"An actor can't get good parts without a good film, and the only way to get a good film is to go out and do it yourself," says Leon Williams, a young actor who's been trying to make in it Hollywood for the past four years.
What Williams, who will soon be seen in the horror picture "Dr. Death" and the Paramount TV movie "Night of Terror" did was to put up his own money and get recent USC cinema graduate Andrew Georgias to co-produce and to direct him in a 17-minute film called "Loose Change," which is showing at the Los Feliz Theaters with a revival of Truffaut's "400 Blows" and "Shoot the Piano Player." Written by E. James Lloyd, "Loose Change" is not just a fine showcase for Williams, but also a successful mini drama in its own right.
"Loose Change" is the story of a man who tries to lead two lives. When we meet Williams, dapper in traditional blue blazer and white ducks, he and his wife (Carolyn Ames) are in the midst of hosting a large garden party behind their expensive home. Williams is doing what is expected of him, pacifying his neglected mother and trying to make an ill-at-ease black athlete (Ronald McLlwain) feel at home.
Once the long, fatiguing day is over, however, he sneaks out of bed, greases down his curly "natural" hair, darkens his beard, puts on a funky suit and heads for a Main St. dance hall where he has struck up a friendship with a pretty, pleasant taxi dancer (Elizabeth James). At last he has escaped and can relax – or so he thinks.
Just as Georgia's and Lloyd are perceptive in t heir witty but compassionate observations of two vividly contracting life-styles, Williams is most ingratiating in his portrayal of a decent, pressured man whose attempt to run away from himself only precipitates more anguish.
Williams receives fine support from Miss Ames, a beautiful blonde and Miss James (whom Williams met in acting class and who actually worked in the dance hall scene in the film). "Loose Change" was gracefully photographed and succinctly edited by Gary Young.
What Williams, who will soon be seen in the horror picture "Dr. Death" and the Paramount TV movie "Night of Terror" did was to put up his own money and get recent USC cinema graduate Andrew Georgias to co-produce and to direct him in a 17-minute film called "Loose Change," which is showing at the Los Feliz Theaters with a revival of Truffaut's "400 Blows" and "Shoot the Piano Player." Written by E. James Lloyd, "Loose Change" is not just a fine showcase for Williams, but also a successful mini drama in its own right.
"Loose Change" is the story of a man who tries to lead two lives. When we meet Williams, dapper in traditional blue blazer and white ducks, he and his wife (Carolyn Ames) are in the midst of hosting a large garden party behind their expensive home. Williams is doing what is expected of him, pacifying his neglected mother and trying to make an ill-at-ease black athlete (Ronald McLlwain) feel at home.
Once the long, fatiguing day is over, however, he sneaks out of bed, greases down his curly "natural" hair, darkens his beard, puts on a funky suit and heads for a Main St. dance hall where he has struck up a friendship with a pretty, pleasant taxi dancer (Elizabeth James). At last he has escaped and can relax – or so he thinks.
Just as Georgia's and Lloyd are perceptive in t heir witty but compassionate observations of two vividly contracting life-styles, Williams is most ingratiating in his portrayal of a decent, pressured man whose attempt to run away from himself only precipitates more anguish.
Williams receives fine support from Miss Ames, a beautiful blonde and Miss James (whom Williams met in acting class and who actually worked in the dance hall scene in the film). "Loose Change" was gracefully photographed and succinctly edited by Gary Young.