News columnist gets whacked in indie film being shot in Framingham

By Chris Bergeron/News Staff Writer
Thursday, January 27, 2005

Lights. Cameras. Kill Lenny Megliola.

An unshaven man in a knit cap shot the veteran sportswriter through the heart with a .45 caliber pistol Friday morning in a dingy hall in the Bancroft Building in south Framingham.

Revenge for unflattering columns in the MetroWest Daily News? A hit man who does not like the avuncular sweaters he wears on New England Cable News?

In fact, Megliola was whacked on the set of “Street Players,” an independent feature film being made by three guys with deep Framingham roots.

It’s the hardest part I’ve ever played,” said the faux blood-splattered writer and amateur actor. “I’ve died before but never this violently.”

Writer/director Drew Pearlman described his first feature-length film as a “gritty crime drama.”

Pearlman and producers John Fitzgerald and James Spirakis are pooling their resources to make the film that will feature area talent and locations and, hopefully, bring bigger movie productions to town.

It will include scenes shot at two downtown pubs, Bruburgers and Connery’s Inn on Rte. 135, the Bancroft Building at 59 Fountain St. and “the weeds” by Farm Pond. Another scene was filmed at the Central House Cafe in Westborough.

Spirakis, who runs Jim Spirakis Photo: Design on the second floor of the Bancroft Building, said he became involved in the film when Pearlman came to the building scouting locations.

Although not a native, he has strong ties to Natick through his mother. Spirakis opened his photography business in the Bancroft Building seven years ago.

All three have family in the area, but Spirakis, Pearlman and Fitzgerald had not known each other until they decided to make “Street Players,” he said.

“I always wanted to be involved in movies. We’ve turned into the ‘Three Amigos,’” Spirakis said.

A 35-year-old Framingham native, Fitzgerald formerly produced “On The Hook,” a show about saltwater fishing on NESN.

He said expects shooting will continue through February and a “rough cut” of the film to be finished by the end of March.

Westborough businessman Victor J. Melfa Jr., who helped produce “Freedom Park,” another independent movie with scenes shot in Framingham, will help distribute the film.

“Street Players” also includes ex-Bruins player Lyndon Byers, Catherine Papile, who stars in Latin American soap operas, and Megliola.

Megliola brings name recognition, acting experience, and from the looks of his Friday performance, a high red blood cell count.

A sports writer, columnist and arts critic for the MetroWest Daily News for more than 35 years, he has also performed in theatrical productions staged by the Concord Players, Southborough Players, Hovey Players of Waltham and the Vokes Players of Wayland.

Megliola also discusses sports on WEEI radio, “Sports Late Night” on New England Cable News and “SportsPulse” on Channel 3.

Playing “Mobster Number One,” he appeared on set dressed in natty black gangster chic and tinted granny glasses.

“Don’t I bleed better than anybody?” he joked as makeup artist Rosa Colon attached a blood squib to protective body armor worn beneath his shirt. “I bet a lot of athletes will pay to see a sports writer get killed.”

That is exactly what the 30-year-old Pearlman hopes.

He described his first full-length feature as a “tale of crime and revenge” involving a young man named “Jake Barnes” who goes on the run after ripping off a ruthless mobster named “Fat Daddy.”

Barnes is played by James Elwood, a Boston-area actor who resembles Hollywood star Jason Patric. Actress Cindy Lentol, who has performed in several movies and television shows, plays “Gina,” the loyal girlfriend who stands by her man.

Pearlman, who has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, said giving his anti-hero the same name as a character in Ernest Hemingway’s short stories reflects his interest in powerful tales of loss and redemption. He said for the last several months he’s been calling Elwood “Jake” to keep him in character.

A 1992 graduate of Framingham High School, Pearlman started his own company, Road Rambler Films in 1997, to produce his movies, which include eight 10- to 15-minute shorts that have been shown in art house festivals and over the Internet.

Fitzgerald said the movie is “making history” as one of the first independent films shot with a Canon XL2 DV camera, normally used in bigger productions, which will give the finished product a unique visual style.

Pearlman thanked several local businesses for supporting the film project by donating food, services and locations. They include Firefly’s restaurant, the Franklin Street Dunkin’ Donuts, La Cantina restaurant, Bruburgers, Connery’s Inn and MetroWest Livery Service of Framingham.

Fitzgerald credited the Boston Camera, the Camera Company of Norwood, High Output, Talamas Broadcast and Hadley Media of Salem, N.H., for leasing cameras, monitors, walkie-talkies and lighting equipment at good rates.

Shooting on a frigid morning, the production crew turned the first floor of the Bancroft Building into a hybrid of a Hollywood production and a low level Mob hit.

Director of Photography Mike Pecci of Framingham peered into a video monitor, viewing earlier takes of Megliola’s cinematic murder. In a drafty hall, sound technician Brian Courchine checked his recording equipment.

A Wayland resident, Courchine said his biggest technical challenge was keeping “extraneous noise” from businesses in the building and trains running on the nearby tracks from blotting out dialogue.

His assistant, boom operator Camden Pollio, a Boston College English major, rehearsed his graphic lines for a small role as a mobster in the film.

Production manager Rudy Hypolite returned to the scene of the crime to say he wanted another take of Megliola getting shot.

Thomas Pimentel, who provides the film’s artificial weapons, passed out ear plugs to protect crewmembers’ears when the mock gun went off. Colon taped a bag of artificial blood to Megliola’s chest.

Pimentel ordered quiet on the set.

Elwood, as the vengeance-crazed hero, walked down the dim hall. He sees Megliola standing against the wall and brings up a heavy black gun.

Boom.

Megliola, sportswriter and thespian, meets another deadline.
     
( For more information about “Street Players,” visit the Web site, www.roadramblerfilms.com )