Coming out this week from Lionsgate and Pantelion Films is the upcoming thriller EN BRAZOS DE UN ASESINO, starring William Levy and Alicia Sanz in which a cold-blooded assassin suddenly becomes responsible for the fate of a beautiful woman desperate to flee the clutches of a vicious drug lord who has held her captive for 9 years.
Based on the book “Killing Sarai,” by J.A. Redmerski”, EN BRAZOS DE UN ASESINO was directed by Matias Moltrasio and also stars Adrian Lastra, Roberto Sosa, Ettore D’Alessandro and Jean Jean. William Levy also serves as screenwriter and producer, alongside Jeff Goldberg
Victor (William Levy) has a deep secret – he is a cold-blooded assassin. Smooth talking and seductive, Victor was raised to do one thing only, which is to kill for money. When he is sent to the home of a brutal drug lord to collect payment for his most recent hit, he encounters the beautiful Sarai (Alicia Sanz), who has been forced to spend the last 9 years of her life with the drug lord. After Victor leaves the compound, Sarai seizes her chance at freedom by hiding out in Victor’s car. But things don’t go as planned and instead of being transported back to her home, she finds herself free from one dangerous man only to be caught in the clutches of another. While on the run from the vengeful drug lord and his brutal henchmen, Victor’s conscience catches up with him as he risks all that he stood for to protect his captive. In the end, the power Sarai unknowingly holds over Victor and their undeniable attraction may be what places her right in the arms of a killer.
Blackfilm.com spoke exclusively with Levy about the film and the many hats he wore to get the film completed.
What made you decide you wanted to do it and co write it?
William Levy: I’ve been working for the last five and six years in the American market and Latinos are the biggest minority in the country. We’re the #1 audience going to the movie theaters, but we have less opportunities in movies and television. In a way, I wanted to create more jobs for us. I didn’t want to just sit down and wait for the right projects to come. I wanted to go out there and create more jobs and opportunities for all of us and that’s why when I saw this book, I opened up my production company and wanted to create content for us.
I saw this book that had romance and action and I thought it had things that we all like to watch. As an actor, you like to do these types of films. I did it. It was something my audience was looking for. It was very exciting when I read the story. I loved it. It was hard to do because it’s not a $100M movie, so we had to use every penny the right way. It was a great experience. I wanted to bring the book to life.
Is there anything different in the movie that was in the book?
William Levy: Maybe locations. You run into unexpected things when you are shooting a movie, and you might lose this location and now you have to go and look for another location. So for example, there was a scene that was based in a mansion and we ended up doing it in a cruise ship. It was very well done and it was actually even better that we did it that way.
As a writer, I had to deal with all these things. When you go back home, people go to sleep, but I went back and met with the production company and rewrite the scene for the next day because of the location change. It was a great ride. I really enjoyed it, and I’m very satisfied with the final results.
For those who haven’t read the book, how would you describe your character?
William Levy: Victor Faust is a cold assassin. He goes and kills for money. He works for a private agency. In the process of a job, he meets this beautiful girl who was kidnapped for the last 10 years of her life, and now emotions get involved, and that’s when the story takes an unexpected turn. The movie is very fun.
What made you choose Alicia Sanz for the lead row and how was it working with her?
William Levy: It was a team decision in choosing Alicia. We all thought that she was the one because you write a story and sometimes you have a feeling about who’s right for it. There were other options but everybody thought she was the one and she was coming up. She’s from Spain. We wanted to make the movie very international. We got people from everywhere, Italy, Argentina, Spain and other places. Alicia’s very talented and a hard worker. She loves what she does.
How challenging was is it for you to be the leader actor, the co-writer and the producer of the movie?
William Levy: It was hard. As I mentioned earlier, because I had to deal with these unexpected things every day. Three times we lost the location the day before. That involved finding a new one and rewriting pages. It’s difficult but not more difficult than what I went through in Cuba. Nothing compares to that. I love what I do. I love what I’m doing right now and just to know that you are creating opportunities for people, and for our challenges is an amazing feeling because I’m working hard for our people.
Could they be a sequel?
William Levy: It depends. If it’s a success, maybe. There are so many things in the book and every time you make a movie, you’re going to miss out some of the story. So, if we want to do more, it will take longer to complete, so we’re better off with a TV series.
What did you pick up from the director Matias Moltrasio that you can take on to your next project?
William Levy: There are a lot of people that have lots of talents, but they are not given the opportunity to show it and prove it. This guy has been in the business for the last 20 years and no one has given him the opportunity to make his first movie. He’s made a lot of commercials. This is a guy that was that was doing commercials in a very different way. I thought he was very talented. I told them,” I want to bring you in a movie” because he was very hungry to do this movie. I wanted to be part of that. I know that this guy is so talented, and I’ve seen a lot of directors obviously but this guy’s so talented, so different, so creative. I saw that he needed the chance. We have been in those situations where we know what we can do and nobody believes in us. So I believed in him and I wanted to be part of somebody’s life in a way. Hopefully, when people see the film, they will see what I saw in him.
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