Allie Bombz is Bringing Hotel Vernon To Sundance
By Patrick Douglas

“There was like a huge brawl spilling out of the Vernon and dudes were like f*cking smashing each other with pool sticks and there was a dude that smacked into a car and my mother was flipping out and pegged it. Gunned it through Kelly Square and somehow we emerged.”

That was just one of the early memories that resonated with Worcester local Allie Bombz when talking about one of New England’s most (in)famous buildings ~ the Hotel Vernon.

It was a suggested gig at the Vernon that began a series of events which led to Allie’s documentary focusing on the history of the landmark.

A key member of local music legends Average White Boys, Allie B hadn’t really even checked out the joint until a friend tried to set up a show there.
“My buddy dragged me down there and the whole place is like a fossil and I was flabbergasted,” recalled Allie B, who is right now in L.A. editing the film. “I was so amazed to see it.”

Mesmerized by the famous mural depiction of the poem “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Allie B began seeing a metaphor for the story of the sailors and the albatross they pursued.

“I was like, ‘Are you nuts? I’m gonna make a documentary and film a lot of this place,’” he said.

After securing a few dollars for a budget, Allie B began the process of compiling interviews and footage. It required a stint living in the hotel where he got a first hand look at what was going on in the building.

“I spent a year, I moved into the hotel and basically…there’s f*cking roaches everywhere and other mongrels and the hotel had just changed hands to the current owner who was a friend of mine and he was cleaning it up,” he said. “I was there at the beginning when it was still as grimy as it had been for thirty years.

“It was kind of like going to prison in a lot of ways. Those rooms are like jail cells to those guys,” he continued. “It’s kind of like an end of the line for people who have nowhere else to go.”

For the film, Allie went to the source and spoke to those who were close to the action for many years.

“I did a lot of investigating about the charisma of the hotel and found a bunch of people in the neighborhood like World War II vets…a lot of whom have since passed away since I interviewed them. This project actually took me to a billionaire’s mansion on Long Island on a beach next to Jerry Seinfeld’s house.”

His research not only produced some great footage, but dragged the filmmaker into a dark time in his life.

“The hotel really sucked me in,” he said. “I kind of got glommed into that lifestyle. It’s completely f*cking haunted. People have been born in there. A lot of people have died in there. Desperate people.”

“The place had a pretty good hold on me for awhile,” Allie B explained. “My friend who brought me there, he runs a homeless shelter, he was freaking out. He was like, ‘Dude, let’s get the f*ck out of there, man. You’re turning into a Vernonite.’ I was drinking a lot. Smoking. It really got a hold of me.”

Established filmmakers like Spike Jonze have offered their support and help on the project and Jonze’s brother Sam has even contributed to the soundtrack.

Once the editing process is complete and the over 250 hours of footage (100 in hi-def, the other 150 in AVI ~ low-res for “more intimate stuff”) is trimmed down, Allie B plans on entering the flick into the festival circuit, including Sundance.

“I feel pretty good that when this is done, festivals will probably like it,” he said.