open throughout the rest of the country Nov. 10. Distributor Magnolia Pictures has committed to opening the film in 25 markets initially but could expand its release into additional markets if it does well.
On the Web:
http://www.rakontur.com
http://www.magpictures.com
http://www.cocainecowboys.com
http://www.youtube.com/rakontur
http://www.myspace.com/cocainecowboys
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at 6:34PM ;)
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