They say big things come in small packages and I'd have to agree. Roman Cortez, one third of the comic trio SEVEN OH FIVE, more than makes up for his diminutive stature with a larger-than-life personality and loads of charisma. Along with SEVEN OH FIVE cohorts Tracy Tubera and Chito Arellano, Roman has produced such classic short movies as "Cop Block," "BeaverHead 3," "Three Card Studs," "Space Time Destroyers," "Sack to the Future," and the award-winning "Skid Marks." Now, on the eve of the first SEVEN OH FIVE retrospective -- entitled "When SEVEN OH FIVE Attacks!" and featuring the debut of their latest masterpiece, "Virtual Date 3.0" -- Roman stopped by for a chat. Truly a rare breed, Roman is a self-taught artist who, as a shining model for our youth, proclaims, "I never finished high school. I dropped out as a junior." How can one possibly convince our youth to stay in school when he has done so well without formal education? Roman honed his art skills while working at "numerous print shops," landing his first full-time gig as a designer for the PennySaver. Many pennies were in fact saved due to his layout skills. Feeling tired of saving pennies, he needed a change. Designing for famous surf clothier Mossimo was his next job. Roman came in at the peak of Mossimo's popularity, and then had the honor of watching it all fall to pieces. "I had just come in when the company went public… then a year later the company went bankrupt… or almost," he explains. "They are now at Target." After having helped take down a world-famous clothing line, Roman decided to turn his attention elsewhere. He freelanced for six years before finally settling at Mattel. Now living the dream of any little boy, he gets to play with Hot Wheels all day as a designer of the collectible cars. (In a strange, foreboding twist to my meeting with Roman, I once owned a Mossimo shirt with a logo resembling that of Hot Wheels.) With the worlds of penny-saving, textiles and toys conquered, Roman dove head-first into the world of movie-making. What started off as a drunken exercise one night to amuse friends has led to an ever-growing library of short movies and an extremely loyal -- and slightly rabid -- SEVEN OH FIVE fan base. The crew of SEVEN OH FIVE has repeatedly explained the genesis of their classic movies in other interviews and their online forum. "Three Card Studs" was a stab at an action movie with a hint of special effects. The "Beaverhead" series was an homage to horror films. "Space Time Destroyers" was pure storytelling through effects, and "Skid Marks" was the culmination of all their skills to that point. Yet, the question remains: How much thought goes into making a SEVEN OH FIVE movie? A lot. And then, maybe, not so much. Roman reveals that "Three Card Studs" evolved from Tracy's infatuation with Jackie Chan. Tracy wanted a martial arts extravaganza. So what does Jackie Chan have to do with poker, you ask? Not a thing. It seems Roman liked the scene in "Maverick" where Mel Gibson tosses the winning card in slow motion. So add a little Hong Kong action with a Maverick-esque poker-theme and voila! A poker-martial arts movie is born! (Although one wonders what influence Chito had, other than his famous "Biff walk" scene. Roman is uncharacteristically silent about that…) Therein lays the magic of SEVEN OH FIVE. They can take everyday situations and inject humor where you'd never think there could be. (In fact, subconsciously, they are the living embodiment of the NOPAL creed: "Comedy is where you find it.") How else do you explain their movie, "2nd W.M.E." (Second Worst Movie Ever)? But the creative genius doesn't end when the cameras stop rolling, as each member of SEVEN OH FIVE also plays a significant role behind-the-scenes. Roman and Chito usually team up to do the editing and post-production work. Tracy initially just watched shirtless and flexed his muscles, until guilt finally got the best of him. Now he contributes by designing the movies' posters. As the team becomes more and more sophisticated in their craft - while still trying to balance their full-time jobs - each production gets a little more difficult. Post-work on "Virtual Date 3.0", their most involved effort to date, had Chito practically living with Roman in order to finish the final cut. Tracy was putting the final touches on the "When SEVEN OH FIVE Attacks!" postcard just before the presses started running. The boys have never been ones to follow directions. The folks at the San Diego Asian Film Festival allocated no more than 72 minutes for the SEVEN OH FIVE time slot. But never ones to listen to directions, the boys turned in a retrospective that clocked in at 75 minutes. Having been told that "Virtual Date 3.0" could run no longer than 10 minutes, the boys turned in a final cut at 12 minutes. Such flagrant disregard for rules is exactly what makes SEVEN OH FIVE so admired and such an inspiration to their fans. And the feeling is mutual. "Virtual Date 3.0" was conceived as a payback to the fans (mostly boys, with a girl or two). "Virtual Date 3.0", or VD, stars the boys as per usual, but also introduces Eva, the movie's namesake. How do a group of up-and-coming moviemakers get such a gorgeous lady to be in their movie? They beg, of course. Seems luck was on their side and, through a mutual acquaintance, career model Eva was tricked, I mean, convinced to play the boys' digital dream. And if that weren't enough, the boys even included their fans' names in the credits. SEVEN OH FIVE's appreciation of its fans is what keeps them coming back for more. And yet, with all this admiration, SEVEN OH FIVE still doesn't get the respect its due. Asked why they are so fond of San Diego (with appearances at San Diego's Comic Con and frequent appearances at SDAFF), Roman's answer is simple: "In Los Angeles, we were rejected by all the film festivals… although they still kept our entrance fees." And the disrespect doesn't end with the film festivals. Take for instance, the day Roman's car caught fire on the way home from work. Stranded on the side of an L.A. freeway, the responding California Highway Patrolman harassed him, first for being on the freeway and then for not being able to figure out how to stop the engine fire. Dayum. Respect or no respect, the future seems bright for SEVEN OH FIVE. The boys are looking to expand their expertise with feature-length efforts and may possibly tackle the small screen as well. And yet, with so much creativity and drive, it's amazing they haven't discovered a fail-proof way to keep a shirt on Tracy. Visit SEVENOHFIVE.com to see all their movies.
©2004 David Gonzalez/NOPAL. All rights reserved. © SEVEN OH FIVE. All rights reserved.