Brooklyn filmmaker pays homage to Coney cult film ‘The Warriors’
His new film features actors from ‘79 classic
A Brooklyn-born independent filmmaker who was fascinated with the cult film “The Warriors” when he was growing up in Kensington has now made a new film featuring three of the original actors from the 1979 movie.
“The Warriors” followed the adventures of a gang from Coney Island whose members are trying to get back home from the Bronx on the subway. The trouble is that another gang has put out a hit on the Warriors. To get back to Brooklyn, they must dodge not just other gang members but the cops as well. Among other things, the film is known for a rival gang member’s taunt: “Oh Warriors, won’t you come out to play!”
Filmmaker Eric Rivas grew up in the 1980s, graduating from FDR High School, and was himself a graffiti artist and gang member (although he stresses that the gang was mainly for protection and didn’t deal drugs). He became interested in film when his mother, a beautician, almost married a man who worked at installing home theaters. “I never went to film school – I just started shooting with my camera,” he says.