Hassles in the Glades

A A A Comments (1) By Edmund Newton Thursday, Mar 20 2008

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Bensen decided it wasn't worth the hassle to stand up to studio goons, even though it was in defense of what he deemed "a harmless, normal activity in a public venue." But the next time something like this happens it could be a different story, he says; he hopes then he'll be "committed enough to push for an arrest."

Mayhem in da House

Deirdra Funcheon

Owen on the set (we think)

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The DVD opens with a disclaimer: "These people are Hood Professionals, do not attempt these things at home or in your hood. Your ass might get shot."

Da Hood Gone Wild — Volume One is an hour's worth of frenzied, after-hours street brawls, beatings, and booty shaking. The scenes were mostly shot in Clearwater, with about 20 percent coming from hoods in West Palm Beach and Miami, though its creators won't say where specifically.

The street vignettes are dark, jumpy, and generally brutal: A hair-pulling fight between two women, one of whom does battle from behind the steering wheel of a parked car. A white bicyclist sucker-punched in an attack that ends with his assailants throwing his bike on top of him. Dueling pit bulls. Men with firearms in menacing skull masks. The scenes are interspersed with dancing girls in various states of undress.

"Kill Bill," the president of Da Hood Gone Wild, Inc., says he was inspired in part by Joe Francis, of Girls Gone Wild infamy. "I saw an interview with him," says Bill. "Guy's a dirtball, but I was impressed. I took a lot of notes."

Bill and his brother-in-law, who are white, handle production and distribution; they've also sought to protect their identities. Their two partners, Allan Burney and Cortez Hearns, who are black, did most of the videography and also appear in the DVD.

Da Hood Gone Wild — Volume Two is due next month. Burney, however, won't have much post-production involvement; he was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder this past October and remains in jail.

The discs — along with T-shirts and, soon, hats — are only available at dahoodgonewild.com, where they sell for $17.99. "We attempted to retail [at stores] in the hoods, but they do things funny there," says Bill. "You go back and you find that your DVDs are gone, and someone new is in charge. We lost 30 or 40 DVDs that way."

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