Billy Gallo Movies

Issues of race and gender cause a group of strangers in Los Angeles to physically and emotionally collide in this drama from director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. Graham (Don Cheadle) is a police detective whose brother is a street criminal, and it hurts him to know his mother cares more about his ne'er-do-well brother than him. Graham's partner is Ria (Jennifer Esposito), who is also his girlfriend, though she has begun to bristle at his emotional distance, as well as his occasional insensitivity over the fact he's African-American and she's Hispanic. Rick (Brendan Fraser) is an L.A. district attorney whose wife, Jean (Sandra Bullock), makes little secret of her fear and hatred of people unlike herself. Jean's worst imaginings about people of color are confirmed when her SUV is carjacked by two African-American men -- Anthony (Chris Bridges, aka Ludacris), who dislikes white people as much as Jean hates blacks, and Peter (Larenz Tate), who is more open minded. Cameron (Terrence Howard) is a well-to-do African-American television producer with a beautiful wife, Christine (Thandie Newton). While coming home from a party, Cameron and Christine are pulled over by Officer Ryan (Matt Dillon), who subjects them to a humiliating interrogation (and her to an inappropriate search) while his new partner, Officer Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), looks on. Daniel (Michael Pena) is a hard-working locksmith and dedicated father who discovers that his looks don't lead many of his customers to trust him. And Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Middle Eastern shopkeeper who is so constantly threatened in the wake of the 9/11 attacks that he decided he needs a gun to defend his family. Crash was the first directorial project for award-winning television and film writer Haggis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A road comedy that touches on issues of racial and personal identity, Fools Gold was the feature-length debut for writer/director Jeffrey Janger. Flimp Lopez (Billy Gallo) is Hispanic and Sam Wechter (Blair Singer) is Jewish, which makes both of them outsiders in Oiltown, OK, where they work in a salvage yard. When Flimp hears that a wealthy Latino has moved into one of the town's most expensive dwellings, he's naturally curious and wants to stop by and take a look; Sam tags along. When they get to the house, they discover that something has gone horribly wrong and suddenly they're leading suspects in a violent crime. The pair makes tracks out of town, picking up two sales clerks from a roadside stand along the way, but soon the FBI is following close behind. Fools Gold was shown as part of the American Spectrum series at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide