1 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,800 Hey, humans. How's it going? Susan Ruth here. 2 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:12,820 Thanks for listening to another episode 3 00:00:13,199 --> 00:00:14,660 of Hey Human podcast. 4 00:00:15,974 --> 00:00:17,675 This is episode 425, 5 00:00:18,855 --> 00:00:20,954 and my guest is Alrik Rocha. 6 00:00:21,414 --> 00:00:23,274 Alrik's film, Love, 7 00:00:23,654 --> 00:00:26,375 Blood, and Aztec Demons, the lost films of 8 00:00:26,375 --> 00:00:27,274 Juan Moctezuma 9 00:00:27,654 --> 00:00:28,314 the second 10 00:00:28,820 --> 00:00:32,039 has been a 10 year labor of love 11 00:00:32,100 --> 00:00:32,920 and quest 12 00:00:33,299 --> 00:00:35,539 to explore and restore the lost films of 13 00:00:35,539 --> 00:00:36,280 a legendary 14 00:00:36,579 --> 00:00:37,640 Mexican filmmaker 15 00:00:38,179 --> 00:00:40,359 whose complicated life and obsessions 16 00:00:40,820 --> 00:00:42,200 cost him everything. 17 00:00:42,605 --> 00:00:45,405 Ulrich is also an instructor at the Los 18 00:00:45,405 --> 00:00:48,445 Angeles Film School, where I recently saw a 19 00:00:48,445 --> 00:00:49,825 screening of the film. 20 00:00:50,204 --> 00:00:51,505 It is fantastic. 21 00:00:52,204 --> 00:00:53,105 I absolutely 22 00:00:53,725 --> 00:00:57,079 loved it. It's got love triangles, lucha libre 23 00:00:57,079 --> 00:00:58,379 matches, mayhem, 24 00:00:58,839 --> 00:00:59,339 love, 25 00:00:59,799 --> 00:01:00,299 obsession, 26 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:01,500 betrayal. 27 00:01:02,039 --> 00:01:02,939 It's got everything. 28 00:01:03,399 --> 00:01:06,359 It's like no documentary I have ever seen, 29 00:01:06,359 --> 00:01:08,875 and that is for sure. I really enjoyed 30 00:01:09,174 --> 00:01:09,995 this conversation 31 00:01:10,534 --> 00:01:11,674 and learning more 32 00:01:12,135 --> 00:01:12,635 about 33 00:01:12,935 --> 00:01:15,655 Ulrich's project and where it's going. We're actually 34 00:01:15,655 --> 00:01:17,275 gonna be in a couple film festivals 35 00:01:17,814 --> 00:01:20,534 coming up, at the same film festivals together, 36 00:01:20,534 --> 00:01:21,755 so that's pretty exciting. 37 00:01:22,534 --> 00:01:24,770 It's always fun when friends do well. 38 00:01:25,150 --> 00:01:27,069 I think you're really gonna enjoy this episode. 39 00:01:27,069 --> 00:01:28,049 It's really interesting. 40 00:01:28,590 --> 00:01:31,230 General stuff, Hey, Human podcast is now on 41 00:01:31,230 --> 00:01:33,569 YouTube under official Susan Ruth. 42 00:01:33,870 --> 00:01:35,650 I'm on Patreon at susanruthism, 43 00:01:36,189 --> 00:01:38,575 helps keep the show ad free. Please become 44 00:01:38,575 --> 00:01:41,694 a Patreon person of the show. TikTok at 45 00:01:41,694 --> 00:01:42,194 susanruthism 46 00:01:42,895 --> 00:01:44,594 as long as TikTok survives. 47 00:01:45,135 --> 00:01:46,194 Check out heyhumanpodcast.com 48 00:01:47,295 --> 00:01:48,975 for links and to learn more about my 49 00:01:48,975 --> 00:01:50,275 guests and the show. 50 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:51,579 Check out susanruth.com 51 00:01:52,359 --> 00:01:53,959 to learn more about me and my other 52 00:01:53,959 --> 00:01:54,939 artistic endeavors, 53 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,519 and follow Susan Ruth ism on social media. 54 00:01:58,519 --> 00:02:00,679 You can find my music on Spotify, Apple 55 00:02:00,679 --> 00:02:03,259 Music, Amazon Music, wherever you get your music, 56 00:02:03,724 --> 00:02:05,804 and rate, review, and subscribe to Hey Human 57 00:02:05,804 --> 00:02:08,364 Podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your 58 00:02:08,364 --> 00:02:08,864 podcasts. 59 00:02:09,405 --> 00:02:11,584 Alright. Thanks for listening. 60 00:02:12,125 --> 00:02:13,664 Thanks for being you 61 00:02:14,205 --> 00:02:16,764 and for spreading the word and all of 62 00:02:16,764 --> 00:02:17,664 that good news. 63 00:02:18,364 --> 00:02:19,939 Be well, be kind, 64 00:02:20,719 --> 00:02:21,379 be love. 65 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:22,659 Here we go. 66 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:26,500 Arik Rocha, welcome to Hey Human. 67 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,360 Hello. Thanks for having me. It's lovely to 68 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:30,974 see you. You too. 69 00:02:31,295 --> 00:02:33,935 And you're at this, LA Film School? That's 70 00:02:33,935 --> 00:02:36,014 correct. Yes. This is currently where I work. 71 00:02:36,014 --> 00:02:38,575 Yeah. Yeah. What do you teach there? I've 72 00:02:38,575 --> 00:02:41,215 taught directing classes, working with actors. I've taught 73 00:02:41,215 --> 00:02:44,415 production classes, writing classes. Currently, I teach an 74 00:02:44,415 --> 00:02:46,335 an intro class, which is a lot of 75 00:02:46,335 --> 00:02:46,949 fun because 76 00:02:47,830 --> 00:02:50,489 everything I tell the students about movies is 77 00:02:50,789 --> 00:02:53,269 sparkly and twinkly and, yeah, we're we always 78 00:02:53,269 --> 00:02:54,169 have a good time. 79 00:02:54,629 --> 00:02:56,389 None of the doom and gloom that Right. 80 00:02:56,389 --> 00:02:58,569 Yeah. Yeah. Social media tries to tell us. 81 00:02:59,110 --> 00:02:59,610 Yeah. 82 00:03:00,094 --> 00:03:00,594 Where 83 00:03:00,974 --> 00:03:03,454 were you from? Where is your family from? 84 00:03:03,454 --> 00:03:04,735 I know that's a big part of your 85 00:03:04,735 --> 00:03:06,275 story. So let's get into that. 86 00:03:06,735 --> 00:03:09,614 Yeah. I was born in Rockford, Illinois. So 87 00:03:09,614 --> 00:03:11,614 I grew up in the Midwest. My mother 88 00:03:11,614 --> 00:03:12,114 is 89 00:03:12,750 --> 00:03:15,389 white American woman, but my dad came well, 90 00:03:15,389 --> 00:03:16,990 he was born in Mac in, in the 91 00:03:16,990 --> 00:03:20,189 United States, but his parents came from San 92 00:03:20,189 --> 00:03:21,969 Luis Potosi in Mexico. 93 00:03:22,270 --> 00:03:24,430 And, yeah, so this this is significant for 94 00:03:24,430 --> 00:03:25,169 me because 95 00:03:25,635 --> 00:03:27,794 my grandparents came to the States, they came 96 00:03:27,794 --> 00:03:29,955 came to Chicago. I it's kinda cute. They 97 00:03:29,955 --> 00:03:31,014 met in Chicago, 98 00:03:31,314 --> 00:03:33,495 not in San Luis, and my my grandfather 99 00:03:33,555 --> 00:03:35,395 tells a story that he he went to 100 00:03:35,395 --> 00:03:38,135 Weebles, this department store, to ask for credit, 101 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,199 and he was flirting with the the girl 102 00:03:40,199 --> 00:03:41,959 at the counter, but she said, you need 103 00:03:41,959 --> 00:03:44,039 to meet Lee in the back, and she 104 00:03:44,039 --> 00:03:46,439 brought in my grandmother and that's how they 105 00:03:46,439 --> 00:03:46,939 met. 106 00:03:47,319 --> 00:03:48,840 Like, until I look in the mirror, like, 107 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:51,175 I think of myself as a a white 108 00:03:51,175 --> 00:03:53,414 boy from the Midwest, you know. You know, 109 00:03:53,414 --> 00:03:55,574 I grew up on a farmhouse and everything. 110 00:03:55,574 --> 00:03:57,175 We weren't farmers, but we lived on a 111 00:03:57,175 --> 00:03:57,675 farmhouse. 112 00:03:58,215 --> 00:04:00,955 And so my my grandparents didn't really 113 00:04:01,974 --> 00:04:04,294 bring Mexican culture to our family. They were 114 00:04:04,294 --> 00:04:07,400 very concerned about being targeted for racism. 115 00:04:07,860 --> 00:04:09,939 So, like, they didn't speak Spanish around my 116 00:04:09,939 --> 00:04:11,860 aunts and uncles or my dad. They didn't 117 00:04:11,860 --> 00:04:13,939 cook a lot of Mexican food. It was 118 00:04:13,939 --> 00:04:16,180 like all their Mexican heritage was kind of 119 00:04:16,180 --> 00:04:16,680 hidden. 