Metro’s Sutton feels at home in front of camera

Tuesday, March 5, 2002 | 8:15 a.m.

Metro Police Sgt. Randy Sutton is a cop who sometimes plays cops in the movies, which is an arresting thought.

In 1995 Sutton had a bit part in the locally filmed "Casino," in which he responded to a domestic violence dispute involving the characters played by Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone.

"I ad-libbed the scene and (director) Martin Scorsese liked it so much he left it in," Sutton said.

Sutton also played a cop in 1998's "Fools Rush In," featuring Matthew Perry and Selma Hayek. It, too, was filmed locally.

"I helped deliver Selma Hayek's baby on Boulder Dam," Sutton said.

Now the 45-year-old training supervisor is awaiting the birth of another baby, of sorts -- one that has been incubating for six years.

Sutton is one of the principal characters in "Clover's Movie," a murder mystery shot on video in Las Vegas in 1996, but not finished with post-production until recently.

Sutton is eager to see if it finds an audience.

The film, available on video and DVD, premiered before a full house at the Regal Cinemas in Village Square on West Sahara Avenue at Fort Apache Road on Saturday night.

While the premiere was not exactly Hollywood-caliber (no limousines arrived carrying A-list actors), neither was the film's budget -- about $6,000.

Sutton (who plays an FBI agent in the production) and the other actors -- as well as the producers and director -- deferred their salaries for a percentage of the movie's profits.

Those involved in the project must be thinking about "Blair Witch Project," which was made in 1994 for an estimated $60,000. It grossed more than $60 million.

Joe La Due, one of the leads in the movie, says he believes the production values are far superior to "Blair Witch Project," which might not be saying a lot.

"Viewers will be hard-pressed to tell this one was shot on video," La Due said.

The story is about a young man with a video camera who hitchhikes across the country searching for his long-lost father, who is wanted for murder by the FBI.

"It turns into an odyssey that ends up on ranch in Southern Nevada," La Due said.

He said it took so long to finish the movie because everyone was busy with other projects.

"It was catch as catch can," La Due said.

Since Sutton finished his part in the movie six years ago, he has moved on to many other ventures -- including collecting a number of citations for meritorious service (in 1998 he saved the life of a baby shot in the face by a drive-by shooter).

Sutton has a bit part (this time as a baseball coach) in a film yet to be released that is tentatively entitled "The Road Home." John Saxon and Wilford Brimley are the lead actors in that film.

Sutton is also compiling a book, a project that came about after the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, collecting stories written by law enforcement officers who tell of an event (not necessarily the terrorist attacks) that made a major impact on the individuals' lives and careers.

Sutton said about 500 stories will be included in a book to be titled "True Blue: Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them."

Sutton says he's not willing to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, at least not at this point. He has five years to go before he is eligible for retirement from Metro.

"If you're really going to be taken seriously as an actor you have to do the L.A. thing," he said.

Sutton's attitude is, if stardom happens, it happens. If it doesn't, there is always a singing career. Sutton is also an accomplished and well-trained singer.

"I recently completed work on my first CD, a compilation of swing and jazz songs," Sutton said.