NEW YORK — A New Yorker who found an Emmy in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy pawned it for $1,200 to help get a "Scarface" actor out of an Arizona jail so he could return to the city and appear in a vampire trilogy's final installment.
It was just another day in the business for shock film director Eric Rivas, who is currently making the third film in his "Vamp Bikers" trilogy, called "Vamp Bikers Tres," with actor Angel Salazar, who is best remembered for his role as Chi Chi in the movie "Scarface."
Salazar had recently been unable to take part in filming, after his arrest in Arizona last week for failing to pay child support, according to law enforcement officials from the state.
"He’s already missed two scenes," Rivas said, "and, actually, two big scenes."
"Angel’s a big name," he continued, "and it’s like, how do we lose one of our big names?"
To help raise money to get Salazar out of jail and back on set, Ismail "Smiley" Cekic, a friend of Rivas' whose music will be featured in the film, pawned an Emmy he found years ago for $1,200.
"We need him back in the film," Cekic said.
Cekic said he sent him the money Tuesday morning, and Salazar was released from jail Tuesday as well, according to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office.
Cekic, who records music under the name Smiley Scars, found his Emmy shortly after Hurricane Sandy but did not actually know it was the prestigious television award until he was watching the ceremony months later, he said.
"I had it on my coffee table for a few months, and then the Emmy awards came on, and when the Emmys come on, it shows you like a silhouette of the award," he said. "I looked at my coffee table, and I was like, hold on a second. I think that’s an Emmy award."
The Television Academy confirmed that it was real, and Cekic planned to auction it off until he heard about what had happened to Salazar, he said.
Rivas maintained that jail time was an inappropriate punishment for Salazar having not paid child support.
"I don’t think jail is a place for him," he said. "I’m not a judge, but it’s child support. It’s not murder, rape or drugs. I mean, they should dock his pay or something."
Salazar could not be reached for comment.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said Emmy statues are their property and not permitted to be sold by a third party. Cekic stressed that he's been working with academy officials to track down the statue's original owner and would be happy to get it back from hock and return it if they're found.
"Vamp Bikers Tres," which also features famed nightclub owner Noel Ashman, focuses on a group of vampires and vampire bikers caught in the middle of a conflict between witches and zombies, Rivas said.
Lillo Brancato, the actor from "A Bronx Tale" notorious for his part in the murder of an NYPD officer, and Michael Alig, who served 17 years in prison for the 1996 murder of Andre Melendez, are both in the movie as well.
Rivas said he has not had issues working with the two men despite their troubled pasts.
"I’m very surprised that, for me not being famous or very well known, that they take it very seriously," he said.