120 00:04:16,980 --> 00:04:19,480 But there was one thing that my grandfather 121 00:04:19,699 --> 00:04:21,834 shared with me, and that was some of 122 00:04:21,834 --> 00:04:24,714 these Mexican Moctezuma movies. And that I know 123 00:04:24,714 --> 00:04:25,915 that's what we're gonna talk about, but that's 124 00:04:25,915 --> 00:04:27,595 how I, like, got into this. I was 125 00:04:27,595 --> 00:04:28,095 like, 126 00:04:28,475 --> 00:04:31,134 this was the one Mexican thing my grandparents 127 00:04:31,194 --> 00:04:32,175 shared with me, 128 00:04:32,555 --> 00:04:34,314 and so I've kind of spent a lot 129 00:04:34,314 --> 00:04:35,694 of my life trying to 130 00:04:36,759 --> 00:04:39,419 reconnect with my Mexican roots, and like, 131 00:04:40,199 --> 00:04:42,199 I don't know, even, for a long time 132 00:04:42,199 --> 00:04:44,379 I wasn't even comfortable saying I am Mexican, 133 00:04:44,599 --> 00:04:46,839 because I didn't feel like I didn't speak 134 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:48,839 Spanish, like, you know, so I've spent a 135 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:50,725 lot of my life trying to earn the 136 00:04:50,725 --> 00:04:52,725 right to to say that, and I'm hoping 137 00:04:52,725 --> 00:04:54,665 that's what I I've done with this project. 138 00:04:55,285 --> 00:04:56,025 It's interesting. 139 00:04:56,725 --> 00:04:57,225 Identity 140 00:04:57,685 --> 00:04:59,605 is such a huge part of being a 141 00:04:59,605 --> 00:05:00,105 human 142 00:05:01,285 --> 00:05:03,830 that for a kid in the Midwest, especially 143 00:05:04,129 --> 00:05:05,750 Illinois, I mean Right. 144 00:05:06,530 --> 00:05:08,490 Since Midwesty as you can get really Right. 145 00:05:08,610 --> 00:05:11,009 From Illinois is just kind of chill and 146 00:05:11,009 --> 00:05:11,509 there. 147 00:05:12,210 --> 00:05:13,189 And were you 148 00:05:13,650 --> 00:05:15,350 even aware of, 149 00:05:16,595 --> 00:05:17,654 I guess, the subversiveness 150 00:05:18,115 --> 00:05:20,435 of what your grandparents were doing, or just 151 00:05:20,595 --> 00:05:22,694 it wasn't even talked about whatsoever? 152 00:05:23,235 --> 00:05:24,615 Not at all, really. Like, 153 00:05:25,074 --> 00:05:27,475 again, like, besides the movie, like, there are 154 00:05:27,475 --> 00:05:29,875 a couple Mexican dishes. Like, my my vivid 155 00:05:29,875 --> 00:05:32,129 memory of my grandfather is his kitchen. Like, 156 00:05:32,129 --> 00:05:33,730 he was he was a cook. So even 157 00:05:33,730 --> 00:05:35,650 though he tried to hide some of his 158 00:05:35,650 --> 00:05:36,629 Mexican spices, 159 00:05:36,930 --> 00:05:38,370 the one thing he he always had, 160 00:05:39,090 --> 00:05:41,250 his homemade Tabasco sauce, he would keep in 161 00:05:41,250 --> 00:05:42,850 his soup jacket, which, again, it's kind of 162 00:05:42,850 --> 00:05:43,810 this thing, like, we would go out to 163 00:05:43,810 --> 00:05:46,095 a restaurant and he'd, like, look around and 164 00:05:46,095 --> 00:05:48,095 sneak it out like it was this, you 165 00:05:48,095 --> 00:05:49,935 know, some marijuana or something, and maybe it 166 00:05:49,935 --> 00:05:51,694 was. And he sprinkle he would sprinkle it 167 00:05:51,694 --> 00:05:53,375 on his food, and then tuck it back 168 00:05:53,375 --> 00:05:55,055 in his coat pocket so no one could 169 00:05:55,055 --> 00:05:56,974 see it, and then he would eat whatever 170 00:05:56,974 --> 00:05:58,974 we ate at the restaurant, you know, so 171 00:05:58,974 --> 00:06:00,735 he was hiding and and bringing out his 172 00:06:00,735 --> 00:06:02,350 own. So like, it was little things like 173 00:06:02,350 --> 00:06:04,189 that that I just thought were cool, but 174 00:06:04,189 --> 00:06:06,350 I didn't realize that he was doing all 175 00:06:06,350 --> 00:06:08,750 of that because he was afraid of being 176 00:06:08,750 --> 00:06:11,150 singled out or harmed or or anything like 177 00:06:11,150 --> 00:06:12,830 that. But as I grew older and talked 178 00:06:12,830 --> 00:06:15,569 with my father, and I actually did, 179 00:06:15,974 --> 00:06:18,534 thankfully, a few years before my grandfather passed, 180 00:06:18,534 --> 00:06:20,214 I was able to to do an interview 181 00:06:20,214 --> 00:06:21,495 with him, and I was able to kinda 182 00:06:21,495 --> 00:06:23,175 have more of an adult conversation with him 183 00:06:23,175 --> 00:06:25,094 about some of this stuff. So Oh, I 184 00:06:25,094 --> 00:06:26,634 love that you had that opportunity. 185 00:06:27,254 --> 00:06:28,714 Yeah. So important. 186 00:06:29,540 --> 00:06:31,560 Did you have an inkling 187 00:06:32,019 --> 00:06:32,519 of 188 00:06:33,939 --> 00:06:36,579 the desire to have a creative life when 189 00:06:36,579 --> 00:06:38,899 you were a kid? Did that manifest in 190 00:06:38,899 --> 00:06:39,720 in playtime 191 00:06:40,100 --> 00:06:41,240 or in school? 192 00:06:42,975 --> 00:06:46,254 Yeah. So my father is a, color pencil 193 00:06:46,254 --> 00:06:49,055 artist. So art was definitely part of our 194 00:06:49,055 --> 00:06:52,495 life. And my mother taught children, so education 195 00:06:52,574 --> 00:06:55,235 art education was important to her. And movies, 196 00:06:55,694 --> 00:06:58,449 again, like, I had to kind of dive 197 00:06:58,449 --> 00:07:00,610 into Mexican film on my own, but growing 198 00:07:00,610 --> 00:07:03,189 up, movies were a big part of of 199 00:07:03,410 --> 00:07:05,729 my my childhood with with my dad. And 200 00:07:05,729 --> 00:07:07,169 what I loved about it is is he 201 00:07:07,169 --> 00:07:10,129 would watch heavy movies like The Godfather and 202 00:07:10,129 --> 00:07:10,629 2,001. 203 00:07:11,524 --> 00:07:13,285 Some movies that I was probably too young 204 00:07:13,285 --> 00:07:13,944 to watch, 205 00:07:14,324 --> 00:07:15,845 but he would watch them anyway, because he 206 00:07:15,845 --> 00:07:17,845 would he would draw. I just have these 207 00:07:17,845 --> 00:07:20,404 memories of him being very focused drawing, with 208 00:07:20,404 --> 00:07:21,125 his color 209 00:07:21,605 --> 00:07:22,585 sharp color pencils, 210 00:07:23,125 --> 00:07:25,045 and like just wanting to be near him. 211 00:07:25,045 --> 00:07:26,580 So we would watch the movie that he 212 00:07:26,580 --> 00:07:28,819 put on, whatever movie it was. And then 213 00:07:28,819 --> 00:07:30,500 eventually, we would start asking, you know, more 214 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:32,580 questions about, like, you know, why is Michael 215 00:07:32,580 --> 00:07:33,860 doing that? Or why is, you know, why 216 00:07:33,860 --> 00:07:35,540 this, you know. So I kinda learned some 217 00:07:35,540 --> 00:07:38,580 basics of of film language just by watching 218 00:07:38,580 --> 00:07:40,764 those movies with my dad. But he also 219 00:07:40,764 --> 00:07:43,564 loved, like, really campy movies of, like, the 220 00:07:43,564 --> 00:07:46,305 fifties sixties, like Earth Versus the Flying Saucers, 221 00:07:46,365 --> 00:07:46,865 and 222 00:07:47,404 --> 00:07:49,404 a lot of the Godzilla Mothra movies. So 223 00:07:49,404 --> 00:07:51,884 we also got this wonderful balance of real 224 00:07:51,884 --> 00:07:52,865 campy movies 225 00:07:53,579 --> 00:07:55,419 of the era as well, and and he 226 00:07:55,419 --> 00:07:56,160 loved to 227 00:07:57,100 --> 00:07:59,180 talk during the movies and and make jokes 228 00:07:59,180 --> 00:08:01,120 and stuff like that, so it was always 229 00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:03,199 fun watching movies with my dad. 230 00:08:03,660 --> 00:08:04,560 Do you have siblings? 