Three years ago, Andrew Connelly was spending the start of his summer at a tennis court in Central Massachusetts.

He wasn’t there to pick up the lessons he had taken when he was 12 years old. It was all work, no play and strictly business.

What was the work exactly? Sitting in the bleachers with actress Zendaya as an extra in the movie Challengers.

The Prequel

Connelly’s interest in film started when he was just 6 years old on family vacations to Maine where his older brother would film their own rendition of The Hulk.

While being in front of the camera was always of interest, being behind it took center stage when his brother went to college and left his camera at home. Connelly taught himself everything he now knows by watching YouTube videos and then started making short films, even having some featured in small film festivals.

Once he got to college himself (with his brother’s camera in tow) he continued to explore his passion and got an itch for production. With all of the time spent working on film sets and independent projects, Connelly created a professional avenue for his work.

With his height and hair color in mind, Big Red Productions was born!

From sketches to local commercials, short films to documentaries, Connelly produces all of this content during his 5-to-9 after his 9-to-5 and posts it on Instagram and Youtube.

Now, Back to the Show

For two long weeks, Connelly had to be in those bleachers as they filmed one scene over, and over, and over. The production team paired him up with a man named Bob Viens, whom he got to know pretty well, pretty fast. Once he learned that Viens was raised in Southie, the stories and the lure started to unfold.

Of course, Connelly had heard of the notorious neighborhood. His father was born there. But, he only really heard about the “gritty reputation” from reading books and from his new set buddy.

Like many, Connelly was a college transplant, moving to Southie with a few friends after graduating. On one of his routine adventuring walks, he noticed a lot of construction and new builds in the area. Then it hit him.

What if the construction crew dug something up that probably wasn’t intended to be…?

As he walked back to his apartment, he suddenly knew what his next film was going to be.

3…2…1…ACTION

“Mulvahill is a dark comedy about a young realtor named Sean, who against his Uncle Charlie’s wishes, decides to sell the family Southie home. After finding evidence that links Charlie to a criminal past, the two have to work together to clear it before the developers come.” 

If you read the phrase dark comedy and got spooked, don’t worry. This isn’t one of those films that has you checking under your bed and in your closets at night. While there is a crime element, it’s not super serious and Connelly just wanted to make it an entertaining watch.

He wrote the script outline in a journal during a roadtrip to Nashville. After peer feedback and five rewrites, he had his movie. Now, he just needed some actors.

One person immediately came to mind: His bleacher buddy and Southie native, Bob Viens. In fact, Connelly wrote the script with Viens in mind as Charlie and another actor he had worked with in the past, Nolan Donato, as Sean.

Something that was different about making this film than his past ones is this was his first time having a film crew. “Normally, it’s just me, the camera and the actors,” Connelly said. “It was a learning curve, but I’m very thankful to actually have [had] those people.”

He hopes viewers will enjoy the “Mulvahill scene”, which he finds to be the most intense and will explain the film’s name.

Walk the Southie Red Carpet

Now that you know all about the mastermind behind Mulvahill…

If you’re looking for plans on July 19, look no further. Already have plans? Cancel them! You’re going to the premiere of Mulvahill at Seapoint Bar & Grille.

It was important to Connelly to keep the Southie roots strong and stay local for the premiere of the film. Doors open at 8:00 PM and the movie will start at 9:00 PM. With a cash bar, raffle prizes and more, what better way to celebrate a Southie resident’s movie about Southie, than in a Southie bar?

You can RSVP to the event here and watch the trailer before you go!

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Back in the bleachers, the two extras were trading war stories in between takes. For Viens, that meant childhood memories in South Boston and for Connelly that meant college tales from UMass Amherst.

But before they could really dive deep into their next topic of conversation, a “QUIET ON SET” interrupted them.

The match was about to begin.