Director Angel Manuel Soto Talks Charm City Kings, Will Smith, And More - Exclusive Interview

What was it like working with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith as producers and how much of their vision and input did they lend to the project?

Working with Jada and Will was very, I mean, besides being super surreal, I [went] from Puerto Rico, working with talents he has seen since little shows that have been done in Spanish. It's crazy, but being able to see them trust [in] the creative choices and the people they hired for the job was something very encouraging. They ran with the vision that I had from the beginning, and they let us really take control of the ship and steer, do our own thing. By saying us, I mean me, myself, the VP and Caleeb, who's Jada's brother and the producer, and Clarence. They were very respectful. [They gave us] the space, and throughout the production, they pretty much let us be towards the end. [In] the end, they went into more on the post-production and just toning a [few] things to their perception. But I guess if I can define my experience with them [it would be] undivided support. I think that's the best way to describe them as producers.

That's fantastic. What aspects from Lotfy Nathan's 12 O'clock Boys documentary did you want to shine most through the film, and what were you most excited to put your own spin on?

The documentary was really a starting point. I remember when I saw the documentary first, I loved it [because of] the way that it [depicted a subculture] that I had never seen before living in Puerto Rico. And having documentaries and movies as windows to the world, it was definitely alluring. We have a little bit [of biking back at home], but the way they talk about it and the way they react to it and how talented they are, it's something that really caught my attention — that sense of freedom that they feel when they're doing that. And how the amount of balance and discipline and talent that you have to [have] on a professional level because they are very professional in what they do, definitely was something alluring. And when it came to the script, I really appreciated that it tried to stay true to the backdrop that this culture creates and how it enriches the city of Baltimore as its own powerful thing.

So being able to keep that myth or legacy or sense of community and freedom and happiness that you get from the desires of Pug in the movie and the other characters, we wanted to keep that as part of the heart of our main character, which is inspired [by] Pug, and be able also to have the community that you see take part in the documentary, be an essential part of [of the film]. Not extras, but even like the supporting cast of the film. So we really, we refused the idea of not using the real people from the documentary in this drama. That's inspired [by] real events, not really based on those just it inspired the energy and the world-building that the documentary had.

Definitely. Did you get on a bike yourself? Did anyone teach you some tricks?

Yes, actually, I did, but it was towards the end. I didn't dare to do it before or in between shows. We spent a lot of time going to the rides with them and taking us to different parts where they would practice their tricks. But towards the end, I think I stayed a couple of days, and that's when I went, I got on a quad, and I tried to pop a wheelie, and it's not as scary as I thought it would be, but still to have that amount of craft that they do — [to] do [a] wheelie and stand on the seat and tap dance your way for... I mean, it's impressive. Like what I saw, there was an amazing amount of talent from brilliant artists that have been built by society.

Were you successful in your wheelie?

No. [Laughs] It was more like a wonk.

So like on a skateboard except higher. [Laughs]

Exactly. The quad is a little bit... I asked them [if it was] easier [on] that, on that bike, but with my luck on my balance, I don't know if I would have lasted more than five seconds.

And that's why I like the whole power that comes within the communities of black and brown people when they come together and share their own experiences and are able to tell stories that we want to tell regarding our own experiences and with them be able to talk about topics using that vehicle of a coming of age drama that resonates with the struggles that are rarely talked [about]. Communities like ours, for example, the deconstruction of toxic masculinity, and the fact that a lot of the bad decisions that we as men will opt to make are founded in the false concept of what a man is supposed to be.

And we're taught that "men don't behave that way." "Men don't cry." "This is what a man is supposed to do." And all that pressure growing up really builds into a distortion of what a man is supposed to be. So having that kind of be a subtextual element throughout really helps navigate the other aspects of family, of [the] pursuit of happiness, of mentorship — which is something that a lot of our communities struggle with and the right role models to follow in order to foster our full potential. So with all that said, that's [the thing I really gravitated to the most] when I was working on the film, because I was like, "I want to do a film that I wish I saw when I was a kid." I want to see a film that, [in] the end, I feel like, "Okay, maybe I do have a chance."

Maybe I do have an opportunity. And I was one of the lucky few to have a father there who, even though he spent a lot of his time working and I rarely [saw] him, he served also as a mentor that allowed me to stay away from the streets. Even though I lived in the streets and all my friends were a part of it, I didn't partake [in] it — thanks to that limited amount of love that I had. So being able to communicate that to the future generation and see how they can start a conversation after watching a film like this in order to create change within the community on themselves, I think that will be my biggest takeaway from it if anybody is willing to see that.

You sort of touched on this already, but did any of your own experiences as a Puerto Rican filmmaker inform the direction of the film?

