`BoyBand' gets spot on center stage.

• Position: GO! - Movie review

Byline: Richard Duckett

The beat officially begins Friday for the locally made movie "BoyBand: Breakin' Through in '82" with its premiere and at least a weeklong opening run at Showcase Cinemas Worcester North.

In the film, Brad, a star quarterback at Worcester High School, quits his team to turn his heavy metal band into the first ever boy band in 1982.

There's a parallel story of sorts.

Actress, screenplay writer and film producer Andrea Ajemian left Los Angeles to return to her native Central Massachusetts to make movies in the Worcester area. Much of her time has been spent producing a "commercial teen comedy" called ... "BoyBand."

"This has been my life now for four years," Ajemian said during an interview last week at the Artigo/Ajemian Films production offices in the Printer's Building, 44 Portland St., Worcester, where songs were recorded and much of the film was painstakingly edited over 18 months after "BoyBand" was shot entirely in Worcester County over five weeks in summer 2008.

Ajemian didn't seem nervous, per se, but there was a certain creative nervous energy abroad in the office last week. "Even though it's finally done, it's just starting, in essence," she said of the road that's still ahead for "BoyBand." The hope is that "BoyBand" will generate buzz and get national attention. National Amusements Inc., which operates Showcase Cinemas, has indicated "BoyBand" could stay at Showcase North for longer than a week if it does well. The film is also scheduled to open June 11 at Showcase Cinemas Revere.

"A movie like this is all about marketing. I'm nervous about all the details coming together well. What if the bulb breaks on the projector?" Ajemian said.

There are lots of other stories and subplots concerning "BoyBand," which on its own terms looks as if it is an infectiously enjoyable, exuberant film.

Put together on a budget of $750,000 - modest by movie standards - "BoyBand" has 11 Hollywood actors (including Michael Copon as Brad), 41 speaking roles overall and 300 to 400 extras, many of whom get well-placed in the film's scenes. As a result of their appearance in "BoyBand" - and a point of great pride for Ajemian - 21 local actors are now eligible for Screen Actors Guild membership.

"Boyband" was written and directed by Jon Artigo, Ajemian's collaborator and business partner with Artigo/Ajemian Films. The two have combined on three previous films - "Rutland, USA," "Freedom Park" and "Still Green." Ajemian said that Artigo...