Last Thursday, Fly was intrigued by the “No Parking” signs up and down a three-block stretch of South First Street—right in front of Metro’s office—as they purported to be clearing the area for a movie called Church Girl. That vaguely pornographic contraction turns out to be short for I’m in Love With a Church Girl, a Christian film starring Jeffrey Atkins, better known as Ja Rule. Fly immediately buzzed off hoping to “holla, holla,” (as Ja Rule implored us to do in his big hit).

Ja did make a brief appearance after a small group of screaming high school kids persuaded his bodyguards to get him out of his trailer in the parking lot behind Wet. One seemed to be pumping him particularly hard for career advice, asking him how he made it big. “Luck,” he said. Rule seems an odd choice for a religious film (supposedly “God” will be listed in the credits as the executive producer). Since declaring a hiatus from rap he’s traded platinum records for a criminal record, making headlines for drug and weapons possession charges.

But Galley Molina, the East San Jose native who wrote the script based on his own life and time in the clink on drug trafficking charges, says otherwise. “Not anybody can do this lead. It’s not for some Shakespearean, Juilliard-trained actor. This is like real talk,” he says. Molina also had high praise for both Mayor Chuck Reed and SJPD Chief Rob Davis. “Chief Davis said whatever he can do for us, he’ll do it,” says Molina. “The city has just opened its arms to us.” Production continues until the end of June, so any stalkers who want to follow Ja may be able to spot him around the Fairmont, Motif, San Jose Country Club and Church on the Hill.

Downtown Shuffle
Also downtown: Vault Ultra Lounge, the beleaguered Santa Clara Street club, may soon be hydrated by Wet owner Mike Hamod. Neither Hamod nor Vault managing partner Mauricio Mejia would confirm or deny that there’s a deal in the works, but they did insinuate that news is in the offing. Vault opened in 2004 and enjoyed a hot-spot reputation for several years, but is now in bankruptcy and looking for new owners.

The lounge was supposedly closed last June, yet mysteriously kept its name and its doors open. Meanwhile, Wet has had its own trouble with those irritating law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and had its license pulled for two months, but the liquor will flow again in about two weeks. Mejia says there are three buyers currently looking at Vault, and that all will be revealed in two weeks, when the management group returns to bankruptcy court and the purchase offer officially comes in. But as for Wet: “No,” he says. “They haven’t bought anything yet.”