231 00:08:05,259 --> 00:08:06,939 Yes. I have I have one brother. Yeah. 232 00:08:06,939 --> 00:08:08,639 And he's also he's more into 233 00:08:09,444 --> 00:08:11,605 computer effects and CGI and stuff like that, 234 00:08:11,605 --> 00:08:13,205 but we would both again, we lived on 235 00:08:13,205 --> 00:08:15,525 this farmhouse, so, like, we would spend our 236 00:08:15,525 --> 00:08:16,025 days 237 00:08:16,725 --> 00:08:19,125 walking into the prairie, and and there we 238 00:08:19,125 --> 00:08:21,180 had, like, a a our own little forest, 239 00:08:21,259 --> 00:08:22,779 and so we would play we would play 240 00:08:22,779 --> 00:08:24,539 out scene from movies and stuff like that 241 00:08:24,539 --> 00:08:25,680 and pretend we were 242 00:08:26,139 --> 00:08:29,019 fighting a predator or playing Ghostbusters or, you 243 00:08:29,019 --> 00:08:31,180 know, something like that. So, yeah, we're definitely 244 00:08:31,180 --> 00:08:32,480 a very creative family. 245 00:08:33,019 --> 00:08:33,980 Let's get into, 246 00:08:34,620 --> 00:08:35,360 Mark Zuma. 247 00:08:35,740 --> 00:08:38,455 Tell me about the first time you 248 00:08:39,555 --> 00:08:41,815 saw one of his films, and 249 00:08:42,274 --> 00:08:44,274 you said it was a bonding experience with 250 00:08:44,274 --> 00:08:46,835 your grandfather and with your culture and history. 251 00:08:46,835 --> 00:08:48,435 Sure. Let's get into that a little bit 252 00:08:48,435 --> 00:08:50,379 because I know that that's pretty much the 253 00:08:50,379 --> 00:08:52,000 focus of your life right now. 254 00:08:52,620 --> 00:08:54,399 Right. Yeah. So it it was, 255 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,459 it was on a VHS tape, like, I 256 00:08:56,459 --> 00:08:57,679 remember, and it was 257 00:08:58,220 --> 00:08:59,899 it was a copy. So, like, I don't 258 00:08:59,899 --> 00:09:01,899 remember, like, a poster image or anything. I 259 00:09:01,899 --> 00:09:02,639 just remember 260 00:09:03,134 --> 00:09:04,735 the the image of the, you know, the 261 00:09:04,735 --> 00:09:07,315 old VHS tape box and everything. 262 00:09:07,774 --> 00:09:09,215 And it and it was, again, it was 263 00:09:09,215 --> 00:09:10,894 kinda hidden. It was, like, at the end 264 00:09:10,894 --> 00:09:12,675 of another movie. 265 00:09:13,134 --> 00:09:15,295 I remember we would always squeeze we would 266 00:09:15,295 --> 00:09:16,919 do long plays, so you could squeeze 2 267 00:09:16,919 --> 00:09:18,840 2 hour movies onto a VHS tape, but 268 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,759 that degraded the quality. So there was always, 269 00:09:20,759 --> 00:09:22,519 like, this kind of but for me, that's, 270 00:09:22,519 --> 00:09:24,139 like, part of the the nostalgia. 271 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,580 It was all in Spanish, so my grandfather 272 00:09:27,799 --> 00:09:30,524 would translate some of it for me. And 273 00:09:30,524 --> 00:09:32,764 the movie was the first one I restored 274 00:09:32,764 --> 00:09:35,264 with Moctezuma. It was called Una Mujer Simpresio, 275 00:09:35,485 --> 00:09:36,464 Priceless Woman, 276 00:09:36,845 --> 00:09:37,664 from 1961. 277 00:09:38,125 --> 00:09:41,565 And it's about this scientist who he's working 278 00:09:41,565 --> 00:09:44,284 with AI. He's trying to create, artificial intelligence 279 00:09:44,284 --> 00:09:45,024 in a robot, 280 00:09:45,410 --> 00:09:47,410 and his wife is killed in a car 281 00:09:47,410 --> 00:09:50,610 accident, so he builds a robot copy, of 282 00:09:50,610 --> 00:09:52,529 his wife. And the fun thing about the 283 00:09:52,529 --> 00:09:54,450 movie is that there's a luchador in it, 284 00:09:54,450 --> 00:09:54,950 so 285 00:09:55,490 --> 00:09:56,610 I don't know if we'll get into it, 286 00:09:56,610 --> 00:09:58,370 but, like, luch Lucha Libre is a big 287 00:09:58,370 --> 00:10:00,290 part of Mexican cinema, so this is what 288 00:10:00,290 --> 00:10:01,465 I've learned. Like, there's all these 289 00:10:02,184 --> 00:10:04,664 it's a whole genre of films, and they're 290 00:10:04,745 --> 00:10:07,245 the luchadores of Mexico were kind of like 291 00:10:07,465 --> 00:10:08,605 the Marvel superheroes 292 00:10:08,985 --> 00:10:10,825 for us today, but this was, like, in 293 00:10:10,825 --> 00:10:13,384 the fifties sixties. So El Santo, the Blue 294 00:10:13,384 --> 00:10:14,904 Demon were kind of the most famous, and 295 00:10:14,904 --> 00:10:17,149 there was this other wrestler in this movie 296 00:10:17,149 --> 00:10:18,049 named the Scorpion. 297 00:10:18,590 --> 00:10:21,389 And originally in the film, apparently, the the 298 00:10:21,389 --> 00:10:21,889 Scorpion 299 00:10:22,429 --> 00:10:24,610 the robot malfunctions, so the Scorpion, 300 00:10:25,309 --> 00:10:27,230 has to battle with her and and defeat 301 00:10:27,230 --> 00:10:29,470 her and everything. And the scientist kinda goes 302 00:10:29,470 --> 00:10:31,495 mad because, you know, it's his, you know, 303 00:10:31,495 --> 00:10:33,174 it's his wife, but no, it's a machine, 304 00:10:33,174 --> 00:10:34,154 you know, it's like so 305 00:10:34,855 --> 00:10:37,095 it's such a campy movie, they actually really 306 00:10:37,095 --> 00:10:38,315 dive into some interesting 307 00:10:39,014 --> 00:10:41,174 philosophical ideas of like, what does it mean 308 00:10:41,174 --> 00:10:43,654 to be alive? Like is artificial intelligence deserving 309 00:10:43,654 --> 00:10:45,339 of, you know, being treated like a human 310 00:10:45,339 --> 00:10:48,559 being? But what happened was is the Scorpion 311 00:10:49,179 --> 00:10:51,179 fell in love with the actress who was 312 00:10:51,179 --> 00:10:52,559 playing the the robot. 313 00:10:53,019 --> 00:10:54,940 And Moctezuma was also in love with this 314 00:10:54,940 --> 00:10:57,674 woman. So the scorpion was cut out of 315 00:10:57,674 --> 00:10:59,455 most of the movie because Moctezuma 316 00:10:59,835 --> 00:11:01,674 got jealous. So and I didn't learn any 317 00:11:01,674 --> 00:11:03,355 of this until, you know, much later in 318 00:11:03,355 --> 00:11:05,514 my life when I started doing the research. 319 00:11:05,514 --> 00:11:07,514 So the version I saw was, like, there's 320 00:11:07,514 --> 00:11:09,455 just one scene with a a luchador 321 00:11:10,309 --> 00:11:10,809 discussing, 322 00:11:11,269 --> 00:11:14,089 you know, the ethics of making artificial intelligence, 323 00:11:14,549 --> 00:11:16,389 and that's it. So it's, you know, as 324 00:11:16,389 --> 00:11:18,070 a kid, you're like, why is this guy 325 00:11:18,070 --> 00:11:20,309 standing in a mask with no shirt talking 326 00:11:20,309 --> 00:11:21,909 to these people in suits about 327 00:11:23,110 --> 00:11:24,345 And those are the kind of questions I 328 00:11:24,345 --> 00:11:25,665 would ask my grandfather. He was like, he's 329 00:11:25,665 --> 00:11:27,804 a luchador. And I'm like, okay. Cool. 330 00:11:29,144 --> 00:11:29,884 Well, yeah. 331 00:11:30,264 --> 00:11:31,545 So that was that was the start for 332 00:11:31,545 --> 00:11:33,065 me. That would that movie was kind of 333 00:11:33,065 --> 00:11:36,445 the the start of my research and, like, 334 00:11:36,504 --> 00:11:38,585 figuring out all those stories and stuff like 335 00:11:38,585 --> 00:11:40,960 that. And how many films are known or 336 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:42,179 attributed to him? 337 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,519 5 as of right now. So the The 338 00:11:45,519 --> 00:11:47,779 Price of the Woman was the second one, 339 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:50,080 and the last one he did was called 340 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:51,779 1,000 Paths of Death in 1977. 341 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:53,735 So first one was 342 00:11:54,754 --> 00:11:55,254 in 343 00:11:56,274 --> 00:11:58,535 1959, and then the last one was 1977. 344 00:11:58,995 --> 00:11:59,495 So 345 00:12:00,754 --> 00:12:03,235 not a lot of films, but, and that 346 00:12:03,315 --> 00:12:03,815 that's 347 00:12:04,274 --> 00:12:06,839 part of, you know, what my documentary is 348 00:12:06,839 --> 00:12:09,079 about is how and why he was only 349 00:12:09,079 --> 00:12:11,320 able to make 5 movies. Because there was 350 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,379 this rivalry between the Scorpion and and Moctezuma. 