S2: On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film.
S1: When Edward James Olmos set out on his directorial debut, American Me, he wanted to accomplish two things: to represent Chicano culture on the big screen and to save part of his community from gang violence. But when people were allegedly murdered because of their participation in the film and Olmos himself was allegedly extorted by the real life Mexican Mafia, it exposed the unintended risks of trying to represent someone with an agenda in mind, even a well-meaning one. On the 30th anniversary of the cult classic, host Alex Fumero and producer Nigel Duara delve into the true story of American Me and the legacy the controversial film left behind.
Latest episodes
Showing 20 · updated from the feed
12. Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe with Aitch Alberto
“These boys were mine and now I give them to you.” For the season finale of More Than a Movie, we sat down with friend of the pod Aitch Alberto to dive deep on her featur
Jul 4 2024 44 min
11. In the Summers with Residente and Alessandra Lacorazza
“We won Sundance! What the fuck?” If you’re an outsider, the film industry can be seemingly impossible to penetrate. It’s even more difficult to tell your story - and hav
Jun 27 2024 44 min
10. El Mariachi with Carlos Gallardo and Elizabeth Avellan
“He did it for $7,000.” Before Machete, before Spy Kids, before From Dusk till Dawn, there was El Mariachi. Eager to make a name for himself in the world of film, but wit
Jun 20 2024 45 min
9. Zoot Suit with Luis Valdez
“Let’s just shoot the play.” If you’ve listened to the first season of More Than a Movie, you may remember the one property that kept getting mentioned over and over - Zo
Jun 13 2024 41 min
8. Language Lessons and Plan B with Natalie Morales
“I was filming Plan B in the fall and editing Language Lessons on the weekend.” Everybody in Hollywood will tell you, it’s incredibly difficult to get a film made. Making
Jun 6 2024 47 min
7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with Phil Lord
“What if it’s Miles Morales?” We’ve seen Spider-Man on screen before. In fact, we’ve seen him in three different live-action iterations over the last 22 years. And yet so
May 30 2024 49 min
6. Spy Kids with Alexa PenaVega and Elizabeth Avellan
“The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world
May 23 2024 36 min
5. Blood In, Blood Out with Jesse Borrego and Enrique Castillo
“You need to help me cast the Vatos Locos.” Season one of More Than a Movie offered a deep dive on American Me - Edward James Olmos’ notorious directorial debut about the
May 16 2024 49 min
4. Real Women Have Curves with Patricia Cardoso
“I walked out of the play.” Fresh off winning a Student Academy Award, Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso was looking for her next film project. After some initial hesi
May 9 2024 39 min
3. La Bamba (Pt. 2) with Taylor Hackford
"There’s a whole audience you’re missing.” On this episode of More Than a Movie, we met with the producer of La Bamba, Academy Award winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford, an
May 2 2024 47 min
2. La Bamba (Pt. 1) with Lou Diamond Phillips
“I didn’t think I had a shot at Richie.” Nearly 40 years after its release, La Bamba remains a cinematic landmark for representation and one of the highest-grossing Latin
Apr 25 2024 36 min
1. The Godfather Part III with Andy Garcia
“I remember saying to myself, ‘that’s my part.’” For the season two premiere of More Than a Movie, we sat down with Andy Garcia to discuss the path to his legendary actin
Apr 18 2024 38 min
Introducing: More Than A Movie Season 2
On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role
Apr 11 2024 2 min
Introducing: Shoot the Messenger
In More Than A Movie, host Alex Fumero dissects a cultural phenomenon and looks at its impact on different communities. EXILE Content Studio’s latest podcast Shoot the Me
Feb 15 2023 45 min
12. Retrospective
We recap what we've learned, especially the whirlwind final months when we got to the bottom of what happened here.
We set out to find out what happened during and afte
Nov 24 2022 27 min
11. A Former Mexican Mafia Member Sets The Record Straight
A former member of the Mexican Mafia who was in the criminal syndicate at the time of the movie, explains how it all went down.
A former member of the Mexican Mafia exp
Nov 17 2022 23 min
10. Edward James Olmos' Right-Hand Man: Danny Haro
Danny Haro was Edward James Olmos' right-hand man during his extortion and the production of the movie
Danny Haro worked with Edward James Olmos throughout his career a
Nov 10 2022 47 min
9. Antoinette Levine
Antoinette Levine was one of the best-known location managers in Hollywood when Edward James Olmos asked her to get him into a prison.
