Native New Mexican, Carl Lucas would frequently borrow his grandparent's old silent 8mm camera and make movies. That passion has grown with his quest to forge a career as a writer/filmmaker. He has earned a top 100 finalist nod in the HBO original series Project Greenlight, and recently produced Last Stop, a Hitchcock style indie thriller, starring Mena Suvari and Brian Austin Green. In 2009, Carl saw his first feature film produced, ILEGALES, a script he wrote with the help of his close friend Marco Shepherd.
Marco Shepherd grew up in an orphanage in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. He immigrated to the U.S. after being adopted at the age of 15. Given the opportunity to succeed for the first time in his life, Marco set his sights on realizing his dream of producing major motion pictures. Today, Marco serves as an executive assistant to the producers at Centropolis Pictures.
Marco and I came up with the story of ILEGALES after sharing our own experiences, mine growing up on a small farm in Southeastern New Mexico, and his, growing up poor in an orphanage in Mexico. It was very important to both of us that we not write another liberal diatribe. These characters are flawed, and it's through these flaws we hope to express their humanity, as they make choices regarding their lives and their loved ones. Choices made in the hopes of bettering our lives. ILEGALES is a work of passion that we are very proud to have been a part.