Mario de la Vega
Director/writer Robbing Peter

Mario de la Vega has one of those smiles that draws people in like a magnet. He also has the sort of name that carries with it the suggestion of old world charm and demands a resonant Banderas accent.

Instead one of his producers is berating him for using the long signature and he simply shrugs and says off hand that it just means "of the." Though he sports a three day stubble, Vega looks and sounds like just another American kid. Though born in Mexico, he grew up in the States and attended business school at the University of Colorado.

"Our family was pretty much split up between the two countries," he says. "And shortly after I got my degree my father died and grandfather died and one of the uncles decided to revive the family lumber business in Mexico. It was just natural that I should be a part of it."

So, he wound up in the woods in a remote part of Mazetlan and tried to turn the company's fortunes around. What he remembers most about the experience was the extreme loneliness and isolation. To keep himself from going crazy he began to write stories and may have indeed gone off the deep end when he decided to pull up stakes and go to Los Angeles to write for the movies.

He rented an apartment in North Hollywood and gave himself five years to establish himself. His family was slightly aghast but a former employer - a Colorado economist - encouraged him to follow his passion.

"I was totally green and kind of surprised in retrospect that someone didn't roll me," he says looking back. "I didn't know anything about the business or the city. I just pushed ahead and started to pound out screenplays."

Robbing Peter was far from the first effort. He tried to write what people thought were conventional or high concept scripts but could barely stomach coming up with trendy ideas. Finally, he just had to make peace with himself and began to write about slightly askew characters in slightly askew situations and came to the conclusion that he'd better concoct a low budget yarn that he could finance and direct himself.

He can't remember what spurred him on to join the Independent Feature Project shortly after arriving in L.A. but he says it was likely the smartest thing he could have done. He was selected for the organization's Project Involve and wound up being mentored. Vega began to make contacts and was accepted into the IFP's Directors Lab with what would become Robbing Peter.

The programs and the people I met became my film school," he says. "I began to understand the logistics and got an appreciation for the craft and toil involved. I also saw what actor's could provide the material."

Still there were lessons to be learned from doing the work. High on the list was finding a comfortable pair of shoes as his first choice of footwear nearly crippled him after four days of filming. He says he can't even wear them anymore because they remind him too much of the physical pain he experienced.

"It all seems so surreal now. You put something on paper that's a reflection of your peculiar way of looking at life and ask a lot of other people to help you put it on film. It's a child and I'm not quite sure I'm mature enough to be its father. I don't know if it's ever going to get easier but I guess I'll find out.

- by Leonard Klady