Menendez: Blood Brothers is only six days away!
Our Lifetime movie based on the murder of Jose & Kitty Menendez, played by Benito Martinez and Courtney Love, by their children Erik & Lyle Menendez, played by Nico Tortorella and Myko Olivier, is premiering on Sunday night at 8/7c.
The true-crime story is one that captivated the nation back in 1993 when the trial aired on TV; so much so that it is still talked about to this day.
The film chronicles the events while giving some insight into the brothers side of the story. Famously, Erik & Lyle used the defense that their father abused them, while their mother ignored it all throughout the years.
The film, directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, aims to explore that claim and more. Of the movie, Lifetime explains the premise:
“Based on the true story, the movie explores the inner lives and motivation behind the murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty at the hands of their sons Lyle and Erik in 1989. The movie will also reveal new details about the extreme abuse the brothers endured at their father’s hands, all while their mother looked the other way.”
Sounds intriguing, right?
Well, we got the chance to catch up with Benito Martinez to chat about filming Menendez: Blood Brothers, what it was like to play Jose Menendez, probably the most divisive character in the film/events, and so much MORE!
Check out our EXCLUSIVE interview with Benito below!
Chelsea Perrotty: What was the hardest scene for you to film in Menendez: Blood Brothers?
Benito Martinez: That’s a tough question… Physically, it was the shark fishing scene because it was freezing and raining and we were on a boat! Add to that a mechanical shark, rubber bat and old life vests and, well, it was very challenging.
Emotionally, it was when my character walks into his child’s room with the motivation of destruction and evil, pure evil.
CP: How hard was it for you to find something to relate to about your character?
BM: Somewhat difficult, I will admit. I approached it as ‘the showman’ and grew from there. Jose was a big-wig and very successful in the Hollywood of the 80’s: sex, drugs, padded shoulders, big hair, big fashion and big… well everything! “Greed is good!”, remember?
I saw him as the guy who sucks up all the air in the room at every party, every meeting; thinks he has the best advice and flirts with all the ladies but, of course, doesn’t ask anyone else how THEY might be feeling or what they think. He needs to be the center of attention, but the people around him (especially his family) have to be spectators and accomplices to that “greatness.”
We built everything from there and fashioned a ruthless man who had become intoxicated with this power-at-all-costs persona. He was psychotic and dangerous and evil… “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters” sound familiar?
And yet all that “power” and destruction is really rooted in his deep fear and insecurity and so the threat of him losing any of that perceived control became the ultimate battle within the family.
CP: What’s your guilty pleasure TV show that you love?
BM: That’s an odd question… Hmm. I’m guessing you mean a show that I wouldn’t necessarily admit to watching, right? I can’t think of one! HA!
CP: In your own words, why should people watch Menendez: Blood Brothers on Sunday night?
BM: To be entertained! Hopefully, they’ll be enthralled by a suspenseful and complex story – a story that they thought they knew and understood but now told in a new and different way.
This story is so heartbreaking on every level. To examine this family from Beverly Hills that seemed to have had it all – money, fame, success, great family values – and yet something was horribly rotten at its core. Really, along the lines of a Greek tragedy where we grow to care about the players and then watch hopelessly as the inevitable fearful ending plays out…
It’s mesmerizing and terrifying – and yet all of this THIS REALLY HAPPENED! It’s crazy!
CP: If you had to Lip Sync for Your Life, like on RuPaul’s Drag Race, what would be your song of choice?
BM: Oh my god! How hilarious! Um, I guess it would be a song from the musical ‘Grease’… ‘Stranded at the Drive-In’? Or ‘Grease Lighting’!
Be sure to tune in to Menendez: Blood Brothers on Sunday, June 11 at 8/7c on Lifetime!
[Image via Lifetime.]
