Dead Right
Deke Trenton (Michael Martin) embarks on a harrowing mission to unravel the truth after his own brother, Bennie (Mitchell Martin), frames him for a crime he didn't commit. Determined to rescue Chelsea (Katie Greggans), the woman both brothers love, from the clutches of Sweet William (Chris Cairo), a sinister figure in the criminal underworld, Deke navigates a perilous landscape of deceit and danger. Set against a backdrop of betrayal and dark intrigue, this film features intense confrontations and a high-stakes game of manipulation, culminating in in an unforgettable finale.
Credits
Directed & Edited by
DARYL DELLA
Written by
HANK DELLA
Executive Producers
DARYL DELLA
MICHAEL MARTIN
Produced by
RAY REVELLO
CHRIS CAIRO
Music by
ARBEL BEDAK
CAST
MICHAEL MARTIN as Deke Trenton
MITCHELL MARTIN as Bennie Trenton
CHRIS CAIRO as Sweet William
LORENZO OCON as Johnny Boy
KATIE GREGGANS as Chelsea
RYAN WAHLSTROM as Big Mike
DEL LOSTAUNAU as Li'l Mike
EMMANUEL DIEGO as Eman
ROBYN VON LEE as Robyn
ED KAYSER as Homeless Bum
Make Artist
TYLER DELLA
Tattoo Artists
JOHN OÁZES
HIRVIN MONTANO
Cinematographer
DARYL DELLA
Lighting Technician
RAY REVELLOPoster
by Daryl Della
Characters
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Deke Trenton
MICHAEL MARTIN
Framed and betrayed, Deke storms San Francisco’s underworld to confront Sweet William and reclaim what’s left of his shattered life.
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Bennie Trenton
MITCHELL MARTIN
Consumed by jealousy and bitterness, Bennie betrayed his brother Deke by framing him for a crime and stealing his wife.
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Chelsea Trenton
KATIE GREGGANS
Drawn to danger and betrayal, Chelsea abandoned her husband Deke for his brother Bennie, spiraling into crime and Sweet William's grip. -
Johnny Boy
LORENZO OCON
A slow-witted yet scheming hanger-on, Johnny Boy’s loyalty to the Trenton brothers was outweighed only by his knack for getting them into trouble. -
Sweet William
CHRIS CAIRO
A pint-sized pimp with a taste for candy and chaos, Sweet William ruled with ruthless unpredictability. -
Big Mike
RYAN WAHLSTROM
A hot-headed enforcer for Sweet William, Big Mike’s imposing presence was only matched by his temper. -
Li'l Mike
DEL LOSTAUNAU
Li’l Mike was Sweet William’s muscle. a towering enforcer with a brutal past and a penchant for violence. -
Homeless Bum
ED KAYSER
A vagrant with impeccable timing, who drifts through the city, crossing paths with criminals, killers, and chaos at every turn.
Dead Right Cocktail
San Francisco bar legend Eric Passetti crafts a signature drink inspired by Dead Right.
Original trailer
Witness the tension, the twists, and the raw grit of Deke Trenton’s battle to clear his name and take down the dangerous Sweet William.
Behind the Scenes
“I’M flawed that way.”
- Deke Trenton, Dead Right
In 2011, Dead Right marked a pivotal moment for Dollars & Donuts Productions, a leap from camcorder chaos to something resembling real filmmaking. After moving to Los Angeles and experiencing the failures of Number Nine (2009) and The James Hay Hangover (2010), Daryl Della vowed to never leave a film unfinished again. With a Canon T2i DSLR in hand and a determination to elevate the craft, the team set out to create their most ambitious project yet.
The script for Dead Right came from Daryl’s father, Hank Della, mailed the old-fashioned way. Borrowing its title from the original script of Dirty Harry, it was a gritty tale of warehouses, brutal fights, and unapologetic F-bombs. This marked a turning point for Dollars & Donuts, a team that had previously avoided harsh language in their films, believing it needed to be earned. Dead Right wasn’t about shock value; it represented a step toward storytelling with more weight and complexity, signaling a departure from their high school-era filmmaking.
The Evolution of Production
Shooting began like their previous efforts: fast and loose. Initially, Chris Cairo was cast as Deke, with Ray Revello as his brother Bennie, and the crew roamed San Francisco guerrilla-style. But halfway through, the production hit a wall. The need for structure, equipment, and a reliable cast became glaringly obvious. When Cairo’s availability became inconsistent, Daryl made the difficult decision to recast.
