Tacoma is far from the first choice for many filmmakers to shoot their work.

But for local filmmakers Rick Gratzer and Jeff Bass, it was the only location that made sense.

The two have been making films together since their days in Clover Park Technical College’s Media Design Program and classes at the Seattle Film Institute, and so far their only cinematic claim to fame has been their clever short comedies featured in the Grand Cinema’s 72-hour Film Festival for the past four years.

On March 16, the duo will show their first full-length endeavor “Bestsellers” to a local audience at a one-time event at the Grand Cinema.

Shot completely in Tacoma in the summer of 2008, some of the city’s favorite spots and local landmarks (King’s Books, Blue Mouse Theater, Over The Moon Cafe, The Hob Knob, Wright Park and Bob’s Java Jive, to name a few) provide the backdrop for the comedy that follows a young, aspiring author through the harsh reality of what it may mean to get his story published.

“I came up with the characters and they dictated what the plot was,” Gratzer said about writing his screenplay two years ago. “But the theme ended up being something that really does mean a lot to me.”

Bass, who has co-directed, written and produced with Gratzer for years didn’t even know the script was in the making at the time.

“He just showed up at my house and said ‘Alright. I sold everything I own, I wrote a script and I want to shoot a movie this summer.’ It caught me off guard, but wasn’t doing anything, wasn’t going back to work anytime soon,” said Bass, who had recently gotten laid off of from his job.  “I thought it was really funny, all the characters were really likable and it brought up Tacoma real well. I dug it. I was in.”

So they put out a call for actors, attracting a crowd largely from Seattle at the Tacoma audition, and established a tight, month-long shooting schedule for production.

Gratzer was still working part-time, and Bass’ wife had just given birth to their second child.

Since many of the actors were commuting, and all were working for free, the producers were at the mercy of the cast’s busy schedules.  

Following filming, editing and music took the better part of the next year to complete before Gratzer was satisfied with the finished product, and began promoting his film to festivals nation-wide.

“I’m glad we actually finished it - and we were able to create something that I think is good and that we should be proud of,” says Bass. ” A lot of things could have gone wrong.”

“I don’t think anyone thinks their first movie right out of the gate is going to be right up there with Stanley Kubrick,” Gratzer said. “We filmed it so fast and with so little resources, the fact that we even finished it is kind of insane. It was a learning experience.”

And while practicality played a large role in the production of this low-budget film, the Tacoma-centric scenery was written into the script for more than just budgetary reasons.

“We love films and we love to make them but we don’t have thousands of dollars, so we kind of had to figure out a story we could shoot for as little as humanly possible,” Gratzer said. “But it adds character to film in real places - it gives it a little more authenticity. Our final budget was probably a third of what it would cost to rent one location in Los Angeles. The fact that all the places let us film there for free was pretty cool.”

Gratzer admits that “Bestsellers” is not typical of other ideas he has put down on paper, but that it was his challenge to himself to make something different.

“With ‘Bestsellers’ I was trying to prove to myself that we can play it pretty straight. This is about as straight as any of our movies are ever going to be.”

It strays from some of the more far-fetched, imaginative storylines Gratzer comes up with to create a feasible, real-life story including an unconventional boy-meets-girl component, and a theme that hits home for Gratzer personally - doing something for the love of the art, not for the money.

“No one asked us to make this, we just did it to satisfy our own creativity,” said Gratzer, who says the duo was inspired by real, low-budget independent filmmakers of the 1990s, specifically Robert Rodriguez’s first film, “El Mariachi.”

Other influences come from television comedies, such as the absurdist humor in “Futurama” and “Arrested Development.”

Gratzer and Bass also pull a lot of influence from comics, graphic novels and music.

“The whole reason I wanted to make movies was because I wanted to draw comic books but I couldn’t draw… so then I thought, I’ll make movies - that’s way easier,” Gratzer laughed.

“There are scenes from the movie where the characters talk directly into the camera, and I completely, 100 percent lifted that from a graphic novel, I just liked the idea.”

Straying from their usual absurd humor and outlandish story lines was a conscious decision, but that doesn’t mean the dramatic comedy doesn’t pack in the hilarity as well.

Bumbling duo Simon and Ira (played by Juan Rivera and Gratzer’s brother Riley) provide ample comic relief throughout the film, hitting the film-making duo’s trademark “wackiness” in scenes where Simon and Ira film their own take on World War II in “Lethal Heaven.”

“There are still elements of it, but definitely part of the plan was to make a ‘real’ movie.”

Which is also probably why Gratzer chose to scrap the original ending: a musical dance number finale.

“That was such a bad idea,” he laughed.

Check out the Tacoma-grown film at 6:45 p.m. March 16 at the Grand Cinema, followed by a Q&A with Director Rick Gratzer.

Purchase tickets in advance in person at the Grand Cinema at 606 S. Fawcett Ave. or at their website via www.grandcinema.com. Tickets are $8.50 general, $7 for Grand Cinema members, $5 for seniors/students/military. All proceeds go to the Grand Cinema. Find more information on “Bestsellers” the movie at www.facebook.com/bestsellersfilm.