Yes. 100 percent. I came in from being forced to do a lot with little and being economical and being resourceful. And that started to inform my visual language in a more inspired, more like Italian Neorealism and movies from all [of these] hyper-realistic films that you can see that come a lot from Europe. And when [you] transition to a film like this which had chase sequences and bikes and stunts and coming of age drama, that was very, it has its by-the-book kind of structure. I'm being able to marry both things with the opportunity of working on a bigger budget that allowed me to play with certain toys, like the car or the bikes and all these other elements. It was kind of like, "Oh, now I can [fuse] the two things that are usually polarized in cinema, like the whole indie vibe and then hyper Hollywood flair and be able to find a middle ground" so that I can feel connected into being able to portray the energy thrill ride I grew up with watching films.

To mention, not that this looks like it, but Indiana Jones and Star Wars and Scorsese, you grew up watching [these types] of movies and then halfway [through] high school, you start experimenting on mobile art, then all these other films from Europe. And that's where I felt I connected the most tonally and structurally because I thought, when will I ever be able to make a movie that I can play with all these stories. Doing Charm City Kings for me is a dream come true. Because I never thought I [would] ever be able to have that opportunity. So given the chance and with the right team with Kate, Scott, Katelin Arizmendi as the DP, Scott of the production designer, Stewie on the Steadicam, all of us coming together and be able to develop this type of narrative. I feel like those sensibilities coming together from multiple artists were able to form a mutual language that resonates to where I am right now.

They're awesome. So there's a bit of a parallel between Will Smith and Meek Mill going from rapper to actor. Did you notice any similarities between the two?

I don't know, to be honest. I guess what I know is that they had a lot of conversations. I know that Meek had just come out of prison and he was getting into the character after that whole process. I know he and Will [had] a lot of conversations, precisely because of that. A rapper who's acting [has to be able] to have a work-life balance and do the singing when he wants to, and still be successful. And definitely, Meek has [wanted] to jump into the acting game for a bit. And having this be an opportunity of playing an actor who [very] much is him, except that in the movie, he's a mechanic in real life and Meek is a rapper, but everything else is very much representative of Meek, [and] who he is as a person.

And him finding in this character a way to play a better version of himself, if that makes sense, of being able to really be himself and yet tell the version of himself he wants people to follow from now on. And I think doing so, definitely, he had a lot of help from Will Smith. I'm sure his journey was an inspiration. Also, Louis Stancil, an acting coach, spent a lot of time with him, making sure he went over the [lines and] learned the body language. And he started loosening up. It was really awesome to see him from the first day he came to set, and when we left, how he owned that character, how he embodied that character. How he even pushed himself to deliver the best performance he could.

What was it like working with Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins?

Well, Barry, I met him New Year's this year. I didn't get the chance to work with him because when he developed the first draft of the film, this was way before I came into the project. And he left the writing and directing of this film to do Moonlight. And I'm thankful for that because he's definitely... he has a career that I hope I can emulate in some way. And I was able to do the film that he started to write, but Sherman Payne was the one who took the rewriting service based on the backbones that Barry Jenkins laid out and the structure, Sherman was able to really bring his own thing and build up on top of that and create his own voice to tell the story he wanted to tell.

And it wasn't [until], like I said, after the film was edited and done prior to his premiere, that I met Barry Jenkins and we hung out in Puerto Rico for a little bit. I was their tour guide. It was Barry and Lulu, and I was their tour guide almost for the whole week. And it was... he's [on] my Island, I wanted him to have a great time. I love my Island. So I wanted him to enjoy it and have a memorable moment until the conversations that we had. It was really humbling and exciting to hear that he was happy that he was thankful that [I] took the work. And he was very proud of what came out. So I guess my experience with Barry has been very positive.

Things that people would never think about when they're watching the film, those kinds of restrictions.

The thing here is, you want to give restrictions. This was another [new one] for me because I wasn't used to that. I didn't know that with kids, you don't have that much time to work with [them].

And not only that, they tell you it's nine hours. I'm like, okay, you can work with nine hours. But because it was shooting during the fall, it's nine hours minus three of school and minus one of lunch. So you really have the kids for five hours.

So the expectations of being able to work with them for 12 reduces to less than half. And you're like, "Okay, now we really have to make everything work." But we were lucky. I mean, not lucky. We were blessed to have a slew of talent that was so dedicated and professional and really carried like the actor ethics and the guys that were not actors. They really stepped it up. They went out of their way to achieve what we wanted and being able to have them and the community around telling us kind of, we don't say it that way, or we say it differently or no, we don't... it did help.

And every scene has the hand of somebody in the [biking] community with an opinion. And I think that's in a very respectful and helpful way. For example, we thought Willie Wayne, who is the leader of that pack in 12 O'clock Boys, he was the one that really made it happen. He was the one that, more than his blessing, he was the one that was able to call the community to be a part of it. He was the one that selected the riders. All the riders on the Midnight Clique, they are from the documentary 12 O'clock Boys. So it's like having them there.... it's a movie, it's a documentary. So being able to keep it as grounded as possible without going all out on the side of just casting, not actors, it's a healthy balance of professional talent and artists.

Get ready to go out and buy a dirt bike (and a first aid kit), because Charm City Kings is available on HBO Max now.