EX-GANG MEMBER TEACHES HOLLYWOOD ACTORS HOW TO BE HOMIES

EX-GANG MEMBER TEACHES HOLLYWOOD ACTORS HOW TO BE HOMIES



LOS ANGELES (Wireless Flash) – There’s an ex-gang member in Los Angeles who doesn’t like how Hollywood depicts gangs. But he’s not ganging up on the studios – he’s helping them keep it real. Magdaleno Robles says Hollywood has an outdated image of Hispanic gangs being like the low riders in the 1979 movie, Boulevard Nights. That’s why he’s giving filmmakers the 411 on current styles of gangsta music, clothing and graffiti. Robles knows his stuff. The 30-year-old joined a gang when he was just five years old, and only bowed out a few years ago after his friend shot a teacher. Now, Robles consults and appears in TV shows like Family Law and films like the upcoming Denzel Washington flick, Training Day. Unlike some actors, he doesn’t mind getting typecast. He figures playing a criminal is better than being one and, besides, “... Hollywood pays me to do graffiti.”

Tue 09-11-01