Antoinette Levine was one of the
Nov 3 2022 30 min
8. Lives In Hazard: The Real Hood of American Me
While American Me was being filmed, a documentary was being shot behind the scenes following the real-life gangsters who were working on the movie.
Filmmakers Susan Tod
Oct 27 2022 39 min
7. Erick Galindo: What The Streets Said About American Me
Writer Erick Galindo grew up with American Me and remembers vividly the impact it had on the streets of L.A.
Podcaster and writer Erick Galindo doesn't hold back in the
Oct 20 2022 36 min
Chart trend
Position in the Film History chart (US), last 90 days.
#1#99#196JunJulAugSep
#19
all-time peak
40
days in the top 50 since Nov 2024
Chart positions
Where More Than a Movie ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 20, 2026).
A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.
Love the content and execution but the length/number of ads in it is insane. And trust me I wouldn’t be writing this if I didn’t think it was really bad. Hopefully you guys take a look at other podcasts and make them a similar length because multiple 2.5 minute long ads within a single episode is not it. This is one of the podcasts where I actively skip the ads because they are so long.
Idk53663 · Sep 2023
Love the context and well-rounded framing of the time and place this movie was filmed in. This is a valuable history lesson on a part of LA culture I didn’t know much about.
AlMalThinks · Dec 2022
I grew up with this movie…such a classic. All of the behind the scenes drama is so beautifully and intensely covered in this pod. The Host has a great voice and interview style. Such an important one for the culture too…RIP to the lives lost.
Kyle Rapps · Oct 2022
I heard an ad for this podcast and was immediately intrigued! I was on a mini road trip today and thought what a perfect time to listen and wow I’m impressed! I have to admit I am a black 28 year old women who actually lives in LA but never heard of this movie, but Alex sold me! Im going to watch this weekend. Alex’s knowledge and passion shine through immensely and I’m excited to see what other projects he takes on. Thank you!
LexiRoj💕 · Sep 2022
I legit learned more in 30 minutes of watching Danny Trejo interviews about American Me on DJ Vlad & a 15 min scene establishing of American Me, plus a clip of the Documentary about American Me — than 4 hours of this podcast that are 50% ads. This is so biased and overlooks Olmos’s entitlement, especially as a successful male in the Industry. They just lionize this coward for no reason. Bring up the Jerry’s Deli meeting with Trejo, but don’t say what happened! Had to go to the source. These dudes do NOT know ANYTHING about the film industry (I do), and the stereotyping of Latinos and glamorization of gang life this move brought about. It did the opposite of being a PSA — and if it was trying to combat gang recruitment, why bring REAL gang members on set to “act” in the movie?
They also go a gang interventionist killed!! She was doing real work to save lives — and Olmos brought her in, used her, and had her working a degrading job on set.
Don’t call this an audio documentary, then proceed to just gossip with has been actors & extras about what happened 30 years ago in disorganized interviews that produce nothing because these people know nothing about what actually happened behind the camera. They didn’t care. They took the opportunity for granted.
ALSO — the irony of this host saying “Capitalism” or “gotta sacrifice blood to the overlords” before YOUR 3 MINUTE ADS that YOU PROFIT OFF OF is off the charts. Greedy. Lastly, stop calling MM “Chicanos.” Chicanos were actual activists and revolutionaries that believed in non-violence — not Mobsters doing whatever it takes to obtain money and power. Just shows how out of touch these suburban middle class kids are talking about this subject matter — just like the “DIRECTOR” (Actor) who made this movie that didn’t even bother asking human beings for permission to use their likeness and story in HIS script. You have to get permission. A good filmmaker making a Biopic SHOULD not only get permission — but SPEAK to them firsthand and get their story. Otherwise, do what every other “based on a true story” film does, and change some names, combine some characters — and then you can even get away with all the “creative license” this film took.
Again, it created a stereotype of all Mexicans. It did not have a positive impact on the community. And per the comment about Hoffman & Pacino: if Dustin Hoffman EVER got cast to ACTUALLY play a Jewish character, and was able to get hired in Hollywood as an openly Jewish man — people would “remember him as a Jewish-American actor.” There’s absolutely NO Jewish representation in any TV or Movies or Documentaries UNLESS they’re playing Antisemitic trope or it’s featuring Hasids from Brooklyn to make all Jews look like weirdos! And the only actual representation’s always played by NON-JEWS like Robert Dinero! Quit being so ignorant. Danny Trejo actually has respect.
Btw, on set, in LA, over half of the crew are Latino. You guys are so out of touch! My God.
Herrow herrow how low · Nov 2022
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