Chasing Demons

By Chris Bergeron / News Staff Writer
Sunday, January 18, 2004

FRAMINGHAM — Scouting locations for a movie about his old hometown, Drew Pearlman pokes around a deserted, graffiti-scarred railroad tunnel on a cold, windy afternoon. The next stop for the 30-year-old aspiring filmmaker is the tangled maze of brush called "The Weeds," where homeless men camp in the undergrowth by Farm Pond.

A 1992 graduate of Framingham High School, Pearlman is doing pre-production work on a gritty crime movie titled, "Street Players," to be shot in his own stomping grounds. "Making films is in my blood," he said. "I’ve always loved to write and direct movies." Pearlman described his movie as a "tale of crime and revenge" involving a young man, Jake Barnes, who goes on the run after ripping off a ruthless mobster named Fat Daddy. After hiding out in homeless camps along the railroad tracks, Barnes discovers the Mob has killed his relatives and tries to even the score.

Pearlman said his script explores the character’s "spiral of self-destruction" and "search for salvation" through violence. The project’s tagline — "How far will one man go for revenge" — reflects the director’s passion for the genre of suspense movies known as "film noir." Asked why he was drawn to dark subjects, Pearlman replied, "I’m a pretty happy guy. But everybody’s got their demons."

Pearlman hopes his first 90-minute feature film does for him what "Mean Streets" did for now world-famous director Martin Scorcese. "It’ll be very ‘Mean Streets’-esque, a sort of local version with some redeeming romantic scenarios," he said. "My goal is to make great film that’s explosive and dramatic."Pearlman’s current plan is to shoot "Street Players" over a three-week period this coming August.

Pearlman has completed the screenplay which will feature Boston actor James Elwood as the regular guy hiding out from Mob killers. Since childhood, Pearlman has been pursuing his cinematic dreams as a self-taught moviemaker without attending film school. "For as long as I can remember, movies have provided very powerful experiences for me. As a kid, I recall being physically overwhelmed watching movies, even watching the previews," he said.

Pearlman presently has two projected films in pre-production, "Street Players" and "Asylum 9," a horror film about six drama students who take a dare to stay overnight in an abandoned mental hospital. "I’ve learned by doing. Making movies is a personal interest that’s evolved from my own love of telling a story," he said. "I’ve used my own movies as my film school."

He began making movies as a 10-year-old shooting "fantasies and comedy sketches" on his father’s Panasonic video camera in the basement of his house. "I grew up watching movies at Shoppers World," Pearlman recalled. "I was totally captivated by any movie that provoked me and took me on a journey outside myself and my life." Since 1997 Pearlman has made eight short films, between 10 and 15 minutes long, which he’s screened in art house festivals and over the Internet.

He started his own company, Road Rambler Films, to produce his movies. Pearlman has written the script for "Street Players," which he’ll produce and direct. He’s directing and producing "Asylum 9" from a screenplay by Mark Myers.

His short films reveal an evolving director teaching himself to set brisk scenes with terse dialog. In "Dime Store," shot in Framingham, Pearlman plays a foul-mouthed wise guy harassing bystanders with gritty panache. Pearlman’s 1999 "Tipling Rock" is a taut psychological drama about a journalist who loses his moral bearings covering a Bosnia-like war. Pearlman shot the combat scenes using Army Reservists as extras in woods owned by the Knox Trail Council of Boy Scouts. About 15 minutes long, "Tipling Rock" mixes action and irony and ends with grim humor. "Making these movies has been my own film school, which I hope, takes me to the next level of feature films," he said.

Pearlman graduated from George Washington University in 1996 with a degree in English. He received a Master’s of Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park. Since 2002, he’s lived and worked in California, where he teaches composition at West Los Angeles College.

Even while relaxing, Pearlman watches movies with a director’s eye to learn as much as he can. He’s especially fond of the late Stanley Kubrick, who directed "Clockwork Orange." "I feel I received my education studying other filmmakers. I don’t necessarily believe there’s just one right path," he said. "I love the way Kubrick uses his camera. He has a fluid, flowing style that keeps things simmering until they come to a boil."

Without formal training, Pearlman acknowledges he’s taking a difficult path to produce and direct his own feature films. "The economic reality is certainly a challenge. But it’s a challenge that can be overcome if you’re determined enough and passionate about your vision," he said. "I’ve probably taken the harder path but it seems like a natural one to me."

Drew Pearlman can be contacted at drew@roadramblerfilms.com.