351 00:12:15,159 --> 00:12:17,159 So as Moctezuma kept trying to make movies, 352 00:12:17,159 --> 00:12:19,159 Scorpion was trying to suppress him. So he 353 00:12:19,715 --> 00:12:21,475 it was an uphill battle his whole life 354 00:12:21,475 --> 00:12:22,294 making movies. 355 00:12:22,835 --> 00:12:24,434 It's a movie within a movie within a 356 00:12:24,434 --> 00:12:25,894 movie? Exactly. Yeah. 357 00:12:26,915 --> 00:12:28,535 What was something surprising 358 00:12:28,915 --> 00:12:29,575 to you 359 00:12:29,955 --> 00:12:30,455 about 360 00:12:31,154 --> 00:12:34,195 Moctezuma as you were working through his body 361 00:12:34,195 --> 00:12:34,855 of work? 362 00:12:35,470 --> 00:12:37,570 I mean, it's he's a controversial 363 00:12:38,190 --> 00:12:39,730 person, like, there 364 00:12:40,029 --> 00:12:40,929 there is 365 00:12:41,789 --> 00:12:43,950 the filmmaker and the artist in me that 366 00:12:43,950 --> 00:12:44,450 really 367 00:12:45,070 --> 00:12:46,450 admires what he's, 368 00:12:46,910 --> 00:12:48,850 accomplished and is kind of 369 00:12:50,165 --> 00:12:52,485 frustrated and sad, like, he didn't get to 370 00:12:52,485 --> 00:12:54,165 make more. And a lot of the the 371 00:12:54,165 --> 00:12:56,404 movies that we have left of his, they've 372 00:12:56,404 --> 00:12:58,245 been butchered, like, there's not a lot of 373 00:12:58,245 --> 00:12:59,065 them left, 374 00:12:59,524 --> 00:13:01,465 again, for various reasons. 375 00:13:01,779 --> 00:13:03,779 But at the same time, like, there are 376 00:13:03,779 --> 00:13:04,679 stories that 377 00:13:05,220 --> 00:13:07,059 he wasn't the nicest guy, you know. I 378 00:13:07,059 --> 00:13:08,500 mean, there's a lot of stories of, like, 379 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:10,899 the tortured artist and everything. But, you know, 380 00:13:10,899 --> 00:13:12,500 it's it's always a question of, like, well, 381 00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:15,384 what's acceptable? What's what's okay? And because he 382 00:13:15,384 --> 00:13:18,865 really pursued this woman, Lisa, this actor. She 383 00:13:18,985 --> 00:13:21,565 he was she was his childhood sweetheart. 384 00:13:22,184 --> 00:13:22,684 And, 385 00:13:23,625 --> 00:13:25,384 really all the movies he made in his 386 00:13:25,384 --> 00:13:27,325 life were an attempt to 387 00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:30,160 woo her back to him because she she 388 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:32,320 ended up marrying the Scorpion. And so then 389 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,559 it becomes a question of, it's like, was 390 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,679 it okay? Was it inappropriate of him to 391 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:38,500 just, like, 392 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,200 continue to pursue her? That's part of the 393 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:43,215 reason the Scorpion was trying to suppress his 394 00:13:43,215 --> 00:13:44,115 filmmaking because, 395 00:13:44,894 --> 00:13:46,654 you know, he's I mean, he's making movies 396 00:13:46,654 --> 00:13:48,575 for his wife. It's like, dude, like, it's 397 00:13:48,575 --> 00:13:50,014 one thing, you know, if a guy, like, 398 00:13:50,014 --> 00:13:52,274 you know, flirts with your girl, but, like, 399 00:13:52,335 --> 00:13:53,934 he made a whole movie to try to 400 00:13:53,934 --> 00:13:56,120 woo her back. And what we'll see, this 401 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,839 kinda culminated in this this Lucha Libre match, 402 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:01,659 that had a really serious accident for Lisa. 403 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,159 It's hard to admire Moctezuma knowing that he 404 00:14:05,159 --> 00:14:05,820 kind of, 405 00:14:06,759 --> 00:14:08,039 I don't know. If if he was alive 406 00:14:08,039 --> 00:14:09,399 today, I think he would have been me 407 00:14:09,399 --> 00:14:10,839 too, I guess, is is what I'm trying 408 00:14:10,839 --> 00:14:13,075 to say. I get it. Yeah. Yeah. He 409 00:14:13,075 --> 00:14:15,014 he pushed it too far. The scorpion 410 00:14:15,394 --> 00:14:17,735 married the the man who is the scorpion 411 00:14:18,434 --> 00:14:20,454 married the actress who 412 00:14:20,914 --> 00:14:21,414 performed 413 00:14:21,954 --> 00:14:22,454 in 414 00:14:22,834 --> 00:14:25,014 the movies. Did she too 415 00:14:25,980 --> 00:14:29,179 have a a fate or spend death? Did 416 00:14:29,179 --> 00:14:29,340 she 417 00:14:30,220 --> 00:14:31,039 in other words, 418 00:14:32,299 --> 00:14:35,259 was her life torn between them as well, 419 00:14:35,259 --> 00:14:38,379 or was she loyal to Scorpion, but a 420 00:14:38,379 --> 00:14:40,700 working actress, so she still wanted to have 421 00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:42,785 the work? Right. She was a working actress. 422 00:14:42,785 --> 00:14:44,245 She she did other films 423 00:14:44,625 --> 00:14:46,485 besides the ones with with Moctezuma. 424 00:14:46,945 --> 00:14:48,545 And, yeah, that's where it's interesting too. It's, 425 00:14:48,545 --> 00:14:51,184 like, we we don't know, like, did she 426 00:14:51,184 --> 00:14:52,785 actually did she love you know, it's it's 427 00:14:52,785 --> 00:14:55,410 very much the story from Casablanca, where we 428 00:14:55,410 --> 00:14:56,230 don't know if 429 00:14:56,610 --> 00:14:58,529 if she loved Humphrey Bogart or the other 430 00:14:58,529 --> 00:15:00,290 guy. I would argue she loved him, that's 431 00:15:00,290 --> 00:15:01,649 why she got on the plane. But that's 432 00:15:01,730 --> 00:15:03,250 Right, exactly. Yeah. Well, and that's 433 00:15:03,970 --> 00:15:05,730 so by that logic then, I would say 434 00:15:05,730 --> 00:15:08,745 Lisa loved her husband, the scorpion, because she 435 00:15:08,825 --> 00:15:10,924 stayed with him, she stood by him, and 436 00:15:11,225 --> 00:15:11,725 they 437 00:15:12,424 --> 00:15:14,345 they remained married until their death. And you 438 00:15:14,345 --> 00:15:16,825 can love more than one person Exactly. Yes. 439 00:15:16,904 --> 00:15:19,625 Your whole life. Yeah. Right. And and that's 440 00:15:19,625 --> 00:15:20,684 the other thing that 441 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:21,740 because 442 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,279 Lisa, Moctezuma did coax her enough to be 443 00:15:26,279 --> 00:15:28,360 in one other movie called Demonoid, which they 444 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:30,120 filmed kind of up in the mountains. I've 445 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:31,559 I've been there. It's in this place called 446 00:15:31,559 --> 00:15:34,059 Las Pozas in in the mountains of Huasteca 447 00:15:34,279 --> 00:15:36,324 in in Mexico. It's a beautiful place. It's 448 00:15:36,324 --> 00:15:38,324 actually in the state of San Luis, where 449 00:15:38,324 --> 00:15:41,044 my grandparents were from. And so the stories 450 00:15:41,044 --> 00:15:42,884 I've heard is that when they were making 451 00:15:42,884 --> 00:15:43,625 this movie, 452 00:15:44,245 --> 00:15:46,485 Moctezuma wasn't really focused on the movie. He 453 00:15:46,485 --> 00:15:47,464 was just, like, 454 00:15:48,740 --> 00:15:51,799 happy to be with this woman again, and, 455 00:15:52,179 --> 00:15:54,179 there are rumors that, you know, they they 456 00:15:54,179 --> 00:15:56,200 were hooking up and stuff like that, so, 457 00:15:56,740 --> 00:15:59,299 yeah. Again, I don't hold judgment, I'm it 458 00:15:59,299 --> 00:16:01,299 kinda makes me happy that he got that 459 00:16:01,299 --> 00:16:03,379 connection, but I do think then that's what 460 00:16:03,379 --> 00:16:05,595 kind of started him down this path of, 461 00:16:05,595 --> 00:16:08,475 like, obsessively trying to to make more movies 462 00:16:08,475 --> 00:16:10,634 for her. Yeah. Movie sets are like Vegas. 