Lula Brown
21 September 2010
New York, NY-- At a turning point in the downtown New York nightlife scene, Julius Onah and Mayuran Tiruchelvam are in the midst of post-production editing for their new Spike Lee produced film, “The Girl Is In Trouble,” set to premiere during the Sundance Film festival beginning January 20th in Park City, Utah. The film will explore the transformation of Lower East Side nightlife from Indie Rock heaven to electronic madness. Daniel Casanova, established New York DJ and a big source of inspiration for the film, explained that the film is about “murder, revenge, extortion and love set amongst the glamour and grime of the Lower East Side nightlife scene.” Julius wrote the story during the tail end of “Girls & Boys,” a two-year running party that he promoted along with Casanova, also known as rekLES on the scene, and drew much of his inspiration from this party in particular.
The main character in the film is trying to make it as a DJ in New York, but every gig he pursues is given to a DJ already well established on the scene. Julius had Casanova in mind when casting the “well-established DJ,” and Daniel agreed to play himself. Although Casanova’s roll is quite minor, his real life experience in the downtown scene makes him an important person to have on set. When speaking with Casanova, he discussed the transformation of DJ’s in New York, explaining that when he first started DJing downtown, it was an “Indie Rock driven scene, and literally everyone was a DJ. If you had an iPod, you were a DJ. It was all about song selection and had nothing to do with mixing the music.” Casanova went on to explain that along with the rebirth of dance music/electro, the blending of tracks became a necessity in order to really call oneself a DJ. Since modern electro appeals so greatly to the mainstream, Daniel and other New York DJ’s such as Alex English were able to bring a larger crowd and form a greater following. This allowed Daniel and Julius to expand “Girls & Boys” from a Lower East Side basement to Webster Hall, one of New York City’s most respected venues, all in a matter of six months.
Outside of the heavyweight actors in the film whoes names cannot be released yet, many of the actual attendees of “Girls & Boys” play as extras in the film. Veteran Lower East Side party girl Noelle Celebra described her experience on set, admitting that “the vibe on set was dead at first, but once filming starting it was just like hanging out with friends, and everyone was having a good time. It was rad having everyone out and together.” Celebra was also surprised that it was so easy to stimulate a night out on film during the middle of the day. However, she was ecstatic with the outcome and hopes that the film will solidify the acceptance of the electronic wave that has taken over the Lower East Side, since she prefers this style herself.
Spike Lee’s involvement as executive producer of the film came about because Julius interned at Lee’s production company, 40 Acres and a Mule. When Spike received the script he believed in the concept, and agreed to produce it if Julius would meet with him once a week for two months to tailor and tweak the script. Having Spike Lee’s support was crucial for the film since he had the power to secure established movie stars for the lead roles. In addition, having his name on the film attracted various product placement deals, as well as a sponsorship with Apple.
The downtown New York nightlife scene seems to be loving the electro route that DJ’s and producers have taken, and if this general opinion holds strong electro is sure to expand even farther than it already has. This new film will sweep the Sundance Festival by storm, exposing the true ferocity of Lower East Side nightlife, and solidifying the unanimous prediction that electro music will continue to propel this notorious scene.
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