Art Imitates Life on Set of ‘Substitute’

Director Robert Mandel was aiming for reality when he started casting young performers to portray the thuggish gang toughs of Columbus High for his new film, “The Substitute.”

So when those who’d been hired didn’t work out, Mandel--a former junior high chemistry teacher who believes that every kid deserves a break--gave the jobs to 19 actual Miami-area gang members.

“When we started casting, the extras just weren’t cutting it,” said Mandel, who earlier directed “F/X” and “School Ties.” “Sure, they had the gang clothes, but not the attitude.”

Accompanied by a Miami Police Department gang investigator, Det. Aquiles Carmona, Mandel hit the local parks at night to round out his cast for the film, which might be described as “Colors” meets “Death Wish.”

(The Live Entertainment production, released by Orion Pictures, stars Tom Berenger as a mercenary who goes undercover as a high school teacher, and finished a surprising No. 2 at the box office in its opening weekend, taking in $6 million. [It has since passed $10 million.] “This is our most successful release since we came out of bankruptcy” in November 1992, said Leonard White, president of Orion Pictures. “To me the success of this film is the beginning of the future.”)

Among those hired were two young men identified as gang members by Carmona, Enrique Cruz and Lazaro Gomez, who consider themselves “graffiti artists.” Both have been bit by the acting bug.

Cruz, whose tag name is Sero (meaning zero, “a circle with no beginning and no end. I’m all around you but you can’t see me,” he said in a phone interview), said he began working day jobs to pay for acting lessons in hopes that one day Hollywood again would come calling.

For his part, Gomez even sold some of the gold that outlines his teeth to help pay for acting lessons, Carmona said.

The job allowed them to be paid, not arrested, for covering the walls of the movie’s school with graffiti.

Carmona said it was tough to find the right crew, since he didn’t want Mandel and company to be in danger with threats from rival gangs not used in the film. And the selection wasn’t easy.

“The kids found out quickly that making movies wasn’t so glamorous, but a lot of hard work,” he said. “A lot of them bailed. They were getting $500 a day. I told them, ‘This is a reward, before you’ve earned it.’ But the kids who stayed worked very hard and I was surprised.”

That’s not to say there weren’t fights, Mandel said, noting that the female gang members bickered the most.

“I always knew when there was going to be a fight. They’d take off their beepers and throw them down. Then bend over and tie their shoelaces so they wouldn’t trip,” Mandel said. “But usually we were able to break it up. Many of these young girls were parents and they would mostly get in fights over how they took care of their kids. It was pretty educational, really.”