New movie 'Battle for Granite Records' is a love letter to NH and its creative spirit
Sep. 9—The title might be the "The Battle for Granite Records," but filmmaker Joshua Guptel's feature debut is a peaceful love letter to his native New Hampshire.
Filming wrapped up at the end of August in a project shot exclusively in Dover, Rochester and Somersworth.
"It's great out here," says Guptel, who was born in Dover, raised in Lee and Barrington and now lives in Rochester. "It was a really great place to grow up — being around the beach and just 45 minutes from getting into the White Mountains."
The movie, set for release this fall, is a fictional tale that centers around a family's fight to keep their imperiled record label from the hands of a cutthroat business.
But for Guptel, it's also a time capsule.
"It's a nice stroll down memory lane, with many personal parallels," he says of both the region that shaped him as an artist and the growing pains he experienced during youth and then again as a parent.
"I want to make sure people don't forget about these places. When that generation is gone, the memories are gone."
He talks about Dover spots, including the Dungeon nightclub, a building that now houses K9 to 5 Dog Services; the Spartan Lounge that has transformed into 603 Bar and Lounge; and Buck's Cafe, which is now the Taste of India.
The one-time standup comic has experienced his own business loss — one of many "COVID casualties" in recent years. He closed down Curlies Comedy Club in Rochester when the pandemic shutdown meant a loss of clientele and revenue.
Regional ties
Set for release in the fall, "The Battle for Granite Records" has a cast, crew and production team with lots of New Hampshire ties, from songs on the soundtrack by Yamica Peterson to Chris Gagne, assistant cinematographer and actor who portrays the CEO and owner of a rival record label challenging the Falcon family.
Gagne, who grew up in Methuen, Mass, but moved to Rochester last November, says he didn't go to the places Guptel remembers frequenting but he's become a patron of some now, including Janetos Market on Dover's Main Street.
Filming throughout the Seacoast has been a surprising process.
"It's a noticeable change from my work down in Massachusetts," says Gagne, whose "day job" is in photography, with a focus on architecture and real estate as well as portrait work.
Thanks to A-list stars like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who came from the Boston area, there's been an influx of Hollywood-minded films over the border.
"They see more of the business side of it. I know a couple of years ago in Haverhill I noticed Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence were filming a movie there, and they shut down a couple of streets for a time. When Denzel Washington came to shoot 'The Equalizer" down in Salisbury, that was an interesting sort of experience. It's an evolving landscape down there," he says.
But there's a reason that people, especially indie filmmakers, look to New Hampshire for its rural landscapes and tucked-away communities and businesses. The reception they received was like families welcoming family through the front door.
"There's always a story to be told and people wanting to hear them," Gagne says.
Part of that story involves Guptel's portrayal of a man passed over by an intense industry.
The filmmaker drew inspiration from his own frustrating efforts to make a living for over a decade in standup comedy, and how all the time on the road impacted his relationships with his family, including his children — Austin, 28, Veronica, 18, and Nathias, 9.
"There were a lot of times when I wasn't home on the weekends," he said. "Veronica and I star in this movie, and it's brought up a lot of really tough conversations about our personal life because it is very much about a father who works too much when the child is young and (then has) to come back and pick up the pieces when the father fails," Guptel said, adding that Nathias also is in the film.
Competitive spirit
It takes a competitive spirit to follow a film from the concept phase and writing to filming and editing. Guptel laughs and says a high school track rivalry helped hone his skills at an early age.
Celebrated tap dancer Aaron Tolson, of Bedford, may be a sensation on national stages — a prodigy who performed at the Apollo Theatre when he was just 14 — but to Guptel he's still that teen runner from Manchester's Memorial High School whom he used to beat in sprints.
Tolson remembers how classmates would warn him to watch out for this speedy older kid from Dover High School. When he finally did spot him at a joint meet, it was like coming face to face with some kind of legend.
"I saw him standing at the top of the steps and oooooh, I was afraid," Tolson says, laughing. "If you're a fan of wrestling, it's like Hulk Hogan just walked in, or if you're into basketball, it's LeBron James. There was just an aura to him of confidence and greatness. He was a natural leader."
Guptel beat Tolson in the 100- and 200-meters and then again when both went to the state championship meet.
Then the tables turned and Tolson started crossing the finish line first. Tolson set high school records, then did the same at St. John's University in New York, on a full athletic scholarship.
"But he still terrified me," Tolson said. "Even though I was running faster than him, it didn't matter. He was him. He's going to come here and teach me a lesson and tell me how it's done. But it turned into a mentorship. He was two years older than me. Those were super fun times."
With mock sarcasm, Guptel, who won several awards for his short film "Like. Share. Subscribe" and runs Olive Tree Films, says he's still not convinced Tolson, a longtime teacher at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, chose the right career.
Tolson says he's still a little intimidated.
