Robert Patton-Spruill’s new Roxbury-based film production company Film Shack will allow independent filmmakers to rent camera packages and post equipment at an affordable price. But perhaps the most valuable thing it has it has to offer is Spruill’s hard-earned experience in the business.

Spruill spent the better part of the ‘90’s getting a baptism-by-fire education in both independent and Hollywood filmmaking. It all began to come together for him at the tender age of 24, when his first and only independent feature SQUEEZE was bought by Miramax. Although a lot of people consider Spruill an overnight success, the fact is he spent three long and lean years racking up huge credit card bills and wondering whether anyone would ever get to see his film.

"1996 was a horrible year for me," Spruill explains. "I had charged $30,000 on my credit cards to make SQUEEZE and was out of money. On the last day of production, Mitchell Robbins came in and kicked in $50,000, which I used mainly to pay my crew. Once the film was edited, I had to wait another year while Robbins did test marketing for the film. I believed the film was good enough to be sold as is. But I was Robbins’s first project and he wanted to wait until he had a cut he was happy with."

During this seemingly endless year, Spruill paid his bills by teaching at youth centers, producing a TV show for the Boston Globe, working as a sound technician and basically "hustling up any spare job he could get."

Robert Patton-Spruill on the set of SQUEEZE, his "breakout" film distributed by Miramax.

"Fortunately, my wife supported me by getting a high-paying job. But there were times when we were desperate and we had to call my Grandmother and say, ‘Help me, please! I’m dying here!’"

Spruill’s patience paid off when Maura Hoy, who was starting a new distribution company in Boston, saw the film and was blown away by it. She touted the film as a "must-see" to the head of Dimension Films, a subsidiary of Miramax.

Spruill screened the film for Miramax reps at Sound Techniques in Boston and negotiated a "first look" deal with them shortly thereafter. At that point, a friend of Robbins who was a William Morris agent stepped in to rep the deal. Eight hours before the film was scheduled to screen at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Miramax bought the film for a reported $1 million.

It was an unprecedented sale for a movie made in Boston. In fact, no other Boston film had ever been picked up by a distributor before SQUEEZE. It also helped lay the groundwork for other locally produced films.

Unfortunately, all of the money Spruill received in the deal went to paying back his creditors and reimbursing family and friends–leaving him still broke after everything was said and done. Then came one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life.

SQUEEZE star Tyrone Burton

"Originally, Miramax was supposed to release SQUEEZE in 30 cities and put a certain amount of advertising dollars against it. But they went ahead and screened it for test audiences–and audiences hated the movie. So they came back to us and said they would rather release the film on video. They feared that general audiences would hate it, and that it would get bad reviews. But we pushed back and in the end, they released the film in Boston, New York and Los Angeles."

Despite the studio’s fears, The New York Times, the New York Daily News and the Boston Phoenix all gave the movie a stellar review. After its theatrical release, SQUEEZE was aired on Showtime, HBO, and other cable networks. It is now available on video.

Although Spruill didn’t make any money off the deal, he did come away with something priceless–entrée into the competitive Hollywood scene. "Basically, my entire career to date was built from SQUEEZE. It helped me get an agent, who helped me land a directing job for Showtime called BODY COUNT."

BODY COUNT, which stars John Leguziamo, David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Donnie Walhberg, and Ving Rhames, served as yet another hard but valuable lesson in filmmaking .

Robert Patton-Spruill and Ving Rhames (Pike) on the set of BODY COUNT. Directing has its moments. [Photo courtesy of Jon Farmer]

"I was hired 3 to 4 weeks before the shoot date," according to Spruill. "They had paid a lot for the script and they basically just needed someone to be there to call action and cut. In fact, I didn’t even know who was in the movie until the first days of shooting. Don’t get me wrong–I was really thankful for the opportunity to make a six figure salary. But at the same time, I had no idea what I was jumping into. I had culture shock. I couldn’t believe that they’d pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for talent, but they wouldn’t pay $5,000 to have the script storyboarded. After making SQUEEZE, I didn’t understand that the creative elements of the film would be secondary to the marketability of it. I mean, they had $6 million dollars to put together a movie on the fly, while I had spent a year rehearsing every last detail of my script and was still able to put SQUEEZE together for one one-hundredth of that cost."

Depressed and disenchanted, Spruill began to focus on an idea that was always kicking around in his head: a dream of creating a production company on his own terms. Fortunately, the money he received for BODY COUNT allowed him to take the next step and bring Film Shack to life.

