"He had a guy in his office who said he was a producer and wanted to make a movie in New Bedford," Mr. Motta recalls.
The "guy" turned out to be David Bakalar, and he wanted someone to show him the town. As the city's director
of marketing and tourism, that's Mr. Motta's job. "When?"
he asked Mr. Mathes on the phone.
"Now,"
the Chamber president said.
And the rest
is New Bedford movie history.
Now, two weeks
into the shooting of "Passionada," Mr. Motta is the city's point man
on the $5 million, contemporary romantic comedy. It's the first feature film to
be shot here in 80 years, and tells a story of New Bedford's Portuguese.
Mr. Motta is
in touch with the "Passionada" locations manager and others several times a
day. He spends much of his time making sure light poles are moved, parking
meters are bagged, and in general, keeping the gears of cinema well-oiled. He's
quick to credit other city employees for
their contributions, but he's the one who, over more than two years, kept a
light in the window for the filmmakers. Now, the city and neighboring towns are alive with the comings and goings of a real movie production. By the time filming ends, probably in early July, the nearly 100-person "Passionada" cast and crew will have bounced around some 40 locations, most in New Bedford. Back in 1998, Mr. Bakalar, of Chestnut Hill, had no script. But he had an idea for a story about three generations of Portuguese women in New Bedford. "I had no way of telling whether it was legitimate," Mr. Motta says, "but the more I talked to him, the more I thought he knew what he was talking about." Eventually, the producer hired two screenwriters. Soon, Mr. Motta was giving them tours, too -- "easily a couple of dozen times." He made it clear the city would neither endorse nor assist a film that portrayed New Bedford in a bad light. "I told them, 'I don't want to sound like the Minister of Propaganda, but I need to see the script. And if the story slams the city, you're on your own.'" So, co-screenwriters Jim and Steve Jermanok showed him a rough draft. "It was very retro -- the kind of romance you'd expect to see in the 1940s, about a tenacious group of women," Mr. Motta says. The film's principals posed lots of questions about matters Portuguese. Mr. Motta secured local Azorean culture maven Mary Vermette to provide answers.
Then, for
a
long time, there was silence. Mr. Motta worried that the production had fallen
through. But this
past January, Jim Jermanok, also the movie's executive producer, called.
"He
told me, 'Arthur, I'm coming to town with some principal crew members,'"
Mr. Motta said.
A month ago,
the film folks pulled in, bringing all their New York, frenetic energy and
setting up a "back lot" operation -- rehearsal rooms, prop and
costume departments, clerical workers, etc. -- in a suite of offices at 758
Purchase St., downtown.
Locals even
remotely involved with tourism hope "Passionada" will act as an
accelerant.
"We can
buy a lot of advertising, but we can't get this kind of advertising," Mr.
Motta says. "People watch movies. To be able to introduce them to the
streets and the people of New Bedford is undeniably a great thing for the
city." His mission, he says, is to "lace New Bedford into the film as often and as seamlessly as possible." One benefit, he hopes, will be the ability to lure other TV and movie productions. "It turns out the film industry is very small. That we do a good job on this makes all the difference. ... Word of mouth is very important." "It's really an industry we can court. I'd like to be able to say to scouting agencies, 'Do you need 19th-century street scenes? Do you need water views? We might be able to help you.'" Mr. Motta has optimistically compared "Passionada" to "The Perfect Storm," which was filmed in Gloucester and brought that city a ton of attention. "'Perfect Storm' even gave us a boost," Mr. Motta says, referring to last summer. "People came here wanting to see a working fishing port. Some got New Bedford and Gloucester confused. It was a firestorm in Gloucester, and it bumped some tourism here."
Many locals -- those of Portuguese descent and others -- worried that the title "Passionada" (not a Portuguese word) and a lead character named "Sally" (not a Portuguese name) signaled a lack of caring on the part of the filmmakers.
Eventually,
after hearing from enough locals, the filmmakers changed Sally's name to Celia.
The bottom line, Mr. Motta says, is that "Passionada" is fiction and the moviemakers are exercising artistic license. He believes local folks understand that and are growing more relaxed on the issue.
His need to do work on things not related to "Passionada" -- the city's activity calendar, visitor center renovations -- is making for long days and weeks. The movie, he says, "is a drop-what-you're-doing-and-do-this kind of task ... It's an exciting time. "I should almost run an ad apologizing to people for the meetings I've missed," he says. Pointing to stacks of paperwork and phone messages, he adds, "And these are getting higher. "But it hasn't just been me," he emphasizes, praising the mayor's office, public works and wire departments, police and traffic departments, harbor development people and more. "Countless city workers have been involved, from sweeping the streets to making sure we're always a day ahead of them. "Everyone's got it. If a city wants to do this, it's a bend-over-backwards exercise. Just when you think you've performed a request, there's another one at the 59th minute. They depend on you," Mr. Motta says. "That's where a city gets the reputation of being film-friendly."
Although there's a shooting schedule, it's very fluid. Weather and other factors can send things in a completely different direction. An actor's departure can gum things up. Take leading man David O'Hara, who reportedly left the production last week. Executive Producer Jermanok yesterday refused to comment on the situation, saying only that when there was an announcement to make, he (Mr. Jermanok) would make it. According to one report, filming continues -- of scenes without Mr. O'Hara's character -- but that shooting might have to halt temporarily while a replacement is found.
Reflecting on the work he's doing with "Passionada," Mr. Motta paraphrases Italian director Federico Fellini, saying, "Making a movie is a process of discovery. It's what you find along the way."
(It's come to that: Arthur Motta quoting Fellini.)
"It has certainly been a process of discovery for us," he says, sighing. "But it's worth all the effort, and it's kind of fun."