Graduate film student Dallas King uses personal experiences as inspiration for his movies, gives back to community
Alumnus and current graduate student Dallas King, a writer, director, producer and founder of the L.A.-based Onyx Entertainment, recently screened his film “Tattoo” at the American Film Market in Santa Monica.
Courtesy of MAX J. GOLDBERG
By marjorie yan
Nov. 16, 2010 2:03 a.m.
Growing up, Dallas King had few avenues to escape from the reality of his close family members being involved in gangs. Now, King uses those experiences to shape his aspirations of being a writer, producer and director.
King graduated from UCLA with a degree in political science and public policy, and is currently continuing at UCLA, working on his masters degree in directing.
While King focused on becoming a triple threat in the entertainment industry, he also takes part in charity organizations and giving back to his community. And in 2008, King founded Onyx Entertainment with his chief financial officer Brandon Howard, through which they develop and produce short films, television and multimedia programs.
“I want to entertain people, because as a kid, I didn’t have outlets as we should have as kids. … I want to make a film that I would have enjoyed watching as I was growing up,” King said.
King recently screened his newest project, “Tattoo,” at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. The film takes place in Los Angeles in the year 2030, with a plot that intertwines and tests the relationships among gangs, brothers and lovers.
According to King, he wanted to separate “Tattoo” from typical gang films, incorporating themes of brotherhood but leaving behind the negative connotations.
“We envisioned it to be something kind of like “˜The Warriors’ and “˜The Outsiders.’ I set it in the future so we could have poetic licenses and turn up the volume on things such as lifestyle and culture with the way people dressed. … Instead of gangs, they’re called houses,” King said.
Even though the movie is set in the future, it relates to the feudal traditions of the past, recalling royal families filled with kings, queens, princesses and princes.
King said that he hopes the film will tug at the emotional core of the audience.
Inspiration for the film comes from King’s personal experiences.
When King was a child, his cousins were in gangs, and he was constantly surrounded by them. According to King, his Polynesian culture looked at tattoos as a major symbol for their warrior culture.
“We have to voluntarily accept pain into our lives, and part of the rites of passage (for Polynesians) is getting tattoos, and back in the tribal days, tattoos represented what tribe you were from, and what represented you,” King said.
Along with working on the film and two other projects, King manages Onyx Entertainment.
According to Janet Ellis, King’s manager, King constantly works to come up with creative ideas and is not afraid of taking risks.
“He literally doesn’t sleep. He’s up 24 hours a day working.
He’ll go and do research. If he’s interested in doing a Gothic script, he’ll go to Gothic raves trying to find out information about these people,” Ellis said.
Onyx Entertainment emerged out of a film project King wrote, directed and produced with Howard.
After getting a taste of the filmmaking world, King realized that was what he wanted to do, which led to the formation of Onyx Entertainment.
“It came out of professional frustration that pays (off), and instead of waiting for people to give you the opportunity, you just got to make the opportunity yourself,” King said.
With all of the success that King has experienced in producing and directing, King said he never hesitates to give back and thank those who have helped him get where he is today. King recently worked on a public service announcement targeted at raising awareness for at-risk youth.
“I actually asked Dallas to work on a charity project I was doing. … He co-wrote the script for a public service announcement that we did. He directed, shot and edited and hosted that charity event this past July,” Ellis said.
King said he has been involved with charity work and community service since junior high school and will continue to do so.
“I’m so extremely busy, but to be honest, there’s always time, especially when you’re giving back to something and you owe it to someone,” King said. “Tons of people have given me the opportunity to do such amazing things, and if it wasn’t for those people helping me out, I wouldn’t be where I am.”
