Marine veterans Carlos and Auriel Jimenez aren’t just husband and wife.
They are also partners in movie making that have brought the feature film project "Burn" to life.
“I didn't realize it when I got into it [filmmaking] you know, how helpful the Marine Corps was. It helped me to problem solve, cause the thing is with the Marine Corps is you always are forced to do a lot with a little,” said Carlos.
The couple’s business partner and star of the movie Patrick Lazzara came up with the idea for the film when he was recovering from cancer.
“He wrote the story in three days, to be honest,” Carlos said.
"Burn" is the story of a hitman who finds out his younger brother killed a mob boss's trophy wife. He then has two days to find him and get him out of town before a contract killer catches up with them.
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Auriel said the movie isn’t your typical fiery, shoot ‘em up crime drama. Instead, it has a back story with plenty of character development along the way.
The film, which took about a decade to bring to life, is available on VOD platforms including iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon.
Carlos said he became interested in films while serving on active duty with the Corps and working part-time at a movie theater in Oceanside, California.
After leaving the Marines, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College in Chicago in 2005. While in school, he specialized in cinematography and lighting.
The couple met during their time in the Marines and have been married for 23 years. Auriel said she didn’t know what she wanted to do after leaving the military.
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“If I hadn’t been a Marine, I probably wouldn’t have been able to be a filmmaker at all,” she said. “It’s like you are on a mission and this is what you’re doing. You are putting a film together.”
Auriel attended Columbia College as well, earning a degree and beginning a career in marketing. But dried up in 2008 when the real estate bubble burst, causing budgets to dry up.
“I started jumping on these films,” she explained. “It’s so like being in marketing, being a producer. You are writing contracts. This is kind of my world,”
Auriel said the Corps requires Marines to strategically place people where they need to be.
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“Filmmaking is a village effort,” Carlos added. “Everyone has a role to play and a job to do. The military definitely instilled that in us.”
Bringing the movie to the screen also gave the Jimenez’s the opportunity to employ many of their brothers and sisters in arms through Veterans in Media and Entertainment.
The pair also began their own company, Los Productions, in 2011.
“The Marines let me understand a lot of stuff that people would normally stress out about, everything became like water off a duck's back,” said Auriel.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.