Drive-By Slaying to Be Depicted in Anti-Gang TV Spot

A Los Angeles film company and the district attorney’s office are collaborating on two television public service announcements on gang violence, including one depicting the drive-by shooting of a boy who is shotgunned to death while playing touch football as his mother watches helplessly.

The spots are intended to encourage members of troubled families to call a new, round-the-clock hot line created by Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner’s office. Callers will be referred to appropriate agencies for guidance, counseling, or law enforcement action, the participants said Wednesday.

They said the project is the first anti-gang effort that combines Hollywood film makers and the district attorney’s office in a joint mission to curb the growing gang violence in the Los Angeles area.

The producers of the spots said they have received widespread support from the entertainment industry, including the Screen Actors Guild, which has agreed to waive residual and overtime payments to the actors.

Filming is to take place in Los Angeles today and Friday.

Olivier Katz, a co-owner of RKF, the Los Angeles firm that is producing the spots, said he preferred not to have the film sites publicized so as to minimize disruption by onlookers and, perhaps, gang members.

Depiction of Violence

Both Katz and Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Genelin, who is in charge of prosecuting hard-core gang members, defended the depiction of graphic violence in the drive-by shooting spot. Genelin noted that the spot will not show the boy actually being “shot.”

According to a script and “story board” made available to The Times on Wednesday, the scenario begins with a mother watching her two sons playing football in the family’s front yard. Smiling, she says proudly, “Those are my boys.”

It then shows Jimmy, 8, making a leaping catch of a pass thrown by his 14-year-old brother. As they and several other youngsters begin exchanging high-fives, a car approaches, ominously.

One of the boys senses impending danger and yells to his playmates: “We got trouble coming.”

The scene then changes to a view from inside the car.

“Let’s do it,” the passenger tells the driver as he pumps a sawed-off shotgun.

Next, tires screech as all the football players, except Jimmy, scramble for cover. The youngster, oblivious to the danger, is still savoring his game-winning catch, happily tossing the football into the air.

Hearing the commotion, Jimmy’s mother attempts to alert him, but it is too late.

The car comes into full view. The passenger aims his shotgun squarely at the camera and fires.

“Noooooooo,” the mother screams, as she runs out of the house. The football drops to the ground and rolls to a stop next to a small, lifeless hand.

The spot ends with the printed message: “ACT NOW 1-800-555-5555.” Under it is the Los Angeles County seal.

“Stop gang violence . . . now,” a voice says.

“We’re faced with these crimes occurring every day,” Genelin said of the spot’s realism, adding that it only shows the “before” and “after” of a drive-by shooting.

“This is the type of dramatic story that is needed to get the public’s attention and to compete with other commercials--so people won’t change channels,” Katz added.

Spending Own Money

The producer said he and his partner, Robert Reagan Jr., are spending $40,000 of their own money to film the spots, each of which will have 30- and 60-second versions.

The second announcement will depict a nurse who comes home from work early with a birthday present for her 12-year-old son, only to find him--a gang member, she discovers--pointing a gun at her in surprise. The spot will also end with the hot line number.

Katz said he hopes to deliver the spots to local television stations by late January.

Genelin said he is optimistic that the stations will air them, possibly even during prime-time hours. Katz added that many stations have tentatively expressed a willingness to air the spots.

The idea grew out of a conversation between Katz and Genelin at a party hosted by a mutual friend.

“My partner and I are very concerned with the gang problems in Los Angeles,” Katz said Wednesday. “And we felt this would be a way to contribute to the cause. But we are by no means political.”

Katz praised the support from the entertainment industry. Without SAG’s concessions and the donation of equipment and other services, Katz said, production costs might have reached $200,000.

“Everyone has been extremely supportive,” he said.

If the spots are successful, Katz said, he hopes to broaden the anti-gang message into a multimedia effort.