All Photos: Alan Mercer
My friend David Wills introduced me to Yelena and told me she was going to play Garbo in an upcoming film. He also told me she was from Serbia and had written, produced, directed and starred in her first film coming out now called ‘L.A. Superheros: Illegal in Hollywood.’ It was based on her true story. I was instantly intrigued and set up a time to photograph and speak with Yelena Popovic.
During the time she was a student at Playhouse West, Yelena wrote a script inspired by Greta Garbo, whom many told her she resembled. Mark Rydell was set to direct it and Al Pacino was interested in portraying Louis B. Mayer, however Rydell insisted that he wouldn’t direct it unless there was a big name attached to the role of Garbo. Yelena said no to the offer and tried to raise the money on her own. After realizing a big budget movie wasn’t going to be the right vehicle for her as an actor, she began writing about her own experiences in Hollywood as a struggling model and illegal immigrant.
Yelena Popovic and her husband Alexandros Potter founded Simeon Entertainment in 2008 with the intention of developing, producing and distributing feature films. Today, Simeon Entertainment is proud to be theatrically distributing L.A. SUPERHEROES, a feature film, which they developed, directed, produced and fully financed. A percentage of the revenue from ‘L.A. Superheroes’ will go to help struggling immigrants through St. James ETC and CHIRLA.
I have seen ‘L.A. Superheroes’ and I loved it! I can absolutely relate to the daily challenges of living in any big city and feeling small and unimportant. Here is the premise of the film: ‘Life in L.A. can be brutally difficult, especially if you are insistent on not “selling out” and if you are an immigrant, things can get really complicated. Helena (played by Yelena) is struggling to get by as an aging actress/model and immigrant, in a tough-as-nails business. When she is forced to operate outside the law to obtain her green card, she is faced with the consequences and realizes that the thing she values even more than her career is her integrity. Her only true friend in the city is Auto, a misfit pizza guy/musician, who steps up possibly risking his own life, without expecting anything in return. In the end Helena discovers that true L.A. Superheroes aren’t necessarily the most powerful and definitely aren’t manufactured on a sound stage.’
AM: Can you fill me in a little about your growing up experience and becoming a model Yelena?
YP: It’s a typical story. I was in a ‘Look Of The Year’ contest in Belgrade when I was fifteen. Through that I went to Milan. I arrived in New York when I was eighteen years old.
AM: Did you speak English?
YP: I spoke a little bit. I learned English after I moved here and it wasn’t that difficult. I didn’t have many friends from my country so I hung out with American people.
AM: Did you enjoy your modeling career?
YP: Yes, I wasn’t a successful model though I did work as a model. I did get to work with a lot of famous photographers including Helmut Newton. I talk about it a little in this film. There are a lot of beautiful girls and for some people it does happen. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the way you look.
AM: So many factors go into everything.
YP: There are just too many girls and circumstances. As an immigrant I struggled a lot with green cards, visas and paper work. I did work and met a lot of people but I didn’t become a supermodel. Then I came to California. As a kid in Serbia I liked theater. By the time I was twenty-one I was getting bored with modeling. I had a kid when I was twenty-two and I was a single mom. This is not an excuse but it does make life more difficult.
AM: It certainly gives you lots of responsibilities. When did you start writing scripts?
YP: I wrote my first script when I was twenty-two. As a model I met a lot of people in the movie business. That was a good thing about it. I met lots of good people who are valuable to me today. Anyway I got good feedback on my script and got an offer for the story to be made into a TV movie. I turned down the offer and my friend asked me if I was sure because I could get 60 to 70,000 dollars that would really help me out, but it was based on a true story that happened to me and I knew I couldn’t make it into a TV movie.
AM: Not very many people could turn down the money you have.
YP: I really needed the money, but I never really cared about money as a motivating force. I had to struggle a little more. I did very well in commercials.
AM: What commercials would I have seen you in?
YP: I’ve made a lot of them for Jack in the Box, Marshalls, Sears, a lot of them.
AM: Were you always a fan of Garbo?
YP: I’ve been told on many occasions that I remind people of Greta Garbo. I really didn’t know much about her. My friend Marty Sader is part of the Playhouse West, which is an acting school I would recommend to everybody. They helped me with my craft to write, direct and act. He told me I needed to sit down and write a film for myself playing Garbo. So I got some books on her and started reading. Even if I look like her, if I wouldn’t have been able to relate to her on any level, I would not have done anything. After reading about her I noticed lots of similarities. We both have a desire to be alone and she was a tomboy.
AM: She often referred to herself as a male.
YP: I have always felt like a man in a woman’s body. I think like a man. I don’t think like a woman. I’ve suffered greatly because of this. Men don’t like a woman who thinks like a man.
AM: So what made you want to write a movie about her?
YP: After reading all about her I said to myself I have to write this movie. Her story became personal to me. I started seeing how this story could be made into a wonderful script. It got as far as Mark Rydell requesting a meeting with me. He told me it was one of the best scripts he read. I told him I had to play Garbo. I don’t want anybody mimicking her. I don’t care how great of an actress they are. It would be foolish to get someone famous to play her.
AM: I agree with you.
YP: What happened was they wanted a Charlize Theron or Nicole Kidman to play Garbo so they could get the money to make the film. It wasn’t about me not being able to play Garbo, but they did things behind my back. They offered me a half a million dollars but I don’t like it when things are not honest. I didn’t care about it. I walked away. I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
AM: That must have been devastating.
YP: It was very hard, but then my friend Marty Sader told me to write my story and that people would be able to relate to that better. At that moment it just clicked. I wrote the script in three weeks. I knew exactly how to write it. We bought the camera and we decided I would be the director. So my husband and I made the movie. It’s the best thing I’ve done. People are loving the film. I feel very good about this and now I know that Garbo will happen. I’m very happy because I’ve actually done something.
AM: That is a great feeling! Would you direct Garbo?
YP: I would not want to direct Garbo. I do not want to direct myself anymore. This was a very big challenge for me and I don’t want to do it anymore.
AM: Do you have a favorite between writing, directing and acting?
YP: I love writing. I can write for hours and feel like it’s a few minutes.
