`PLAN B' CREATORS ARE PUNY BUT LOUD; INDIE FILM MADE FOR JUST $300,000.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Lulu Baskins-Leva decided to become a Hollywood producer three years ago while watching ``Clerks,'' the offbeat comedy that was made for a mere $27,000 and grossed $3 million.

Baskins-Leva, a literary agent, actress and story analyst, had persuaded husband Gary Leva and friend Nancy Joslin into seeing the film, which portrays a hellish day in the life of a New Jersey convenience store clerk.

``After it was over, I told Gary and Nancy, `We could do this,' '' Baskins-Leva said.

Three years and $300,000 later, their Granada Hills-based Puny But Loud Productions is releasing ``Plan B'' at the United Artists Warner Center in Woodland Hills and the Mann Westwood for one-week runs starting Friday, followed by showings next month in Dallas and Detroit.

``We knew that the only way we could make this would be to have a script that people would like enough to work on for minimum salaries,'' Leva said. ``The key to `Clerks' was that although it didn't have much in production values, it had a good script that brought the characters to life.''

The original plan was to make a movie for $50,000 on 16 millimeter film. Their first break came when an investor liked the romantic comedy script enough to kick in $100,000, so Leva switched to 35 millimeter stock.

They also received a boost when Jon Cryer agreed to play the lead role of novelist Stuart Winer. Baskins-Leva had handed a script to Cryer - best known for roles in ``Pretty in Pink'' and ``Hot Shots!'' - while he was performing at the Getty Museum.

``The reality is that you need stars to get movies made,'' Joslin said. ``It's the first thing that financial people and audiences ask.''

Puny But Loud eventually raised $300,000, including funds from their own families and credit cards. About 60 percent was spent on filming the movie, and the rest went to post-production.

Development of the script took place over 18 months during evenings and weekends around the kitchen table in the Levas' home. The 19-day shoot took place mostly at their house in the summer of 1996.

All the while, the producers kept costs as low as possible. For example, actors and crew were paid at scale plus some ``back-end'' participation in profits.

``We did things like cutting down the number of characters from eight to five and keeping the movement from one scene to another to a minimum,'' Leva said. ``The idea was that it's not really a problem if everyone knows that everyone else is working for less money than they could get elsewhere.''

Joslin stressed to investors that buying into ``Plan B'' was a high-risk investment, much like gambling in Las Vegas except that the payout would be years away. ``Our investors are in this because they love the movie,'' she said.

The film got a solid reception at independent film festivals, winning the best comedy award at Breckenridge, Colo., but was not able to snag a studio deal in exchange for distribution rights.

``Plan B'' resembles standard studio fare and plays like an updated version of ``thirtysomething,'' the popular series that ran for four years on ABC starting in 1987. Leva, who wrote and directed, said that giving ``Plan B'' a mainstream look and feel was quite deliberate.

`` `Plan B' really doesn't have an indie-film edge to it,'' Leva said. ``There are no prostitutes, hit men or heroin.''

As a result, it's no surprise that studios weren't interested, said filmmaker Neil Mandt, who took a similar route in self-releasing his comedy ``Hollywood Hijacking'' this year.

`` `Plan B' has a really nice look to it, and that's difficult to sell as a nonstudio production,'' he said. ``It's not grainy and there's nothing film-festivalish about it.''

Richard Walsh, senior vice president of AMC West, said his chain occasionally will take a chance on a film like ``Plan B.''

``We're always looking at new sources for films,'' he said. ``We don't reject anything categorically.''

Puny But Loud has no illusions about trying to topple the studio system. Its officers just want to get their movie into theaters, and they remain full of confidence that word-of-mouth will take care of the rest.

Their latest luck seems to be on the good side. Leva spent weeks calling ``The Tonight Show,'' seeking a slot for Cryer so he could promote the movie. He was rewarded with a spot last week after a scheduled guest canceled.

Can all this work out? Puny But Loud believes the combination of domestic box office and rights sales to foreign territories, TV and video eventually will lead to a profit for its investors. Mandt says he has now made back ``on paper'' the $150,000 he spent on ``Hollywood Hijacking'' and stresses that independent films' day has come, to the benefit of moviegoers.

``In the long run, consumers are going to make out,'' he said. ``An independent film used to mean it was badly done, but there's really no stigma anymore. There are going to be a lot more Neil Mandts and Gary Levas out there.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) From left, Lulu Baskins-Leva, Gary Leva and Nancy Joslin made their film ``Plan B'' for $300,000.

(2--Color) (Gary Leva, director, pictured at far left conferring with actors Jon Cryer and Lisa Darr)

Phil McCarten/Daily News