463 00:16:10,634 --> 00:16:13,455 Right? Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 464 00:16:15,435 --> 00:16:18,014 Do we know very much about Moctezuma's 465 00:16:18,970 --> 00:16:19,470 childhood 466 00:16:19,929 --> 00:16:22,269 or how he grew up, his influence? 467 00:16:22,730 --> 00:16:25,789 So he and Lisa came from this town 468 00:16:25,929 --> 00:16:27,389 in the state of Michoacan, 469 00:16:27,850 --> 00:16:29,149 a town called Huenizio, 470 00:16:29,850 --> 00:16:31,450 and I've been there as well. So I 471 00:16:31,450 --> 00:16:33,375 I lived in Mexico for about a year. 472 00:16:33,615 --> 00:16:36,034 After I graduated. I taught at Tecte Monterrey 473 00:16:36,095 --> 00:16:37,695 University there, so I got to do a 474 00:16:37,695 --> 00:16:39,855 lot of research for this, when I was 475 00:16:39,855 --> 00:16:41,774 there. So I went to Anizio, and it's 476 00:16:41,774 --> 00:16:42,274 this 477 00:16:42,894 --> 00:16:43,394 very 478 00:16:43,774 --> 00:16:46,654 cinematic, very beautiful, it's a town that's on 479 00:16:46,654 --> 00:16:48,269 an island in a lake. And they are 480 00:16:48,269 --> 00:16:50,449 known to have, like, the most beautiful, 481 00:16:50,909 --> 00:16:53,470 extravagant Day of the Dead celebration. So I 482 00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:54,589 got to go there for Day of the 483 00:16:54,589 --> 00:16:55,730 Dead and it was 484 00:16:56,190 --> 00:16:58,829 really amazing. You know, the marigolds are everywhere 485 00:16:58,829 --> 00:17:01,575 and everything. And you, as the sun's setting, 486 00:17:01,575 --> 00:17:03,495 you know, you take this boat out to 487 00:17:03,495 --> 00:17:05,035 the island, and then 488 00:17:05,494 --> 00:17:05,994 it's 489 00:17:06,454 --> 00:17:09,255 it's basically a giant hill on this island, 490 00:17:09,255 --> 00:17:11,095 you know. So as you're walking up up 491 00:17:11,095 --> 00:17:13,174 the hill, there's all these little shops and 492 00:17:13,174 --> 00:17:14,775 stuff, and people are selling things. There's little 493 00:17:14,775 --> 00:17:17,830 kids running around with, you know, jack o'-lanterns 494 00:17:18,049 --> 00:17:20,150 asking you for pesos and stuff like that. 495 00:17:20,610 --> 00:17:23,410 So I I imagine, like, this very much 496 00:17:23,410 --> 00:17:26,130 influenced Moctezuma and his his interest in horror 497 00:17:26,130 --> 00:17:28,289 movies and stuff like that. And so from 498 00:17:28,289 --> 00:17:29,330 what I understand, he, 499 00:17:30,034 --> 00:17:32,454 first saw movies. You know, little villages 500 00:17:32,755 --> 00:17:34,914 like that back in the day didn't have 501 00:17:34,914 --> 00:17:38,054 movie theaters, so they would have traveling projectionists 502 00:17:39,234 --> 00:17:41,474 travel the country and come to these little 503 00:17:41,474 --> 00:17:43,474 towns and and set up a projector and 504 00:17:43,474 --> 00:17:44,534 and show some movies. 505 00:17:45,130 --> 00:17:46,890 So the story is is that's how he 506 00:17:46,890 --> 00:17:48,109 got introduced to movies, 507 00:17:48,730 --> 00:17:50,829 and he and Lisa 508 00:17:51,210 --> 00:17:52,190 really enjoyed 509 00:17:52,569 --> 00:17:53,069 Dracula. 510 00:17:53,450 --> 00:17:55,929 The original Dracula. Not the Bela Lugosi one 511 00:17:55,929 --> 00:17:57,690 actually, but the, I don't know if you 512 00:17:57,690 --> 00:18:00,009 know, but when they made the Bela Lugosi 513 00:18:00,009 --> 00:18:00,509 Dracula 514 00:18:01,424 --> 00:18:03,505 on the same sets but with a Spanish 515 00:18:03,505 --> 00:18:06,804 speaking cast, they shot a Spanish language version 516 00:18:06,944 --> 00:18:07,845 of the movie. 517 00:18:08,224 --> 00:18:10,224 And I love it because they apparently, they 518 00:18:10,224 --> 00:18:12,304 shot the Belagosi version during the day, and 519 00:18:12,304 --> 00:18:15,099 then at night, the Spanish speaking crew would 520 00:18:15,099 --> 00:18:17,660 come in and shoot. And I'm like, it's 521 00:18:17,660 --> 00:18:19,500 better already because they had to shoot it 522 00:18:19,500 --> 00:18:21,420 at night, like, so this is better Yeah. 523 00:18:21,420 --> 00:18:23,420 Yeah. So they they fell in love with 524 00:18:23,420 --> 00:18:23,920 Dracula, 525 00:18:24,299 --> 00:18:25,980 and, you know, the story is, you know, 526 00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:27,505 they would cling to each other and stuff 527 00:18:27,505 --> 00:18:28,865 like that, so watching the movie. So I 528 00:18:28,865 --> 00:18:30,964 think that was like the impetus for Moctezuma's 529 00:18:31,585 --> 00:18:33,904 interest in horror movies, his falling in love 530 00:18:33,904 --> 00:18:35,365 with Lisa, like he just, 531 00:18:35,984 --> 00:18:37,924 his whole life he just wanted to 532 00:18:38,304 --> 00:18:40,859 have that again, where they're watching scare. By 533 00:18:40,859 --> 00:18:42,099 your description, I would imagine in his mind 534 00:18:42,099 --> 00:18:43,440 then, every movie was really a love letter 535 00:18:43,500 --> 00:18:44,250 to Lisa. 536 00:18:54,765 --> 00:18:55,744 Absolutely. Yes. 537 00:18:56,684 --> 00:18:57,664 Yeah. Mhmm. 538 00:18:58,125 --> 00:18:58,625 And 539 00:18:59,644 --> 00:19:01,724 what happened to him, and why are these 540 00:19:01,724 --> 00:19:03,984 lost films? Would Scorpion 541 00:19:04,285 --> 00:19:05,964 does he have that much power that he 542 00:19:05,964 --> 00:19:07,184 was able to be 543 00:19:07,679 --> 00:19:08,899 able to silence 544 00:19:09,519 --> 00:19:10,019 Moctezuma? 545 00:19:10,319 --> 00:19:12,399 Or how did what happened there? So a 546 00:19:12,399 --> 00:19:14,480 lot of it was kind of Scorpion executing 547 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:15,619 his his influence, 548 00:19:16,879 --> 00:19:17,379 never 549 00:19:17,919 --> 00:19:18,419 directly. 550 00:19:18,799 --> 00:19:21,039 There was also during this time, you know, 551 00:19:21,039 --> 00:19:22,960 we're we're talking like late sixties, early seventies 552 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:23,384 in Mexico, 553 00:19:32,744 --> 00:19:36,204 Machtazuma's movies called the Tlatelolco Massacre of 1968. 554 00:19:36,505 --> 00:19:39,140 So there was this this massacre that happened. 555 00:19:39,279 --> 00:19:40,900 Students were gathering to 556 00:19:41,279 --> 00:19:43,920 protest the government and their oppression and, 557 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:46,320 I don't know. There's there's a lot going 558 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:47,539 on, but but basically, 559 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,840 at the time, the the head count was 560 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:50,900 300, but 561 00:19:51,424 --> 00:19:53,265 officially now we know years later that it 562 00:19:53,265 --> 00:19:55,204 was more like 3,000 people were just 563 00:19:57,105 --> 00:20:00,404 children, teachers, parents were were shot and killed 564 00:20:00,544 --> 00:20:02,325 in in this space. And it 565 00:20:02,625 --> 00:20:05,200 it's Yeah. It's it's a real tragic event. 566 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,700 So so Montezuma made a movie about that, 567 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,799 and what is, I think, especially tragic about 568 00:20:10,799 --> 00:20:12,639 this thing is the the government at the 569 00:20:12,639 --> 00:20:14,639 time, like, didn't want the world to know 570 00:20:14,639 --> 00:20:16,880 that this was happening because they were hosting 571 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:17,539 the Olympics. 