42 | JUNE 27 • 2024 
J
N

D

eep in the Detroit underground 
exists a vast network of pool halls, 
players and high-stakes games. It’s a 
subculture few know about, unless you’re in 
the know.
However, a new drama film is bringing the 
hidden world of Detroit pool halls to life.
Starring Jewish Bloomfield Hills native 
Darren Weiss, 30, Break is now available on 
most major streaming platforms and 
video-on-demand.
Weiss, who is based in Los Angeles, leads 
the film as its main character, Eli. As Eli 
learns his absent father was a Detroit pool 
hall legend, he journeys into the scene and 
confronts its many dangers and revelations 
about his family’s secret history.
Break also stars Jeff Kober of General 
Hospital and Victor Rasuk of Fifty Shades of 
Grey. With its Detroit setting, nearly one-
third of the film was shot on location.
For Weiss, who knew little about Detroit’s 
pool scene prior to joining Break, the film 
was a crash course in local pool hall lore and 
history.
“Back in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, it was very 
relevant,
” he says. “There’s still a couple pool 
halls floating around the corridor.
”

BECOMING ELI
Weiss says he was drawn to the story of Eli, 
who had the “weight of the world on his 
shoulders.
”
“His dad was a local pool hall legend who 
walked out on the family,
” he explains of his 

character. “His mom’s an alcoholic; his sister 
has Asperger’s, and he’s out of high school; 
his friends have moved on. He’s uncomfort-
able with who he is.
”
It’s a juxtaposition Weiss brought to life 
through his depiction of Eli.
“I wanted to create an environment where 
it’s two different worlds,
” he says of Eli’s 
home life versus his pool hall life, which he 
dives into to uncover the truth about his 
father. “It teaches Eli to be who he is and 
to learn this through a place where people 
would least expect it.
”
Weiss worked with a professional pool 
player three days a week for three months to 

amp up his pool-playing skills. Now, he calls 
himself good enough to win at pool halls.
“People have no idea how big the pool 
world really is,
” he says. “It’s like an under-
ground, and there are some powerful people 
in that world, some business executives.
“The Detroit pool scene also came up at 
the same time as Motown music,
” he adds, 
“so their histories go hand-in-hand.
”
Weiss especially loved filming on location 
in Detroit at a local junkyard. “The business 
owner couldn’t shut down the junkyard for 
the day, so business went on,
” he says of film-
ing. “There’s this really cool, authentic junk-
yard environment that comes in.
”
Some scenes, however, were more diffi-
cult to film, especially the more emotionally 
charged ones between Eli and his mother, or 
Eli and his love interest.
Still, Weiss, who grew up in the Metro 
Detroit Jewish community and played in 
Jewish sports leagues, calls the entire experi-
ence extremely rewarding.
So far, Break has received great feedback 
from press, friends and family.
“Everyone has really enjoyed it, and it 
exceeded expectations,
” he says. “The reviews 
have been really positive from different 
movie outlets and journalists in Los Angeles.
”
However, Weiss says Break isn’t only for 
pool hall junkies.
“There’s someone for everyone to relate to 
in the film,
” he says. “There are people from 
all walks of life in these pool halls, all differ-
ent characters.
” 

ARTS&LIFE
FILM

Darren Weiss stars in Break, a film about Detroit’s pool hall underground.

Michigan Native Shines

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTOS BY GRAVITAS VENTURES

