MIAMI Teen director hopes film's message about drunken driving sticks

Many people have volunteered their time and efforts for the short film.
By HANNAH SAMPSON
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- Hard at work on his directorial debut, Hugo Reiner is concerned with getting the blood right.
Volunteers cover, coat and splatter the actors just so until Reiner announces: "Blood is perfect! I'm going to go wash my hands."
Reiner, 18, is president of the Broward, Fla., chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The film, still untitled, will be a 20-minute-plus short following three characters who party too much and get into a car, with deadly results.
The message, of course: Don't drink and drive.
From extras to professional stuntmen to police, firefighters, a judge, camera operators, makeup artists, actors and many others, more than 100 people -- many of them teenagers -- have volunteered their time and talent to the movie.
Videos or gruesome photos cautioning youths about the dangers of driving under the influence are nothing new. Last year, Reiner produced a video starring the same actor as the drunk driver but focusing more on the crash than what led up to it.
Reiner hopes this film will capture teens' attention because it is more than just a crash scene.
"Last year was too much a documentary," he said. "I think teenagers are better accepting when there's a story behind it."
Characters
The characters in the movie are Blake, played by 24-year-old Glenn Shelhamer; Tania, played by Nicole Suess, 17; and Jessica, played by 17-year-old Lauren Possenti.
All three sat in a beat-up Saturn, looking very injured as they filmed the rescue scene on a deserted intersection one recent night.
"It's not as bad as it looks!" said Nicole between takes. Her mother, Betty Suess, had a tough time seeing her daughter in such bad shape, even though the blood wasn't real.
"It's a little nerve-racking," she said. "I'm not watching too much."
The bulk of the filming took a week, with many late-night shoots stretching into early morning. Reiner expects the finished product to be ready in a few months.
Reiner said stuntmen who have worked on films such as "2 Fast 2 Furious" crashed a Lincoln Town Car into a Saturn. A special kind of trailer used in "Bad Boys II," he said, helped to make certain car scenes more realistic. Firefighters "treated" the "victims." Police "arrested" the driver. A jury foreman announced a decision and a judge imposed a sentence.
"Hugo has a unique way of convincing people," said John Schwartz, a producer for the film and one of Reiner's mentors. "He's very persuasive."
Use of courtroom
Broward County Judge Joel T. Lazarus was persuaded to let the crew use his courtroom one day to film a verdict for the drunk driver.
Lazarus, who initiated a program that sends some DUI offenders to the morgue to look at what could happen because of alcohol and drugs, said anything that educates the public is important.
He said some people might laugh at an attempt like his program or the video, but some might decide to never drive under the influence again.
"It's as effective as the people want it to be," Lazarus said.
Reiner hopes the film, which will be shown in schools and possibly on television, will be frightening enough to scare teens into smart decisions.
"This film," he said, "is really going to hit them hard."
Reiner, a graduate of Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School in north Miami-Dade County, has been president of the chapter since June. He plans to attend Florida International University.
The North Miami Beach resident started working with the group a few years ago with the MADD About Music program, which brings celebrities into schools in person or via video to give messages about drinking and driving.
Tresa Hardt, spokeswoman for the organization's national office, said as more and more teens take on leadership roles in MADD, it's natural to see fast-paced, edgy, MTV-style outreach programs.
"We just think that it's an alternative because it's youth speaking to youth," she said. "It's their style of communication."