"After BODY COUNT, I didn’t say ‘No more Hollywood,’ but I also knew that I wasn’t suited to a lifestyle in the Hollywood Hills. My life as a storyteller is much more fulfilling here in Boston. Besides, I would much rather make little movies here that no one sees than make big movies in Hollywood that everyone hates. Making movies was no longer a mystery to me–all I needed was to put an infrastructure in place."

Spruill found the perfect place to build that infrastructure when he and his wife were driving through the Fort Hill section of Roxbury and noticed an old ambulance building on 227 Roxbury Street. They discovered that the building was for sale and Spruill quickly put a down payment on it. It took them a year to close on the building and three years later, on March 19th, the production company he has always dreamed of will open its doors. Joining him in his new venture are Lenny Manzo and Jesse Swayze, who will be in charge of equipment rental; Joshua Spruill, Head of Development; and Patti Moreno, Spruill’s wife and Head of Business Affairs and Co-Financing.

"Film Shack was borne partly out of frustration with always having to rent everything for my film projects and having to get them back to the rental companies by a certain date–or face homelessness. And that always affected my creativity. With Film Shack, I’ll have all the necessary machines and tools in place. I mean, what portrait painter doesn’t have his own brush?"

He also looks forward to more control from both a creative and business perspective. "I get tremendous joy out of being a boutique studio head," he marvels. "Finally, I have infrastructure in place where I can say, ‘I’m going to greenlight that picture.’ In five years, I think me and my partners are going to rewrite the rules. Especially now as the technology shifts, we’re poised to change the way independent movies are made and the way they are distributed. With new delivery formats like Broadband, we’ll be able to pump more movies out to more audiences than ever before."

Candid shot from BODY COUNT, David Caruso (Hobbs) and John Leguizamo (Chino) [Photo courtesy of Margaret Caruso]

Unlike other producers in town who rent their office space, Spruill owns the Film Shack building. Producers and filmmakers can go to the shop to rent grip electric, 35mm, super 16, regular 16 and digital video cameras, as well as Avid equipment, Final Cut Pro systems, and duplication. He will also have editors, Avid trainers, and experts who can teach just about anything to do with filmmaking. Production space will also be available for both long-term or short-term usage.

"Why should people choose Film Shack?" Spruill poses. "Because we have everything you need to make independent films and commercials–at a lower price. We can handle a multi-million dollar feature or a $10,000 short. But ultimately what makes us most different is that we’ve been there, done that. And the experience makes us better prepared to serve the independent filmmaker’s needs than anyone else."

Spruill decided to set up camp in Roxbury because it is where he feels most comfortable. "It’s my neighborhood and I belong here. I’m doing business here for the same reason Spike Lee make movies in Brooklyn," Spruill explains.

Although Spruill is just opening his doors, his development pot is already full. His most recent job was serving as Executive Producer on Emmy-nominated Ellie Lee’s drama DOG DAYS. He’s now gearing up for three promising feature projects which he will direct. The first film, entitled TRIFECTA, was written by Gloucester native Jay Curcuru and will star Christopher Penn, Nick Turturro, and David Caruso, who optioned the script. According to Spruill, the project is fully-packaged and ready-to-go as soon as financing comes through. The second film in development is ROUND TRIP FARE, a script Spruill co-wrote with former B.U. film professor and personal friend Mel Howard before his death. The film will be co-produced by Michele LeBrun, Howard’s wife. The third film in development is not yet titled, but is set to star Donnie Wahlberg. According to Spruill, "Donnnie and I remained close after we met on the set of BODY COUNT. In fact, we staye d in the same trailer on the set–the crew called it the ‘Boston Trailer’ and put a big picture of Larry Bird on it. Donnie is a lightning rod for creativity and a one-man development engine."

And if all that’s not enough, Spruill recently joined the faculty at Mass. Art where he will teach the Narrative Screenplay and the Narrative Motion Picture. He’s also working on his first book, HOW I MADE MY FIRST MOVIE AND SOLD IT FOR A MILLION DOLLARS.

As he looks back on the road that led him here, Spruill isn’t jaded or bitter toward the Hollywood system. In fact, it’s only made him trust in his own instincts even more.

"My real issue with Hollywood is that nobody knows anything–but everyone thinks they know a lot. It’s all a guess. You can’t predict anything. That’s why independent filmmakers have got to go with their hearts. If you do that and people accept it, great. If they don’t, you still gotta keep pushing on. You’re probably ahead of your time. And that’s exactly what’s happening now with SQUEEZE. People are watching it and having the response I’d originally hoped and prayed for."

Holly Madden is an award-winning filmmaker, as well as one of the premier film writers in New England. She is a regular contributor to Imagine News and Newenglandfilm.com.