Treatment
My friend Larry Gus
Larry Gus is a “flowertronica” musician – as a journalist has written, or a computer systems’ engineer or just a 28-year-old guy, living with his mom in his little home town in north Greece. Or then again, all of the above. But, above all that, Larry Gus is my friend.
This is how Vassilis Katsoupis, director of “My friend Larry Gus” wishes to approach the subject of his documentary. Simply. Truthfully. Sincerely. The idea is to follow Larry Gus in all the places that have formed his memories, music, his sentimental overflows, his harsh cynisicm, his bromantic relationships…
But, getting back to the beginning of this idea, what is the idea?
My friend Larry Gus is a fly on the wall documentary, exploring the social aspects of one individual, in this case Pananagiotis Melidis aka Larry Gus. The word larrygus in greek means Larynx making his nick name a wonderful wordplay.
CHARACTERS
Larry Gus
Originating from a small town in north Greece, Veroia, at the age of 18, he moved just a few miles away to study computer science in Volos, a seaside city of middle Greece. This is where he started experimenting with different kinds of music, exploring continuously till he discovered his unique style, along with his unique music persona, Larry Gus. After finishing his studies and completing his military service, he hang around in Athens for a year, playing in gigs and working after hours at a call center. He then made it all the way to Barcelona, for his master’s degree in a field that combines his computer engineering knowledge with music. And then, he just got a call. A call that made Larry Gus leave Barcelona and return to Greece, to dive into a project no one is supposed to know of. He is right now at his birth town, back to where it all started, deep into working, putting deadline after deadline to himself.
Stratos
The childhood friend of Larry. Living with his mother and his brother in Veroia, he goes for long car rides with Larry Gus, driving his old pick up car around rural places and farms. They talk extensively about their friendship and about the loss of Stratos’s father due to committing suicide.
HIS FRIENDS
A bunch of people coming from various places of Greece that are well educated and also with strong sense of humour and cynicism. They all adore Woody Allen’s films, that they often quote and rarely miss a Larry Gus performance.
Actually, Larry Gus gigs are the meeting points and the starting points of endless philosophical – and sometimes meaningless – conversations.
Larry Gus’s social net is all that matters to him. He constantly expresses his true real love for his friends, in a different and unique way for each and every one of them. Just like a bohemian of other eras, Larry Gus is a genuine bromantic: not afraid to express his love for true friends, in a very straight way…
STYLE
Shot entirely on HDSLR by the director himself following Larry Gus in the places that shaped his music and also his quest to make his new album. In order to keep an intimate atmosphere there will be a very small crew consisting by the director himself. The style is verite and many times with out of focus camera work and poor sound that will be subtitled.
Additional material will be included, which will be by i-phone and digital Harinezumi.
MUSIC
In controversy to the common sense there will be no usage of Larry Gus’s music as a soundtrack. The soundtrack of the film will be consisted of vintage music recordings from the 10’s and 20’s found in archive.org. The music produced by Larry Gus himself will be heard only from his performances and sound checks during his gigs.
LOCATIONS
The film will be shot on location on various places in Greece and abroad.
The main shooting will be in his birthplace Veroia and Volos, the place that studied and spent his early adulthood. Additional locations will be Athens during meeting with friends
After finishing recording his album we intend to follow him back to Barcelona in order him to catch up with his studies. If the record company accepts the release we will fly to LA in order to meet in person with the record producers.
OVERALL ATMOSPHERE
The fact that the director is actually one of Larry Gus’s friends is one of the basic documentary elements. The director and the musician. The observer and the subject. But, most of all, a dialogue between two friends.
