NewEnglandFilm.com

They could be Boston’s answer to the Coen Brothers: Eric Poydar directs and Brett Portanova produces, and together they form a duo that is venturing enthusiastically into the world of feature-film production. Their first effort is the film "Larry," conceived, planned, shot, and to be edited all within the calendar year of 2005. Can anyone say Rainer Werner Fassbinder?

Bootleg’s two key figures met while working as production assistants on the David Mamet film "State and Main" (2000). One of the Mamet stock company players who had a small role in the film was Lionel Mark Smith. Poydar and Portanova befriended the charismatic Smith and reveled in his tales of acting in Los Angeles. The idea for a feature film based on Smith’s exploits was now on file, and the character on which Poydar and Portanova would base their feature film would be called ‘Larry.’

But before that could happen Poydar and Portanova needed a little seasoning, and so after 2000 they began a script-writing collaboration. Their first effort, "4 Vienna," was a winner: it was named a finalist in the prestigious Scriptapalooza screenwriting contest. "4 Vienna" is a gritty urban love story about a young, struggling single mother, Lilly, who has reluctantly taken a job as a contract killer to support her gifted daughter’s education. After receiving some attention from producers and agents as a result of their placement in the contest, Bootleg Productions set out to make a short film based on the script. "We had fun writing and making ‘4 Vienna,’" says Poydar, "but after that we wanted to take it up a notch. You can only go so far with short films. We wanted to show the world what we had to offer. ‘4 Vienna’ was a bit outside our budgetary range, so as the year 2005 began we made a commitment to write something we knew we could produce on our own."

The Bootleg guys had another friend whom they wanted to incorporate into a feature film. Actor Mark Carapezza was another performer whom Poydar and Portanova admired. A native of Nantucket, Carapezza made a go at acting in Los Angeles and appeared in the college romp "Dead Man on Campus." A little discouraged with the LA scene, Carapezza returned to New England to focus on another passion of his, namely magic. But Bootleg Productions knew he had more film roles left in him, and the other half of "Larry" fell into place.

To describe "Larry" is not easy. Portanova characterizes "Larry" as "an ultra low-budget, genre-mixing, soul-searching film about a young man named Larry…looking for an older man named Larry." If that’s a trifle mysterious, there’s nothing elusive about the way Bootleg made the film. Portanova continues, "’Larry’ was put together in the same way ‘Clerks,’ ‘The Brother’s McMullen,’ ‘El Mariachi,’ and countless others of its kind were: we maxed out credit cards, dipped into savings accounts, humbly accepted donations, and put our careers on the line…all so we could have an opportunity to do for a living what we’re most passionate about doing – making films."

With two actors in mind for which they wanted to write, Poydar and Portanova hammered out a compelling script in just three months, and by May of 2005 they had a shooting schedule and budget in place. With Robert Rodriguez’s "El Mariachi" as their inspiration, Bootleg Productions planned to use the $15,000 raised to shoot its first feature-film (perhaps twice the rumored amount with which Rodriguez made his break out film).

Bootleg shot from August 11-26, 2005 in the Boston area. The shoot was very much guerilla-style filmmaking. Poydar recalls one day of shooting in East Boston when, "we had our actor playing young Larry (Mark Carapezza) get out of our van and run across a bridge because we didn’t have the permits to set up equipment there. So he got out and ran and we followed him in the van. It turned out to be one of our best shots."

After wrapping up in Boston it was off to Los Angeles for four days of filming [September 10-14] with Lionel Mark Smith (the elder Larry). "Our four days of filming corresponded to four days in the life of the character," Poydar explains. "We actually shot those four days in sequential order which was an unusual challenge, but it came off wonderfully thanks to great work from our director of photography Scott Davis. He doubled as DP and gaffer, and he really made it look great."

"Larry" is currently in post-production. The Bootleg team hopes to have the film complete and ready for a premiere around Christmas 2005. "Our goal is to move one step at a time," says Portanova. "We high-fived each other when we were done filming, but that’s only the beginning. We realize the road ahead is long, but we’re excited to begin the next leg in our filmmaking journey."

After the film is in the can, Bootleg plans a two-pronged approach to marketing the movie. First, they will enter "Larry" into select film festivals. At the same time, they will also seek a distribution deal. Lionel Mark Smith, the lead actor, is also signed on as a producer and will lend his weight and reputation to the project as it seeks a distribution home.

Bootleg has even received some support from David Mamet himself. "In one of the scenes with older Larry," Poydar relates, "posters of Mamet films and other paraphernalia were clearly in the background. David Mamet graciously gave us his approval to use this footage. This saved us a lot of time and prevented potential legal problems, not to mention the hassle we would have encountered had we been forced to redo those scenes."

Poydar and Portanova approach filmmaking with a great deal of conviction and artistic integrity. "We could have kept writing scripts and attempting to sell them," Portanova says. "But we realized this route would have led to us losing control over the content of the project. ‘Larry’ is admittedly low-budget, but we retained total control and did not have to compromise our vision. In the least, we’ll have a film we’re proud of and we’ll have shown everyone that we accomplished what we set out to do."

What lies ahead for Bootleg Productions is unclear, but if Poydar and Portanova can indeed emulate the mighty Coen Brothers’ example they’ll be able not only to fulfill their artistic vision without major interference, but also to entertain and thrill cinemagoers who pine for unique voices and stories.