572 00:20:18,554 --> 00:20:21,595 So any kind of talk about this, any 573 00:20:21,595 --> 00:20:22,815 evidence of this 574 00:20:23,355 --> 00:20:25,615 was quickly suppressed. So 575 00:20:26,075 --> 00:20:28,634 when they got word that Moctezuma made this 576 00:20:28,634 --> 00:20:30,075 movie, that, you know, it was a monster 577 00:20:30,075 --> 00:20:30,575 movie 578 00:20:30,875 --> 00:20:32,254 inspired by what happened, 579 00:20:32,910 --> 00:20:35,630 But any, you know, anything remotely close to 580 00:20:35,630 --> 00:20:38,350 it, they just, like, shut down. So that 581 00:20:38,350 --> 00:20:39,869 was the one movie that was the hardest 582 00:20:39,869 --> 00:20:42,350 to restore because they're, you know, they're just 583 00:20:42,350 --> 00:20:44,190 bits and pieces kind of scattered all over 584 00:20:44,190 --> 00:20:46,684 the world, really. The full movie's gone, like, 585 00:20:46,684 --> 00:20:48,445 it's mostly destroyed, so we just kinda had, 586 00:20:48,445 --> 00:20:50,845 like, this short little version of it. So 587 00:20:50,845 --> 00:20:52,765 that was, you know, one thing. And then 588 00:20:52,765 --> 00:20:54,125 he just made a lot of enemies. There's 589 00:20:54,125 --> 00:20:56,445 other stories that, like, he he funded one 590 00:20:56,445 --> 00:20:58,845 of his movies, by laundering money for a 591 00:20:58,845 --> 00:20:59,345 cartel, 592 00:20:59,869 --> 00:21:01,549 But then when he stopped doing that, you 593 00:21:01,549 --> 00:21:03,789 know, then he couldn't that movie got he 594 00:21:03,789 --> 00:21:06,430 was screwed up. There's also stories that, like, 595 00:21:06,430 --> 00:21:08,029 he he would bring movies to the he 596 00:21:08,029 --> 00:21:09,309 tried to make bring a movie to the 597 00:21:09,309 --> 00:21:09,809 States 598 00:21:10,190 --> 00:21:11,950 to to sell here to get, you know, 599 00:21:11,950 --> 00:21:13,490 some kind of international recognition. 600 00:21:13,789 --> 00:21:15,964 But in a lot of times, what happened 601 00:21:15,964 --> 00:21:18,444 is that companies distribution companies would bring in 602 00:21:18,444 --> 00:21:19,825 foreign films, and they would 603 00:21:20,125 --> 00:21:22,125 redub them. They would add scenes. They would 604 00:21:22,125 --> 00:21:23,884 change things to make it more marketable to 605 00:21:23,884 --> 00:21:24,944 American audiences. 606 00:21:25,484 --> 00:21:27,484 So then his movies kinda got, you know, 607 00:21:27,484 --> 00:21:29,484 mauled because of that kinda thing as well. 608 00:21:29,484 --> 00:21:31,359 So there's each movie has its own different 609 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:33,279 story as to how and why it was 610 00:21:33,279 --> 00:21:36,319 kind of suppressed or destroyed or whatever. They 611 00:21:36,319 --> 00:21:38,400 all do kinda link back to Scorpion in 612 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:39,059 some way. 613 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,420 It's interesting too because as you mentioned, 614 00:21:42,924 --> 00:21:45,164 the first time you experienced one of his 615 00:21:45,164 --> 00:21:46,704 films with your grandfather, 616 00:21:47,085 --> 00:21:49,085 that it was at the end Right. Of 617 00:21:49,085 --> 00:21:50,464 a copy of a copy. 618 00:21:50,765 --> 00:21:52,704 There's already this idea of 619 00:21:53,005 --> 00:21:56,204 secrecy around it. Mhmm. Sneaking it into behind 620 00:21:56,204 --> 00:21:57,025 other films. 621 00:21:57,329 --> 00:21:58,630 Right. Yeah. Exactly. 622 00:21:59,009 --> 00:21:59,509 Mhmm. 623 00:22:00,130 --> 00:22:01,669 What have you learned about 624 00:22:02,690 --> 00:22:03,190 yourself 625 00:22:03,650 --> 00:22:06,549 through this experience of documenting this 626 00:22:07,409 --> 00:22:09,029 larger than life character? 627 00:22:09,965 --> 00:22:12,765 That's a good question. I mean, again, like, 628 00:22:12,765 --> 00:22:15,105 I I feel like Moctezuma is 629 00:22:15,404 --> 00:22:16,785 kind of a controversial 630 00:22:17,244 --> 00:22:17,744 person, 631 00:22:18,125 --> 00:22:19,984 but I still really 632 00:22:20,525 --> 00:22:21,825 respect and admire, 633 00:22:22,445 --> 00:22:23,265 his work. 634 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:25,399 When I think about my own work 635 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:27,140 and and the art that I like to 636 00:22:27,140 --> 00:22:29,880 make, it it is it does take priority, 637 00:22:30,019 --> 00:22:31,000 like, you know, if 638 00:22:32,019 --> 00:22:33,539 in in my life. So it's like if 639 00:22:33,539 --> 00:22:34,980 if I had to make a choice of, 640 00:22:34,980 --> 00:22:36,500 like, am I gonna make this movie? Am 641 00:22:36,500 --> 00:22:37,079 I gonna, 642 00:22:37,380 --> 00:22:39,974 you know, put my money into this? Or, 643 00:22:40,194 --> 00:22:41,875 I don't I don't have a savings at 644 00:22:41,875 --> 00:22:43,315 all because I've been putting, you know, I 645 00:22:43,315 --> 00:22:44,755 don't get to go on vacation very much 646 00:22:44,755 --> 00:22:46,994 because I always put the money, into to 647 00:22:46,994 --> 00:22:47,974 making the movie. 648 00:22:48,595 --> 00:22:52,134 Yeah. Sleip of a creative. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. 649 00:22:52,559 --> 00:22:54,319 So so in some ways, like, I look 650 00:22:54,319 --> 00:22:55,940 at Moctezuma and I'm like, 651 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,119 if if this is exactly what Moctezuma would 652 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,139 have done, so I'm I'm in good company. 653 00:23:02,159 --> 00:23:05,220 Yeah. Yeah. Was it scary to 654 00:23:05,884 --> 00:23:08,684 dig in? It sounds, again, like, maybe some 655 00:23:08,684 --> 00:23:11,244 people don't want him talked about. Was it 656 00:23:11,244 --> 00:23:13,325 scary for you at all to uncover some 657 00:23:13,325 --> 00:23:15,424 of the rocks and look underneath them? 658 00:23:16,365 --> 00:23:17,884 Yeah. Because like I said, for for a 659 00:23:17,884 --> 00:23:19,970 long time, he was my hero. And and 660 00:23:19,970 --> 00:23:21,450 I again, like, I would say he still 661 00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:23,369 is, but then, like, as I started to 662 00:23:23,369 --> 00:23:24,890 uncover some of this stuff, it's like, oh, 663 00:23:24,890 --> 00:23:26,029 but he did do 664 00:23:26,490 --> 00:23:28,730 some some shady things, and I don't know 665 00:23:28,730 --> 00:23:30,109 if I agree with, 666 00:23:30,570 --> 00:23:32,330 you know, the reasoning behind you know, again, 667 00:23:32,330 --> 00:23:34,090 going to back, like, what sacrifices would you 668 00:23:34,090 --> 00:23:35,804 make for your art? Like, he definitely made 669 00:23:35,804 --> 00:23:36,304 some, 670 00:23:36,924 --> 00:23:39,825 you know, in intense sacrifices that I don't 671 00:23:40,125 --> 00:23:41,585 I don't know if I would go that 672 00:23:41,724 --> 00:23:43,244 far the way the way that he did. 673 00:23:43,244 --> 00:23:43,744 Yeah. 674 00:23:44,125 --> 00:23:45,024 Is he appreciated 675 00:23:45,325 --> 00:23:47,825 now in Mexico, or is he still subversive? 