CLINTON WALLACE/Special to The Acorn AUTEUR—The late David Carradine, left, is in filmmaker Marc Clebanoff's film "Break," which comes out on DVD next week. Clebanoff graduated from Oak Park High School and studied at USC. Oak Park High School graduate Marc Clebanoff is carving a successful niche in independent moviemaking. His latest film, "Break," starring the late David Carradine, comes out on DVD on July 14. Clebanoff, 29, wrote, directed and produced the noir thriller.

Also starring Michael Madsen and Frank Krueger, "Break" ran the recent film festival circuit and picked up awards for best action film, drama and screenplay. When the movie made its theatrical debut in Los Angeles on May 1, Carradine was there with Clebanoff and several of the actors for a question-and-answer session with the audience. Carradine died in Thailand on June 3.

"It was the first time David had seen the film and the last time I saw him," Clebanoff said.

Born and raised in Oak Park, Clebanoff graduated from high school in 1998 and now lives in Santa Monica. His father, Jerry Clebanoff, still lives in Oak Park and runs an asset management company in Westlake Village. Clebanoff 's mother, Margie Clebanoff, lives in North Ranch and teaches first and second grades at Chaparral Elementary School in Calabasas.

Parts of "Break" and another of Clebanoff's films, "The Pink Conspiracy," were filmed in Oak Park and Agoura, including at his father's house and office.

"When you work on lowbudget productions you tend to tailor your scripts based on elements you have readily available to you," Clebanoff said.

Clebanoff attended the University of Southern California, first majoring in journalism and writing for the USC newspaper, then switching to film.

"I knew I wanted to write, but the first time I saw my words completely reconfigured by somebody else I knew journalism wasn't for me," Clebanoff said.

While at USC Clebanoff worked for 20th Century Fox, then for USA Films as an intern.

"I learned very quickly that I did not want to go the studio route," Clebanoff said. "Studios make a lot of decisions based on politics, not what's best for the project. If I wanted to get my movies made I was the best one to produce."

He spent two years consulting with director/actor Quentin Tarantino on "Hell Ride."

"They had a $10-million movie that they had to make for $3 million," Clebanoff said. "Director Larry Bishop brought it to me to figure out how to do it."

In 2004 Clebanoff wrote, directed and produced his first feature, "Unspoken," which he described as a dark, art house film that did well on the festival circuit and led to his second film, "The Pink Conspiracy." The low-budget, dark comedy came out on DVD last November.

Actor Chad Everett, a North Ranch resident, has been a mentor to Clebanoff, appearing in all of the young filmmaker's projects.

"He called me up and asked me to write him a really great supporting role," Clebanoff said. Clebanoff wrote "Break" with Everett in mind, as well as Krueger and longtime associate Madsen. The film was shot around Los Angeles in 2007.

Until about three years ago Clebanoff, a second-degree black belt, taught karate to children to make a living.

Filmmaking, he said, is "a business so difficult to break into, and even once you do it's difficult to make a living at it. You get involved in other people's projects, and hopefully they help you get your next project going. The business is just a huge web of networking."

Working on independent films requires wearing many hats, Clebanoff said.

"I've had to do it myself for no other reason than I haven't had the money to pay someone else to do it," Clebanoff said.

Clebanoff has several projects in the works. He is producing a dark comedy called "Gerald," starring Mickey Rooney, and "Pound of Flesh," starring Malcolm MacDowell and Timothy Bottoms. He is raising money for other projects, including "Cigar Game," a follow-up to the film "Goodfellows."

He is a partner in a new stateoftheart postproduction facility called The Park, which is currently working on "The Runaways," starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

"I happen to have met some of the right people," Clebanoff said. "If you go out and about as much as I do and you meet as many people as I do you'll meet people as well. You get to the point where people approach you, especially when you have a legitimate film with famous actors."

Clebanoff is particularly proud of several scripts he has written, including "The Child Inside," a serious drama that will film in New Mexico before the end of the year.

"Ultimately I want to make more dramatic films that really can be taken seriously and promote thought," Clebanoff said.

Clebanoff traveled around the country promoting "Break" as it opened in various cities.

"There's always tormented angst in me where I watch my film and wish I could have done this better," Clebanoff said. "You do the best you can with what you have."