If you think that selling a car and making a movie are not that different, maybe you’re not so far off.

After all, film producers were called smoke sellers for years. And if we think about it, more than one in Hollywood knows what it means to sell a lemon, or give a cat for a hare, as Spaniards would say. Charlie Clark knows how to do both.

He has a long history as a car salesman, was born in the automobile industry, and runs the Nissan and Infiniti dealerships in El Paso that bear his name. And he is the producer, screenwriter, and protagonist of Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone, a film that is showing on select screens in the United States.

Clark does both jobs with honesty and individuality and, what’s better, in the best bilingual way that Hollywood can only hope to achieve in its productions.

Directed by Michael D. Olmos, the son of Edward James Olmos and produced by David R. Rodríguez, brother of Robert Rodríguez, Green Ghost and the Master of the Stone has well-known Mexican actors such as Kuno Becker and Danny Trejo.

In addition, Renee Victor, better known as the voice of the grandmother in the animated film Coco, plays the nanny. It’s a fundamental role in this film where martial arts, Mexican wrestling, action, and adventure are mixed and that would never have been possible without this figure.

Because Clark is as gringo as he looks. But his nanny, Mari Cruz Aurora Aguirre, in the Clark family for four generations, a native of Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico, and the woman who raised him, planted in this American a Hispanic heart.

After earning the trust of those looking for a new car who don’t know English well, Clark now also wants to take them to the movies with the adventures of a superhero called Green Ghost which he insists on pronouncing as “Grin-go.”

The following are excerpts of our interview via Zoom.

How does a gringo who sells cars make a film so Hispanic and bilingual as Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone?

I wanted to make a film as bilingual as my real life. Because this is my costume (points to his appearance as a white man who’s a car salesman). My face, my body is my gringo costume. It surprises me that I speak Spanish, something that makes me proud because my connection is there.

I have been lucky to have my Mexican nanny. My parents used to leave me for a long time at my nana’s house in the Mexican neighborhood where I grew up, along with my sister. We were the only gringuitos. I fell in love with the music, the roast beef, the piñatas, the cake, and that is the culture that I try to reflect in my businesses.

But from the carnitas to Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone is quite a jump.

The inspiration comes from the series that I watched when I was very young – El Chapulín Colorado, El Chavo del 8, and El Santo. I saw them every day. “Charlie, come here, your potato and egg tacos are ready!” Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone focuses on family but not necessarily by blood. I invented the character when I realized I didn’t want to do gringo “marketing”: “Call us for the best price!” That was forced and fake. I wanted to do something real, making fun of myself. I invented the character of the Green Ghost, someone who makes fun of myself and the gringo superheroes.And my nana gives me powers that I never learn to use well. That’s how the idea began, in commercials that we produced as shows premiering in Spanish, telling the adventures of Green Ghost, Mex-I-Can, and my nanny. That’s where the idea for this movie grew.

 

 

How did you get the industry to take you seriously?

That was difficult but since we were successful with our show, as the first businessman to advertise in Spanish in the new car market caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal. And from then on, everyone agreed that the only thing I have that’s gringo is my appearance.

Just as your real nanny, who is now 99 years old, is not in the movie, did you ever think of passing on the green superhero suit to a professional actor?

I told the producers, “If I can’t act, find me an actor who is very gringo but who understands Mexican culture as I understand it. That he not only speaks Spanish but he knows the culture as I know it. I am a businessman and I will go to the street if you find someone like that.”

But they told me that yes, I could do it. So, I went to Will Smith and Gerard Butler’s (and Jennifer Lopez’s) acting coach, Aaron Speiser, who was by my side the entire first two weeks.

Which is more difficult: selling a car or making a movie with Danny Trejo?

On the first day, they threw me in the deepest part of a pool! Six lines of dialogue with Danny Trejo! I was very scared and my coach had to remind me to know my lines and live for the moment. Danny was a great gentleman to me. They all gave me their support knowing that it was my first film. They took me seriously. I wasn’t a businessman who wanted to make a movie out of ego.

The Green Ghost is part of my brand and I put a lot of money into it. They knew I was serious.

 

It is not common for superhero movies to be almost autobiographical as it is in this case.

I make fun of myself but there is a lot of my real life in the movie. Things that hurt me like when I had to leave my gringo family. Starting from scratch with pure bank debt. It’s all very symbolic of all those battles. Now I am close to reaching the summit. The movie inspired by and dedicated to my nana and my Mexican family is in theaters. I don’t care about success; the important thing is to let my people know that I am dedicated to those who have shaken my hand. I’ve done something that I like and I’m proud that we did it independently, shot here in Texas, on the border, shot with people of all different races. Very interesting and I am happy with the final product. Very, very cool.

Happy enough to give up car sales for the movies?

No, no no no no! I am an entrepreneur but this is a way of making a brand that is priceless. I can hold my head high from the image I’ve created for my company by doing shows and funny things. If they tell me one day, I would love to do another movie. But it is not necessary. With this, I feel happy.

Don’t you think there is a need for a Hispanic superhero?

I am the antihero. Latinos are the superheroes. After premiering the film at LALIFF in Los Angeles, a woman told me: “There are many superhero stories but we Latinos have never had a superhero story. When is the earliest we can release this movie in theaters? Because we Latinos deserve it.” I applauded her and as of April 29, there we are.

 

Translation by Mario Amaya