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

This week Alrik and Liz welcome back previous 'Get Shorty' Filmmaker Felicia Pride on the show to talk about how she moved to LA at 35 and forged her filmmaking career through her own sheer will and hustle. Felicia talks about the steps she took in crucial points in her career, how she hit career milestones for herself and how she managed to sell a feature, land management and get staffed in a writers room all in the same year. This episode is a must listen if you feel like you missed your chance to have the career that you wanted because it really just shows that putting in the work and staying focused on your goals really pays off. We also have short filmmaker Parrish Stikeleather on the show to talk about his short film 'Long Drive to Yadkin' which we have deemed as a serious ode to the Cohen Brothers!

Alrik and Liz welcome writer, director and social media queen Jessica Ellis on the show to talk about making her first feature film, What Lies West! Jessica also talks about her life as a working writer, how she is staying motivated during the pandemic and the reality of what 50k twitter followers actually means when you are running a crowdfunding campaign. We also have producer and filmmaking sales consultant Alec Trachtenberg on the show to  give us some tips on advertising your film and finally we've got a the short film 'We Are Having Sex' from writer/director Michael Callahan! Where to Find Jessica, Alec and Michael! Jessica Ellis' Website Jessica Ellis on Twitter Alec Trachtenberg's New Book! Alec Trachtenberg on Instagram! Michael Callahan's Website! Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook  

On episode 278 of the show, Alrik and Liz welcome iconic horror director Darren Lynn Bousman (Spiral, Saw II-IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera) to talk about his latest film, Death of Me starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth, which was shot on a remote island off the coast of Thailand. Darren talks about the struggles of shooting a film on a remote island, working with actors who don’t speak english (and who have little experience) and how they pulled off some of the amazing practical effects in the film. We also have listener and filmmaker Oscar Sanudo on the show to talk about his short film Modus Vivendi which he shot on an Iphone 11! Where to Find Darren and Oscar! DEATH OF ME is available in select theaters, on demand and digital October 2nd! Darren's One Day Die Halloween Event! Darren's Website Oscar Sañudo on IMDB Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

This week Liz and Alrik welcome return guests Hannah Black and Megan Petersen to talk about their first feature film Drought, which won Seed and Spark’s Hometown Heroes competition back in 2017. Megan and Hannah talk to us about what they have learned from working with Mark and Jay Duplass on their film and the long road they took to getting their film finished once they got their greenlight! We also have international filmmakers (names) to talk about their latest 1980’s inspired sci-fi short film ‘Slice of Life’ which they made using all the old techniques used on films like Blade Runner and no CGI whatsoever!   Where to Find Megan, Hannah, Dino and Luka! Megan and Hannah's Website! Drought on Facebook! Slice of Life's Website Dino Julius' Website Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

This week we dive into the world of Shudder’s Cursed Films with director/editor of the show Jay Cheel! Jay talks to us about how he landed the job on Cursed Films, what attracted him to these stories, and how he approached making the series. We also have the short film Lace, from Australian filmmaker, and listener of the show, Charnstar Anderson!

This week on episode 275 of the show, we have director Matt Eskandari to discuss his latest film Hard Kill, starring Bruce Willis, Jesse Metcalfe, and Natalie Eva Marie! Matt talks to us about how he found his way to directing three action films back to back to back, his journey as a director, and how he gets through slow times as a filmmaker. We also have the superhero concept short film Kinetic from writer/director Kylie Eaton, and two stories from our Players of the Week about how they figure out if someone is a good fit to work with or not.   Where to Find Matt and Kylie! Watch Hard Kill right now! Matt Eskandari on IMDB! Kylie Eaton's Website! Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook  

On episode 274 of MMIH, Liz and Alrik are joined by filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko to talk about directing his latest film Spree, starring Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, Mischa Barton and David Arquette. Eugene talks about his journey to getting the opportunity to make Spree, what it was like going from a micro budget indie to a production with an actual budget, and his approach working with Joe Keery on creating the psychotic but recognizable killer, Kurt Kunkle. We also have segments from filmmakers Marcia Haufrecht and Lily Gareth and the short film Spaghetti from writer and star Mary McBain!   Where to Find Eugene, Lily, Marcia and Mary! Watch Spree Now! Eugene Kotlyarenko on IMDB Lily Gareth Cunningham's Website Marcia Haufrecht on IMDB Mary McBain's Website   Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

For this bonus episode, Alrik and Liz moderate a live Q&A for the film What We Found. They are joined by the writer and director Ben Hickernell, featuring a large amount of the cast of the film, including stars Jordan Hall, Julian Shatkin, Oona Laurence, Yetide Badaki and Brandon Laaracuente. We hear about how the film came about, what the casting process was like and we get a ton of on set stories from the group. If you ever wanted to hear about the making of an ensemble film from the actors perspective this is a great look into that side of filmmaking!

On episode 273, Liz and Alrik welcome Christian Sesma! Christian is a former restaurateur turned producer...and writer....and director! Christian speaks about his feature, Pay Dirt, starring Val Kilmer, a thriller/mystery that was shot in 12 days in the Coachella Valley. They also touch on making movies in the time of COVID, which includes testing every 3 days, creating a quarantine pod on set, wearing masks on set at all times and how these precautions affect a film's budget! We also have a short film by Hannah Marie Hines called Celie. Additionally, the Players of the Week Alex Burunova and Sudeshna Sen, talk about their favorite film festival experiences! We are starting our Youtube Channel but we still need to get 100 subscribers by September to launch the show! Click on this link to go over and subscribe today! Where to Find Christian, Hannah, Alex and Sudeshna! Watch PayDirt Now! Christian Sesma on IMDB Hannah Marie Hines on IMDB Alex Burunova on IMDB Sudeshna Sen's Website! Contact Liz & Alrik Send us an email You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram! Leave a comment on our website Find us on our Facebook Community Page Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

On this special episode Alrik and Liz welcome Patrick James Lynch, director of Bombardier Blood! Bombardier Blood is a documentary that captured Chris Bombardier on his historic quest to conquer the seven summits, including Mt. Everest, as the first person with severe Hemophilia. Patrick, who has Severe Hemophilia as well, speaks on directing a documentary without being on location, how he got investors in this niche field, and getting Alex Borstein of Mad TV and The Marvelous Ms. Maisel fame to sign on as Executive Producer! (Spoiler Alert: She has a special interest in the bleeding disorders community!) Listen Now to hear all about what went into making this epic adventure about blood brotherhood, love and mountain climbing!