Hugh Eaton, Gavin Weisen and Robert Patton-Spruill in the edit room. Photo by Joe Picard.

The dynamic young moviemaking duo of Hugh Eaton and Gavin Wiesen make up Jimmyfilms, a Boston-based production company that could soon be known to moviegoers across the United States. Their debut film, DRAFTDODGING, produced in conjunction with Robert Patton-Spruill's Film Shack (SQEEZE/Miramax), is the season's surprise production! Spruill chose DRAFTDODGING to be the first film he executive produced under the Film Shack umbrella after an initial viewing revealed to him its entertaining appeal to a very specific and huge national audience, suburban kids between 16 and 24 years old. When the movie so quickly convinced Spruill's movie industry mind to believe it could reach the largest possible audience, the moviemakers breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't their first (sigh of relief), key personal changed in the midst of shooting, making the duo's greatest achievement that of creating one very workable film out of two productions.

Jimmyfilms. Gavin, Sarah & Hugh. Photo by Joe Picard.

This film is the story of a young man who decides to take control of his life by recreating his beloved, idealized childhood in New Hampshire. Berg is a 25-year-old, disenchanted foot soldier in the Wall Street rat race. Enlisting the aid of his skeptical girlfriend, Zhou, and his four wildly eccentric cousins, he moves out of New York and up to his grandmother's rural estate in New Hampshire where he summered as a child. As this unruly gang of metropolitan youngsters descends on the sleepy village of Fitzwilliam looking for good times, Berg goes through a process of discovery and transformation. Orchestrating the giddy chaos of his own three-ring circus while trying to emulate his father and summon the past, Berg makes a life-changing decision, one that not only surprises his friends, but will definitely surprise moviegoers (It's true, it will be surprising).

"The movie, shot on 35 millimeter, is a good looking film," says Spruill. "It was made by a young crew and the final product is far beyond what they should have been able to do or capable of doing, especially considering their incredibly low budget."

Sarah Spraker as Dolly.

Jimmyfilms co-founder Eaton produced and acted in DRAFTDODGING. The 27-year-old New York City native turned Boston resident, attended Duke University where he first explored acting, writing, and movie making. Needing a course to fill-out his semester schedule, Eaton enrolled in a drama class and liked it so much that he chose drama as a minor. A scriptwriting class at Duke inspired him to write a number of screenplays there.

Eaton makes his debut as a producer with DRAFTDODGING. He received the script from writer Wendall Adams and immediately knew he could make it into a movie. He raised funds; scouted and secured locations in Boston, New Hampshire, and New York; and found housing accommodations for the 25-member cast and crew.

Above, top to bottom: Anson Scoville as Berg. Georgia Lyman as Layla. Sarah Spraker. Anson Scoville.

Also from New York City and now living in Boston, 26-year-old Wiesen is Eaton's partner in Jimmyfilms and co-producer and principal second unit director on DRAFTDODGING. After attending New York University film school, Wiesen moved to Los Angeles to break into the movie industry. His first job was as script reader for DIEHARD producer Larry Gordon. He next worked as an assistant for director Bruce Paltrow on the film DUETS. The two-year gig proved invaluable experience for Wiesen who worked on the project from development to post-production.

Wiesen had worked with Eaton on a few scripts in college and directed him in a couple of his film projects. He moved back to the East Coast to work with his friend on the script, DISTORTION, the first that the pair completed. DISTORTION is scheduled to be Jimmyfilms' next production.

Eaton and Wiesen formed Jimmyfilms around DRAFTDODGING. The film had been started with Eaton working with Adams, who left the project to start another movie. After viewing the footage, Wiesen asked to sign on as co-producer to help his friend finish the film. Thus, Jimmyfilms was born. Wiesen estimates the pair then had to complete roughly 25% of the movie.

"I saw Hugh's footage and it was great," says Wiesen. "But, there was a challenge to extend the narrative and character arcs that existed and create new photography to fit alongside what had been shot. We had to finish the feature with footage from before and after I joined the production."

Another significant relationship was also developing at the same time. Eaton had been renting equipment at Spruill's Film Shack; he then started his post-production work there. Spruill kept noticing the work. The story, the acting, the directing, and the two young men that were working so hard in post, impressed him. One highlight for Spruill was the performance given by Georgia Lyman, daughter of noted Boston actor Will Lyman, in her first feature film role.

Spruill could see the Jimmyfilms' team had significant talent and DRAFTDODGING had "over-the-top" commercial potential. And "the numbers" were pretty good. DRAFTDODGING cost $125,000 to put in the can. So far in post, about $100,000 has been expended. It isn't finished yet, and lots of costs, like negative cutting, marketing, prints and advertising, haven't begun to be calculated, but so far, those numbers are a good place to start. And don't forget, some of those costs can be skirted with a negative pick-up, and/or with the "right" distribution deal.

Above, top to bottom: The Draftdodging gang. M. Prud'homme & Anson Scoville. Hugh Eaton & Georgia Lyman.

When Spruill opened his Film Shack in 2000, he had a couple of main goals: to create an affordable rental option for local and national indies, and to give new filmmakers a break. He also sees using his industry contacts to shop to major studios as a key contribution that he can make. Spruill sold his movie, SQUEEZE, to Miramax in 1996. Thinking he had much to bring to this young filmmaking team, Spruill made an offer to Jimmyfilms to be their executive producer for DRAFTDODGING. Perfect! The deal nets Jimmyfilms post-production support at the Shack and Spruill's industry savvy as he targets and shops to desirable distribution companies that recognize his name. For Robert Patton-Spruill, he gets to lend a hand to emerging local talent, something he feels is as much a part of his mission as filmmaking.

"Some people make movies for the art, some for the love, some for the audience," said Spruill. "Hugh and Gavin made their movie for the audience and I want to help them get it out there to as many people as I can."

DRAFTDODGING is the first of three movies in various stages of completion from the Shack with Spruill as executive producer. Another is a Kung Fu movie by Jason Yee, EDGE OF DARKNESS. Spruill and Yee are currently securing funds to finish the film. THE STRANGLER'S WIFE is a movie produced by students at Cityscape and guest-director Roger Corman (see Imagine April issue). Working on these movies is just a small piece of a busy year for Spruill. He's also made a music video at his soundstage for Public Enemy's Chuck Dee, produced documentaries for the Harvard School of Public Health, and created stock footage for use on a Nickelodeon music video series. He's also contributed to the shorts DOG DAYS, by director Ellie Lee, and EXPIRED, by Alice Stone, that have been played on the Independent Film Channel and the Atom Films site.

"Our movie is a piece of entertainment that works and is fun," says Wiesen. "The point of making a movie for us, is to make one that people will appreciate and watch, and (for us) audience appreciation is what validates a creation. Our intent here is to tell a great story and create a viable commercial film."

The current edit of DRAFTDODGING will be presented in a test screening on Thursday, August 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Institute of Contemporary Art, 955 Boylston Street, in Boston. The filmmakers will ask for comments on the movie from the test audience. There will be no advance tickets for the screening, and seats will be available on a first come basis.

After the test screening, Eaton and Wiesen will make final edits on their film, then Spruill will work his magic with the distribution companies. In the meantime, the new indie filmmakers are making no apologies for creating a film with unlimited commercial appeal.