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Posted on Sat, Jul. 01, 2006

Hometown filmmakers charm council

By Patty Fisher
Mercury News

Dan Engelhardt started making movies on his iMac as a seventh-grader in Menlo Park. Brad Leong put on a student film festival -- which included his own work -- when he was a junior at Palo Alto High.

This summer, these two precocious 20-year-olds are home from college to make their first full-length feature film, a coming-of-age movie they hope will be the next ``American Graffiti.'' It's set in -- where else? -- Palo Alto.

Here's the story line:

Four college freshmen, home for Thanksgiving break, meet up at their old high school. They embark on a wild journey of rediscovery that leads to new insights into friendship, family and the meaning of life.

Leong, who's in film school at USC, is directing the picture. Engelhardt, a business major at UCLA who graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School, is producing. UCLA student and Paly grad Tony Vallone, also 20, wrote the screenplay.

Working title: ``Palo Alto.'' Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

City officials think so.

Charming the council

On Monday night, Engelhardt showed up at the city council meeting. Looking ever so clean-cut and earnest, he politely asked if the city would waive the fees for shooting a film on public property. Permits to close streets, block sidewalks, and park trucks and trailers can run about $2,000.

Mayor Judy Kleinberg and council members were charmed and said they wanted to help. But, some worried, wouldn't that set a dangerous precedent? The last thing Palo Alto needs is a bunch of film producers showing up looking for handouts.

``We get these requests all the time,'' Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison told me. ``If this were a non-profit, it would be a lot easier.''

But this isn't just any movie, it's ``Palo Alto.'' Think of the free publicity it could bring to a city struggling to invigorate its tourism industry. For that reason, Harrison's drawing up a waiver agreement for the council. She says she can live with forgiving the fees, as long as the young filmmakers agree to pay up if their movie turns a profit.

``If by some dream this goes to Sundance and makes a lot of money, no one will be happier,'' she said.

A long shot, for sure. But don't get the wrong idea. This is not some handheld video project you download from the Internet.

A grown-up venture

Engelhardt and Leong have launched their own production company, Anchange Productions. They've received grants and equipment from Panavision, Apple Computer and Kodak. The film's working budget is $200,000.

``For a 20-year-old director to be making a feature-length movie using the same equipment Spielberg uses? It's unheard of,'' Engelhardt said.

Shooting begins July 11. The guys have lined up a cast of well-known actors, including recent Stanford grad Ben Savage (Cory on ``Boy Meets World'') and an even bigger name -- I'm not at liberty to say who it is, but an announcement should be made any day now -- for the role of the wise but wacky school-bus driver.

Want to be an extra? Find contact information at www.anchange.com.

Leong describes the film as an affectionate look at his hometown.

``Palo Alto is a unique place to grow up,'' he said. ``It has a modern, hometown feel.''

City officials are assuming, of course, that the film will portray the place in a positive light. But what if it doesn't? I don't know that movies like ``Philadelphia'' and ``Fargo'' did wonders for those cities' images.

And don't even think about ``Debbie Does Dallas.''

Harrison said she is counting on these guys to be kind. ``It's an exercise in trust,'' she said.

And if the city gets burned?

``Well,'' Harrison said, ``I guess we'll never do this again.''
Contact Patty Fisher at pfisher@mercurynews.com or (650) 688-7510.