MONTPELIER — A local filmmaker’s latest movie is headed to Montpelier’s Savoy Theater next week as part of a larger effort to bring more movie-making to the state.
Hosted by the Vermont Production Collective, the April 16 event will feature the latest version of “Leather Clad,” written and directed by Thomas Benton. The movie itself was filmed in Vermont, after Benton and co-producer (and lead actor) Matt Munroe wanted to see what they’d be able to bring to the big screen.
Years later, the film has been shot and edited into this final version, now ready for its larger release.
“There’s something special about bringing it to Montpelier and exposing the lawmakers to this ground level of debauchery,” Benton said. “There’s something exciting about that.”
Filming in Vermont
Benton is one of many people across Vermont interested in growing the movie industry in the Green Mountains. Because, Hollywood isn’t doing so great. Worldwide box office numbers continue to deteriorate post-pandemic and few movies — outside of James Cameron’s “Avatar” films and endless CGI movies for kids — have been able to bring in the revenue that was common just a decade ago.
Could Vermont fill the gap? Maybe.
Benton and his team have tried to answer that entertainment problem by going niche. Using a low budget and unique approach, the goal was to film something that felt a little more real.
“We’ve gotten to such a corporate, mass media perspective, where we’re at such a point where nothing looks like life as we know it,” he said. “You look at movies in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and it was like, you look at the actors and think, they remind me of someone, or maybe I could be that. You can find that there was a still tangible connection in reality. There’s none of that now.”
Eventually, he was able to find the talent to do it. After a little searching, it turns out Vermont has an abundance of people with movie-making experience.
“We clearly have a really bizarre amount of film industry expats in the state who are just looking for work and going elsewhere,” Benton said.
In many ways, it’s how his own movie got off the ground. Benton ran into Munroe — who has performed in a handful of roles in movies and television — and found a shared vision about wanting to get a movie together. So they pushed ahead.
The result is “Leather Clad.” Due to budgetary constraints, they stuck to simple locations and cast Munroe to play the main character while bringing on multiple actors — some from New England — to fill out the ensemble.
Benton and his team then took care of much of the production crew work as well as post-production to edit the movie down into its current version. Benton already showed a first cut of the movie, rolling it out at the Welden Theatre at an event this past September, but he said that version has since been updated extensively for the showing at Montpelier’s Savoy.
“The first cut is – I think it should be this. The second cut is – okay, it’s not that. Maybe it could be this? And then the third cut is – this is what it is. Here’s what we actually shot. Here’s how it works,” he said.
VPC and movies
If “Leather Clad” entertains audiences and gains fans, then Benton is hoping that Vermont’s moviemaking industry might gain some momentum. The Vermont Production Collective is definitely trying to push the needle by featuring the local movie. It’s the second feature to be a part of the new series rolled out by the organization, called VPC Presents, to focus on grassroot perspectives.
Altogether, the group has identified 55 separate movies — some features and some shorts — which have had portions shot in Vermont. Some are well-known, like “Beetlejuice,” but most come from Vermont’s slate of independent filmmakers, many of them organized under the VPC name.
Enosburgh’s own Shayna Sherwood, for example, serves on the group’s advisory board. As an experienced casting director, she too would like to see movie-making take off in Vermont.
“I personally believe we are at a turning point in film, television and media. The way we create and consume content has changed dramatically and is changing daily,” she said in a written statement. “My hope for this (VPC Presents) event is we start to build a bridge between Vermont’s creative community, its policymakers and the out-of-state professionals who have a connection to this beautiful place. Because there is a real opportunity in front of us.”
Benton agreed, although he sees three obstacles to that goal — funding, branding and bankability. Essentially, much of Vermont’s film industry consists of smaller productions, sometimes self-funded, and there needs to be more financial backers who are comfortable taking the chance to invest in something larger.
Most states offer incentive programs to help, but Vermont has shied away from the approach after the legislature put together a report researching the idea.
There also needs to be a few more advocates for filmmakers, especially on the state level. While Vermont likes to brand itself as being a “remote worker” hub in order to grow its workforce, few lump film professionals into that list. That could be changed to help re-orient people’s ideas of what the state could be if there was a larger industry.
And finally, Benton said the local film industry could use a bigger hit — a movie that gets people talking on a wider regional level — in order to be able to expand and grow. Until that happens, any “grassroots” efforts will likely continue to be overshadowed by Hollywood’s glossy content factory.
“This isn’t a huge industry anyway, so how do you budge the needle? You’ve got to have, honestly, even just a big success splash or something, to get it going,” Benton said.
“Leather Clad” could be it. The movie starts at Montpelier’s Savoy Theater (located at 26 Main St.) at 7 p.m. on April 16. A pre-film reception is also planned at 5:30 p.m. at Hugo’s Bar & Grill
Following the showing, Benton said there will also be a panel discussion featuring moviemakers and film advocates for those interested.
As for “Leather Clad,” VPC provided the following movie summary: “After a shooting sends them running for cover, a newly released ex-con and a game warden’s daughter realize they’re being hunted—and neither knows why.” From Vermont filmmaker Thomas Benton, starring Vermonter Matt Munroe, Anne Clark, Paul Romero, Jeff Elam and Jamison Jones. Runtime: 82 minutes.