Michael Martin, another recent Bay Area transplant, stepped in as Deke after being introduced to Daryl by Chris Cairo. Though they’d attended the same high school, Michael and Daryl hadn’t crossed paths until they both landed in Los Angeles. Their connection quickly grew, not only as friends but also as creative partners, bringing a fresh energy to the production. In one of those “small world” moments, they later discovered that Daryl’s aunt, Vicky Edgington, and Michael’s aunt, Cindy Artau, had been best friends since high school. Just one more unexpected tie binding the team together.
Michael’s casting as Deke brought his brother Mitchell Martin into the fold as Bennie, adding an authentic sibling dynamic to the film. More than just a performer, Michael’s business-minded approach brought a new level of professionalism to Dollars & Donuts, helping formalize the group as a legitimate production company.
Together, Daryl and Michael approached the film with renewed focus, and the shift marked a turning point for the team.
Filming the Impossible
Resourcefulness defined every step of the production. Sweet William’s warehouse hideout was secured through Daryl’s mom, Nina Della, who leveraged her interior plant service connections to gain access to an empty property in Foster City. The opening scene, where Johnny Boy meets his grisly end, was filmed in Daryl’s parents’ garage. Lorenzo Ocon brought Johnny Boy to life (briefly), before his character’s gruesome demise, which featured Dollars & Donuts’ first-ever CGI effect: Deke cutting out his eyeballs, painstakingly crafted in After Effects.
Meanwhile, Chris Cairo rejoined the cast as Sweet William, the film’s villain. The role required less time and commitment than playing the lead of Deke, allowing Cairo to bring his charisma and edge to the character without the scheduling conflicts that had derailed his original involvement.
Ray Revello, remained a vital part of the team as the production’s gaffer. Daryl’s brother, Tyler Della, contributed his skills to the makeup effects, while Becker Von Felsburg offered his apartment as Bennie’s grimy drug den. No set dressing required. The authenticity came with some unintended consequences: during filming, Mitchell Martin (as Bennie) screamed “I’ll fucking kill you, Deke!” loud enough to attract the attention of the neighbors, who promptly called the cops. The team smoothed things over by presenting the officers with the shooting script, and the production rolled on.
The tribute to Dirty Harry wasn’t limited to the title. The crew leaned into their homage to the Eastwood classic by shooting at several iconic San Francisco locations used in the film. In one notable sequence, they replicated a dialogue scene with Deke and Bennie in the same alleyway where Harry Callahan once spied on Hot Mary, complete with Coit Tower looming in the background.
The True Romance Dilemma
After filming wrapped, Hank Della admitted to Daryl that he hadn’t expected Dead Right to become such a serious endeavor. When he saw the high-quality footage, he called Daryl and sheepishly apologized, confessing that he had underestimated the project. He admitted to taking heavy inspiration from True Romance, lifting entire scenes from the film’s script. Initially, Hank had assumed Dead Right would be another small-scale, scrappy production like Dollars & Donuts’ earlier efforts. Seeing the level of professionalism in the footage made him regret not giving the script the care and originality it deserved.
Reshoots were impossible. The actors had moved on, Daryl was back in Los Angeles, and the warehouse location had begun its transformation into a retail space. Yet, Hank was determined to fix the issue and make things right. He devised a plan: write new dialogue to reframe the scenes and distance them from their True Romance counterparts. Daryl took Hank’s revisions and filmed the necessary changes with Michael on the green screen stage at Clear Creative Media.
The process not only salvaged the film but also provided Daryl another chance to showcase his growing expertise with visual effects, seamlessly blending the new footage into the existing material. At the same time, it reinforced the growing creative trust between father and son.
Years later, this green screen footage of Michael as Deke found an unexpected second life. It was repurposed for Night Dicks: Miami, where the Dicks ventured into the Dead Right universe. What began as a creative fix turned into an unexpected piece of franchise-building.
Premiere Night
On December 22, 2011, Dead Right premiered at The Blue Light bar in San Francisco, exactly 40 years to the day after Dirty Harry's debut in the same city. When Daryl realized the anniversary was approaching, he locked in the date, crafting a fitting tribute to the film that had shaped much of the Dollars & Donuts tone and style.
The intimate setting of The Blue Light buzzed with excitement as a packed house witnessed Dollars & Donuts’ most ambitious project yet. It was a night of celebration and a turning point: the last time the team would debut a film in a bar. The overwhelming success of the event propelled them to aim higher, and from that point forward, Dollars & Donuts premieres would take place in theaters, reflecting the growing scope of their work.
Dead Right solidified the team’s commitment to raising the bar, pushing their creativity, and embracing the challenges of filmmaking with unrelenting determination. The film’s production was chaotic, resourceful, and deeply personal. A messy experiment that transformed into a milestone. For Dollars & Donuts, Dead Right was a declaration of intent, a promise to never settle for less, and a line in the sand paving the way for everything that followed.
One week later, Hank handed the team the script for Dead Right II.
