Reuben Shaw
Selector, a movie with a strong dancehall flavour, was released in November on streaming service, TUBI.
It is written, directed, and produced by Reuben Shaw.
The Atlanta-based Shaw, whose grandfather is Denroy Morgan, patriarch of Grammy-winning band Morgan Heritage, also stars as Top Celebrity Rob in the drama.
“Selector is a movie about two dancehall DJs who aspire to influence the nightclub culture and gain greater opportunities for success while working under an Italian Mob boss whose organisation blurs the lines between entertainment and the streets,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Shaw said he and writing partner Vladimir LaFortune began drafting a script in late 2021, with production starting in February last year in Atlanta. One month later, shooting on Selector wrapped, and they began shopping the movie to distributors.
Laza Morgan as Boassy, Zachary Jones as DJ Parlay, Kyle David Simpson who plays Ninja Turtle, and Gabrielle Lynn Smith as Farrah complete the cast of Selector, which cost US$30,000 to make.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shaw’s mother is a daughter of Denroy Morgan, best known for the hit song in 1981 I’ll do Anything For You. That makes him a nephew of the members of Morgan Heritage.
He has also recorded songs as a rapper, but is more taken with the film industry, which Shaw got into through Daddy-O, an Atlanta artiste.
After working in production for The Mo’Nique Show, he was involved as an actor in several plays throughout that city.
As an actor, Shaw had bit roles in the hit movie Barbershop 3, as well as the television drama ATL Homicide. He considers Selector his biggest project to date.
“Creating a film is so much more complex than just acting or writing a song, as I have been doing the majority of my career. In film, there are so many different moving parts; from directing to the casting to the editing. This project was major, and the fact that my team successfully pulled it off and we got major distribution on a major streaming platform like TUBI was icing on the cake,” he said.