Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking

 Liz and Alrik chat with Actor, writer, producer and director Nitzan Mager to talk about her web series Quarantine I Love You which she wrote/produced/directed three seasons of since the start of the pandemic. Nitzan talks about her process for the show and how she really honed her directing skills through making the show and really gained her confidence as a director. This is a really great conversation to highlight how you can make the jump from being in front of the camera to behind the camera and what that transition can look like. We also have our very first ever repeat filmmaker for Get Shorty with friend of the show Charnstar Anderson returning to talk about his short film, Pizza Deliverance. Lastly, Liz and Alrik chat about movies and talk a bit about their goals, why they matter and what their future careers might look like!

In our second episode in our double episode week we welcome Director Jen McGowan on the show to talk about her second feature Rust Creek and making the leap from indie features to directing episodic television. Jen drops all kinds of knowledge bombs on us throughout this episode, including how she handles pitches/meetings, her approach to her career and what it takes to make the leap to directing television. This was a really fantastic conversation about setting specific goals and what it really means to be a director so if you are heading down that path, this is a must listen! We also have filmmaker Karl Richter on the show to talk about his latest film Mirror Site and we do another installment of You’ve Got Mail, as always!

Sorry for the delay but this week Liz and Alrik chat with Producer Andrew Carlberg, who talks about his process for getting a film made, how he chooses his projects and why he continues to work on short films after producing over a dozen feature films. We have never had a producer break down their process of getting a film from script to screen so clearly!  We also have another installment of Get Shorty with filmmaker Dave DeVos’ film ‘A Senseless Act’ and we have five filmmaking tips from filmmaker Jeff Ryan who’s first feature ‘YouthMin’ is out now!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome writer, director, producer and actor, Larry Fessenden on the show to talk about his latest role in the new film Jakob’s Wife. Larry talks about how he got the role in the film, how he treats his acting work differently than when he is behind the camera and we dive into how he has produced over 80 projects and directed over 20, including ten feature films. This is a really great conversation to illustrate the struggles of an indie filmmaker and to see how a sustainable career can be achieved with a ton of hard work. We also have filmmaker AJ Starzak on the show to talk about his new short film, My Monster and I, which is currently raising money on indiegogo and we read a slew of new youtube comments!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome horror legend Barbara Crampton to the show to talk about her recent jump from acting to producing/acting and to hear about how she got her latest film made Jakob’s Wife, which is in select theaters, on demand and digital April 16th. Barbara talks about how she was inspired to become a multi-hyphenate and take the leap behind the camera, how she found the script for Jakob’s Wife and what she looks for in her collaborators. Barbara really opens up about her process and how she approaches her films as a producer and an actor, so if you are an actor or a fan of horror, this is a must listen episode! We also have a listener and new filmmaker Nigel Gould Davies on the show to talk about his film Coronalone, which was made at the height of the pandemic and we have a special segment with filmmaker Casey de Fremerywho talks about how to get action on a budget for his new film War Path, out on demand and digital now!

This week Liz and Alrik sit down with writer, director, producer, author, Slamdance film festival co-founder and all around indie film expert, Dan Mirvish, to talk about how he has managed to direct six features over his career. Dan also talks about his process of raising funds, how he reverse engineers his films to attract the best actors possible and what he thinks are the most important aspects of indie filmmaking. Dan drops a ton of knowledge in this hour plus interview so if you want to learn more about indie film, hit play! We also have another "Get Shorty" with filmmaker Shane Anderson featuring his short, His Guy Thursday and Liz gives us an update on her next feature film!

This week Alrik and Liz sit down with 1091 Senior Sales Manager Sana Soni who talks to us about the task of selling movies to Advertising-Based Video on Demand or AVOD companies and how the changing market has been effecting distributors as well as filmmakers. Sana also talks about the opportunity she saw after the pandemic and her own filmmaking work on her web series, The Myth of Control! We also have writer, actor and producer Julia Manis on the show to talk about her film Mel and Ruby which was just released on film shortage! 

This week Liz and Alrik chat with writer/director Anthony Scott Burns to talk about making his second feature, Come True, which was released by IFC Midnight on March 12th! Anthony talks about how/why he fought to shoot the film in sixty days, what inspired him to make the film and how he had to quit his first feature in the editing room! There are a lot of great bits in this shorter interview but stick around because we also have returning guest Naomi McDougall Jones on our Soap Dish segment to talk about Constellation Incubator that she and Liz launched this week. Do you want to help create a new way of funding/making/selling and distributing films? Then you should apply to be part of the incubator now and Naomi tells us all about how the incubator works. Lastly, we have listener and filmmaker John Beckham on our Get Shorty segment to talk about Pizza People and Liz and Alrik talk about what worked and didn’t work for them in the short!

This week we have filmmakers and actors Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty from the Hulu Series Everyone is Doing Great to talk about from meeting together as actors on One Tree Hill and how they raised over $250k through crowdfunding to make the show. We get to hear about how they made the transition from actors to filmmakers and what it is like to go back to a show as an actor after working behind the camera. We also have filmmaker and listener of the show Derek Viveiros on Get Shorty to talk about his short film Pimples and Nipples, which is a wild ride of a short, be sure to check it out!

What does an indie film finance agent actually do? This week Liz and Alrik sit down with Ross Putman, Fiance and Sales Executive at Verve Talent and Literary Agency to talk about his switch from producing indie films to being an agent, what he does day to day and how he helps bring a project from script to the screen. We also talk about a lot of misconceptions regarding agents and how filmmakers can best work with agents to get their films made. On top of that we have filmmaker Aimee Morgan on the show to talk about her short film Shelter and how she went and made the film on a low budget with a truly indie crew.