Photo: Disney Channel
Rafael Leyva dreamt of being a cinematographer after seeing the movie Jaws with his dad as a kid in Puerto Rico. In 2018 the American Society of Cinematographers chose him as their honorary American Rising Star. His career as a director of photography has taken off with several projects in the pipeline. One of those is the Disney Channel luchadora superhero series Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion which premieres on June 3 on Disney+.
Ultra Violet & Black Scorpion revolves around a U.S. Latino family. It’s about superheroes, family with they their beautiful culture at the centerpiece. The cast is headed by Scarlett Estevez (Bunk’s Lucifer) who plays Violet Rodriguez AKA Ultra Violet and her Uncle Black Scorpion played by J.R. Villareal (United We Fall).
After reading the first script of the show, Leyva’s mind raced back to the 90s films he grew up watching. “I automatically thought of the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, 1989 Batman,” he explained. “All movies that I idolized, all with a specific look.”
Leyva went in for his first interview with Disney with his ideas on how he would shoot the show. “I turn words into pictures. I told them that this was something that had to be stylized, single-camera as much as possible.”
After shooting UltraViolet, he was off to Atlanta to shoot a project for the multi-hyphenate, entertainment disrupter, Tyler Perry. Although Leyva has shot several movies of the week and several TV shows including Crackle’s The Oath and Deadly Affair, working with the Disney Channel and now with Perry could prove to be the breakthrough Leyva has been waiting for. Shooting another project for Perry, in the works could be the clue.
“I just returned from Atlanta where I shot something for Academy Award-winning filmmaker Tyler Perry that was really incredible.” Leyva said but when asked about it, he had to explain, “I signed an NDA so I can’t talk about it.”
However, he did share the news that he felt that he had “passed the test” because he was asked to collaborate on a second feature film with Perry, which is in the works, and this one he could talk about. “We’re up for a feature film for Netflix. It’s a big one, a suspense thriller,” Leyva recounted excitedly. “I am already in talks with the studio.”
Leyva’s is after all the ASC’s American Rising Star.
CAST: Marianna Burelli as Nina, Violet’s mother; Juan Alfonso as Juan Carlos, Violet’s father, Brandon Rossel as Santiago, Violet’s brother; Zelia Ankrum as Maya Miller-Martinez, Violet’s best friend; Bryan Blanco as Luis León, Violet’s goody-two-shoes classmate