676 00:23:48,125 --> 00:23:50,125 And do we know where he's buried or 677 00:23:50,125 --> 00:23:51,960 anything like that? Technically, 678 00:23:52,740 --> 00:23:53,400 we don't 679 00:23:54,019 --> 00:23:56,100 know where he's buried or if he's possibly 680 00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:58,259 even still alive. Yeah. I mean, he would 681 00:23:58,259 --> 00:24:00,019 be I think he was born in the 682 00:24:00,019 --> 00:24:02,340 late thirties, so he'd be pretty old by 683 00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:02,840 now, 684 00:24:03,299 --> 00:24:05,059 so unlikely. I would guess that if he 685 00:24:05,059 --> 00:24:07,565 is he's somewhere in back in Juanizio, 686 00:24:08,105 --> 00:24:10,345 where he came from. So yeah. So even 687 00:24:10,345 --> 00:24:10,845 though 688 00:24:11,304 --> 00:24:12,525 he's kinda controversial, 689 00:24:12,984 --> 00:24:16,585 there are many filmmakers I've spoken to that 690 00:24:16,585 --> 00:24:18,365 have said he's definitely influenced 691 00:24:18,744 --> 00:24:21,650 their work. And many people, like, I've I've 692 00:24:21,650 --> 00:24:23,650 been really trying really hard with this project 693 00:24:23,650 --> 00:24:25,650 to, like, talk to some big names like 694 00:24:25,650 --> 00:24:28,130 John Carpenter or Sam Raimi or Guillermo del 695 00:24:28,130 --> 00:24:30,869 Toro, because I see machtazuma 696 00:24:31,250 --> 00:24:31,750 isms 697 00:24:32,369 --> 00:24:33,349 in their films. 698 00:24:33,805 --> 00:24:35,805 And I've talked to other filmmakers, they're like, 699 00:24:35,805 --> 00:24:37,805 it looks so much like that, you know, 700 00:24:37,805 --> 00:24:40,525 like, for the the best example is in 701 00:24:40,525 --> 00:24:42,205 in Evil Dead, in all the versions of 702 00:24:42,205 --> 00:24:44,125 Evil Dead, there's the the tree roots that 703 00:24:44,125 --> 00:24:45,805 come alive, you know, and grab people and 704 00:24:45,805 --> 00:24:47,025 drag them into the forest. 705 00:24:47,484 --> 00:24:49,105 So that happens in 706 00:24:49,579 --> 00:24:52,000 one of Moctezuma's movies, Demonoid, where these 707 00:24:52,539 --> 00:24:53,820 leaves come out and drag people and they 708 00:24:53,820 --> 00:24:55,660 drag It's also in the Wizard of Oz. 709 00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:57,200 In the woods, that's true, yeah. 710 00:24:57,500 --> 00:24:59,420 So, so yeah, so there's all these, you 711 00:24:59,420 --> 00:25:01,279 know, examples of 712 00:25:01,795 --> 00:25:04,434 things that he's done, like little horror bits 713 00:25:04,434 --> 00:25:05,335 here and there. 714 00:25:06,195 --> 00:25:08,214 Or another one is, an alien. 715 00:25:08,595 --> 00:25:10,195 The first time we see the alien creature 716 00:25:10,195 --> 00:25:11,875 in the tubes, like, it kinda reaches out 717 00:25:11,875 --> 00:25:13,494 at you and grabs 718 00:25:13,875 --> 00:25:14,855 you, and that 719 00:25:15,309 --> 00:25:17,869 is also in Demonoid. Like, there's this moment 720 00:25:17,869 --> 00:25:18,609 where this 721 00:25:18,990 --> 00:25:20,910 demon reaches out and it looks just like 722 00:25:20,910 --> 00:25:22,509 an alien, and it's one of those things 723 00:25:22,509 --> 00:25:23,490 where it's like, you know, 724 00:25:24,590 --> 00:25:26,990 Ridley Scott could've done the same shot and, 725 00:25:26,990 --> 00:25:28,830 you know, it was just a coincidence, but 726 00:25:28,830 --> 00:25:32,345 there's so many coincidences, again, from John Carpenter, 727 00:25:32,565 --> 00:25:35,384 Ridley Scott, Sam Raimi, Guillermo del Toro. 728 00:25:35,765 --> 00:25:37,224 So my hope is that 729 00:25:38,325 --> 00:25:40,085 they'll get wind of this project and allow 730 00:25:40,085 --> 00:25:41,525 me to at least talk to them and 731 00:25:41,525 --> 00:25:43,285 at least maybe in secret tell me if 732 00:25:43,285 --> 00:25:46,184 if they've been influenced by Moctezuma or not. 733 00:25:46,339 --> 00:25:48,259 And the name of the film, Love, Blood 734 00:25:48,259 --> 00:25:51,140 and Aztec Demons, the last films of 1 735 00:25:51,140 --> 00:25:51,640 f, 736 00:25:52,420 --> 00:25:52,920 Moctezuma 737 00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:55,940 the second. My gosh. That is a very 738 00:25:55,940 --> 00:25:57,720 long title. Yes. Yeah. 739 00:25:58,339 --> 00:26:00,500 The Aztec Demons must have been really fun 740 00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:01,240 to research. 741 00:26:02,714 --> 00:26:03,194 Yes. 742 00:26:03,595 --> 00:26:05,934 I mean, it has been something that's interested 743 00:26:06,075 --> 00:26:08,394 me as a filmmaker, like, wanting to make 744 00:26:08,394 --> 00:26:09,694 movies more about 745 00:26:09,994 --> 00:26:11,914 different because, like, a lot of, 746 00:26:12,795 --> 00:26:15,115 horror movies, movies about demons or possession and 747 00:26:15,115 --> 00:26:17,490 stuff like that, they're usually grounded in the 748 00:26:17,490 --> 00:26:19,509 Catholic church. Right? Or at least, 749 00:26:19,809 --> 00:26:20,710 you know, those 750 00:26:21,490 --> 00:26:23,569 Catholicism and stuff like that. So it's like, 751 00:26:23,569 --> 00:26:26,150 I've been really interested in seeking out, like, 752 00:26:26,690 --> 00:26:29,009 you know, horror movies based on an Indian 753 00:26:29,009 --> 00:26:30,549 curse or a Jewish curse. 754 00:26:31,009 --> 00:26:32,654 I'm grateful I just, 755 00:26:33,055 --> 00:26:34,894 met a filmmaker who made this movie called 756 00:26:34,894 --> 00:26:35,955 Satanic Hispanics, 757 00:26:36,734 --> 00:26:39,055 which is all about, you know, Aztec demons 758 00:26:39,055 --> 00:26:41,535 or Mayan demons and and stuff like that. 759 00:26:41,535 --> 00:26:42,035 So 760 00:26:42,335 --> 00:26:44,515 I do, you know, talking about, like, diversification, 761 00:26:44,815 --> 00:26:45,775 like, I feel like it's 762 00:26:46,980 --> 00:26:48,740 we need to see more horror story. We 763 00:26:48,740 --> 00:26:50,980 need to see monster stories from different cultures 764 00:26:50,980 --> 00:26:53,460 instead of being saturated by you know, as 765 00:26:53,460 --> 00:26:55,539 much as I like The Exorcist. Right? You 766 00:26:55,539 --> 00:26:57,160 know, there's there's a lot of other 767 00:26:57,940 --> 00:27:00,579 horror stories out there from different cultures. Yeah. 768 00:27:00,579 --> 00:27:02,440 Sure. The djinn are very scary. 769 00:27:02,815 --> 00:27:03,634 Yes. Exactly. 770 00:27:04,815 --> 00:27:05,875 Yeah. Have you 771 00:27:06,575 --> 00:27:07,075 grounded 772 00:27:07,455 --> 00:27:10,255 more in sense of self in the lineage 773 00:27:10,255 --> 00:27:11,555 of your family tree? 774 00:27:12,015 --> 00:27:13,955 Yes. Absolutely. Like I said, it's 775 00:27:14,575 --> 00:27:15,075 I 776 00:27:15,630 --> 00:27:18,289 I do feel more comfortable and confident 777 00:27:18,910 --> 00:27:22,049 introducing myself as a Mexican now, so 778 00:27:22,509 --> 00:27:24,670 I think that was, you know, kinda the 779 00:27:24,670 --> 00:27:26,829 goal. I'm still practicing my Spanish, I think 780 00:27:26,829 --> 00:27:28,990 that will will help a lot too. But 781 00:27:28,990 --> 00:27:30,930 having all the the knowledge of 782 00:27:31,375 --> 00:27:34,575 the Aztec lore and, you know, having lived 783 00:27:34,575 --> 00:27:37,054 in Mexico and and knowing the the places 784 00:27:37,054 --> 00:27:37,554 there, 785 00:27:37,934 --> 00:27:40,275 you know, specifically to, like, Moctezuma, 786 00:27:41,054 --> 00:27:43,375 yes. I I think I feel more connected 787 00:27:43,375 --> 00:27:45,315 to my roots and and to my grandparents 788 00:27:45,454 --> 00:27:47,740 as well. Yeah. Did you try and track 789 00:27:47,740 --> 00:27:49,440 down Scorpion or Lisa? 790 00:27:50,619 --> 00:27:51,359 Yeah. So 791 00:27:51,819 --> 00:27:55,819 they passed away in the eighties, but, we 792 00:27:55,819 --> 00:27:58,140 were able to interview for our project the 793 00:27:58,140 --> 00:28:00,220 son of the Scorpion who is also a 794 00:28:00,220 --> 00:28:01,980 Lucha Libre wrestler. So 795 00:28:02,775 --> 00:28:04,535 And it's interesting, you know, talking about, like, 796 00:28:04,535 --> 00:28:06,615 different perspectives. It was interesting to get his 797 00:28:06,615 --> 00:28:08,375 perspective because a lot of people I interviewed 798 00:28:08,375 --> 00:28:10,634 were fans of Moctezuma, but 799 00:28:11,494 --> 00:28:13,894 Scorpion's son is not. You know, he has 800 00:28:13,894 --> 00:28:14,394 some 801 00:28:14,775 --> 00:28:16,394 unhappy memories about Moctezuma. 