Studio plans give local actors hope, reason to get organized

By Jack Encarnacao The Patriot Ledger Posted Feb 22, 2008 @ 08:33 AM

WEYMOUTH -

In one way or another, Chuck Slavin has found his way onto the set of just about every movie that has been shot in Massachusetts in recent years, from "The Departed" to "Pink Panther II."

"It seems like the timing for me has been perfect," Slavin said, talking about the boom in film shooting in the state.

He moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, and "when I came back, I thought it was over. I thought the dream was gone. And in the last year, I've managed to go from working at a restaurant to basically being one of the few people in Boston who can say they worked full time on films."

Slavin, 28, a Pembroke native who lives in Weymouth, knows he's not alone in his enthusiasm for taking advantage of the local film shooting. And as talk of movie executives looking to create soundstage facilities in Plymouth and Weymouth heats up, Slavin and others like him are getting active.

Through social networking Web sites like Facebook, Slavin and others like him are organizing New England-area actors to prove that the region isn't just ripe place for movie-making facilities, it's also ripe with acting talent.

"As these film companies come in, they're looking for the tax breaks," Slavin said. "They're not coming here because they want to discover talent. But as it moves forward, they are going to start to realize that there is an organized, underground film community here. Hopefully the jobs will start trickling down to us."

Executives with Hollywood ties are talking about building soundstages and other filmmaking amenities on town-owned land in Plymouth, on the former air base property in Weymouth, and in Hopkinton, R.I.

As buzz about the projects intensifies, local actors like Slavin are taking to the Internet to let their presence be known. They're calling it the "New England film movement."

On the Internet, Slavin is circulating a form letter in support of legislation that would establish tax incentives for the Weymouth project. The letter includes the e-mail addresses of state legislative leaders. A group Slavin formed on Facebook to spread the word has 700 members.

State Rep. Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, is pushing the Weymouth legislation. He said local actor advocacy can't hurt, but the project can only be sold in terms of economic development.

"It's a regional economic development issue," he said. "It's great jobs for the region. Actors are a small part of it. When a movie comes in and books a soundstage for six months, that's 120 to 135 jobs - good-paying jobs, union jobs."

Slavin said actors are realizing that they have to let their presence be known; they can't just sit back and wait to be discovered.

"In New York and L.A. it's about ‘me' - everybody is about ‘me,'" he said. "In Boston and in New England, if we want to make this work, we have to make it about ‘we.'"

Lindsay Shah of Beverly manages the Beanywood Web site, a place where local actors can find out about local workshops and film shooting.

"There's kind of a renaissance going on," she said. "People are starting the (online) communities. They're more energized now. It's definitely coming together."

Slavin said he worries that shoddy facilities could eventually keep producers from bringing movies and acting opportunities here.

Offering an example, he talked about an old Chelsea warehouse that had been turned into a soundstage. He worked there when "The Departed" was being filmed.

"Any time it rained, on the roof you could hear it," he said. "We would have to stop production.

"At one point, a guy was robbed on a bus and there were shots fired or something in Chelsea. Helicopters were buzzing around and we had to stop production for half an hour."

Actors like Slavin, who recently worked as a stand-in for Andy Garcia when the forthcoming "Pink Panther II" was being shot, clearly want a piece of the action.

"I'm a big marketer," Slavin said. "I threw up two banners on the highway just to get my name out. I'm diehard."