802 00:28:16,695 --> 00:28:16,855 So 803 00:28:17,690 --> 00:28:19,529 Well, yeah. There's a lot of family dynamic 804 00:28:19,529 --> 00:28:20,670 going on there. Exactly. 805 00:28:21,369 --> 00:28:23,929 Yeah. And I don't know if anyone listening 806 00:28:23,929 --> 00:28:26,029 is aware of some of the brilliant 807 00:28:26,970 --> 00:28:28,269 soap operas from 808 00:28:28,809 --> 00:28:31,789 that region, but they could get pretty convoluted. 809 00:28:32,170 --> 00:28:35,085 Yes. Well and that's what Lisa did end 810 00:28:35,085 --> 00:28:36,305 up becoming a telenovela 811 00:28:36,605 --> 00:28:37,105 producer. 812 00:28:37,725 --> 00:28:39,805 So you might have seen some of her 813 00:28:39,805 --> 00:28:43,325 stuff, for sure. Yeah. What's the plan to 814 00:28:43,325 --> 00:28:46,045 get this movie out and get people excited 815 00:28:46,045 --> 00:28:47,505 and interested in this? 816 00:28:48,470 --> 00:28:49,769 So we're doing, 817 00:28:50,070 --> 00:28:52,150 a screen so at the Los Angeles Film 818 00:28:52,150 --> 00:28:54,710 School where I teach, I've been and when 819 00:28:54,710 --> 00:28:58,410 I've completed restoring the Moctezuma films, they're 820 00:28:58,869 --> 00:29:00,330 they're all short versions. 821 00:29:00,944 --> 00:29:02,704 So I've been entering those into film festival 822 00:29:02,704 --> 00:29:04,384 to try to get them, around the world. 823 00:29:04,384 --> 00:29:06,325 So the screening that we're having is 824 00:29:06,784 --> 00:29:08,644 kind of lining up all of the Moctezuma 825 00:29:08,784 --> 00:29:09,845 movies chronologically, 826 00:29:10,865 --> 00:29:12,644 and kinda putting it all in one piece. 827 00:29:12,784 --> 00:29:13,440 And that 828 00:29:13,919 --> 00:29:16,639 should be available on a streaming service soon. 829 00:29:16,639 --> 00:29:18,319 We did get a distributor for that, so 830 00:29:18,319 --> 00:29:20,240 I'm very excited. And as soon as I 831 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,319 know where, I will let you know. But 832 00:29:22,319 --> 00:29:24,659 then the next big step for me is 833 00:29:25,039 --> 00:29:27,940 making this documentary, like, putting the whole documentary 834 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,315 together where we will, you know, talk to 835 00:29:30,315 --> 00:29:32,815 the Scorpion Sun, talk to a Moctezuma cinematographer, 836 00:29:33,434 --> 00:29:35,355 some of his producers, some of the actors 837 00:29:35,355 --> 00:29:36,494 that have worked with him 838 00:29:36,795 --> 00:29:38,654 to try to give you a full picture 839 00:29:38,714 --> 00:29:40,575 of of who he is. 840 00:29:41,130 --> 00:29:43,609 I watched the trailer, which I don't generally 841 00:29:43,609 --> 00:29:45,869 do because I don't like going into movies 842 00:29:46,089 --> 00:29:47,930 with any knowledge of the movie I'm about 843 00:29:47,930 --> 00:29:49,930 to see. I love going in blind. But 844 00:29:49,930 --> 00:29:51,849 since we were going to be talking today, 845 00:29:51,849 --> 00:29:53,769 I figured if it was a good idea 846 00:29:53,769 --> 00:29:54,670 to watch it. 847 00:29:55,444 --> 00:29:57,785 But I'm very much looking forward to seeing 848 00:29:57,845 --> 00:30:00,325 the film and moderating the the panel. Thank 849 00:30:00,325 --> 00:30:01,944 you. And it's a 850 00:30:02,244 --> 00:30:03,384 heck of an undertaking. 851 00:30:04,404 --> 00:30:04,904 Certainly, 852 00:30:05,845 --> 00:30:07,304 to 5 films, 853 00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:10,320 that's a wild ride considering how much it 854 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,640 takes just to put one movie together. I 855 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,799 know the time it takes to put together 856 00:30:14,799 --> 00:30:16,500 a documentary, which is 857 00:30:17,119 --> 00:30:17,859 just for 858 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:20,960 just a reference for people listening. It could 859 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,714 be a a 1000 hours. I mean, it's 860 00:30:23,875 --> 00:30:26,535 there's so much to then edit down and 861 00:30:26,835 --> 00:30:29,474 navigate to tell a story within a story. 862 00:30:29,474 --> 00:30:31,875 So hats off for that as well. Thank 863 00:30:31,875 --> 00:30:34,035 you. Yeah. Yeah. Tell people how they can 864 00:30:34,035 --> 00:30:36,775 find you and and information about the film. 865 00:30:37,470 --> 00:30:39,730 Sure. So the the website for Moctezuma, 866 00:30:40,669 --> 00:30:43,569 is where is Juan movie dot com. 867 00:30:43,869 --> 00:30:46,769 Where is Juan movie? And Juan is spelled, 868 00:30:47,789 --> 00:30:50,369 j u a n. Correct. Yeah. 869 00:30:50,764 --> 00:30:52,684 My personal work, it's, 870 00:30:53,085 --> 00:30:53,585 bluebasoon.net. 871 00:30:55,484 --> 00:30:57,825 I I miss the dotcom. So, yeah, bluebas00n.net. 872 00:31:01,085 --> 00:31:02,224 Do you play the bassoon? 873 00:31:03,419 --> 00:31:05,259 I do not. The the story behind that 874 00:31:05,259 --> 00:31:07,579 is the the first movie I ever made 875 00:31:07,579 --> 00:31:08,940 was based on a dream I had, and 876 00:31:08,940 --> 00:31:10,700 in the dream, there was a blue bassoon. 877 00:31:10,700 --> 00:31:12,700 So I just thought it sounded good. I 878 00:31:12,700 --> 00:31:15,019 love it. That's great. How many films have 879 00:31:15,019 --> 00:31:15,795 you made? 880 00:31:16,275 --> 00:31:18,994 I've I've mostly made shorts throughout my career 881 00:31:18,994 --> 00:31:21,475 so far. So this this anthology and the 882 00:31:21,475 --> 00:31:23,734 documentary will be my my first features, 883 00:31:24,515 --> 00:31:26,674 and I'm hoping that will lead to the 884 00:31:26,674 --> 00:31:28,595 next thing I wanna make, which is gonna 885 00:31:28,595 --> 00:31:31,019 be kind of re ready to make a 886 00:31:31,019 --> 00:31:33,579 departure from Moctezuma. So the next thing I'm 887 00:31:33,579 --> 00:31:36,000 gonna do is it's still horror. It's Bambi 888 00:31:36,059 --> 00:31:38,779 taking revenge on the hunters who killed his 889 00:31:38,779 --> 00:31:40,700 mother. So it's gonna be a horror comedy 890 00:31:40,700 --> 00:31:41,599 is my goal. 891 00:31:41,900 --> 00:31:42,400 Animated? 892 00:31:43,224 --> 00:31:44,524 No. I'm gonna do the 893 00:31:44,904 --> 00:31:46,605 the the animals with puppets. 894 00:31:47,464 --> 00:31:50,125 Oh, fabulous. Yes. So think like gremlins or, 895 00:31:50,505 --> 00:31:52,444 I always think of the the rabbit from 896 00:31:52,505 --> 00:31:54,424 Monty Python and the Holy Grail that Yeah. 897 00:31:54,505 --> 00:31:56,424 Jumps yeah. That kind of thing. It's got 898 00:31:56,424 --> 00:31:59,059 fangs. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. For some reason, 899 00:31:59,519 --> 00:32:02,559 cute things doing violent things are makes me 900 00:32:02,559 --> 00:32:03,059 laugh. 901 00:32:03,599 --> 00:32:04,579 Yeah. Absolutely. 902 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:07,279 Yeah. I love it. Well, thank you so 903 00:32:07,279 --> 00:32:09,680 much for being on the show. I'm excited 904 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,924 to Thank you. See what happens next and 905 00:32:11,924 --> 00:32:13,465 where it will all go. And, 906 00:32:14,245 --> 00:32:14,825 I will 907 00:32:15,684 --> 00:32:18,404 keep my listeners updated as you have updates 908 00:32:18,404 --> 00:32:20,644 for me. Yeah. Thank you so much. Appreciate 909 00:32:20,644 --> 00:32:22,904 you listening. Thank you for listening, everybody. 910 00:32:23,445 --> 00:32:24,750 Bye. Bye bye. 911 00:32:27,710 --> 00:32:30,269 Rate, review, and subscribe to Hey Human Podcast 912 00:32:30,269 --> 00:32:32,769 on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. 913 00:32:33,230 --> 00:32:33,730 Thanks. 914 00:32:34,029 --> 00:32:34,529 Bye.