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

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!

This week Liz and Alrik welcome back returning guest, professional script reader Reed Shusterman to talk about making his first feature film Blood Born which he shot back in November of 2019, before the world ended. Reed talks about how he came up with the story for the film and how he ‘wrote what he knew’ and his process of getting the film shot day to day. We also have a special interview with Jon Synder who talks to us about all things COVID-19 safety on set. Jon just finished working as a lead COVID-19 Monitor on a big budget Netflix film and he gave us the low down on how COVID is monitored on a large scale. Lastly we have a segment with filmmaker, mentor and actor Cady McClain who is our player of the week about mentoring and what that actually means. Where to Find Reed, Cady and Jon! Reed Shusterman on IMDB Cady McClain's Website Jon Synder on IMDB Health Education Services Website John Hopkins Contact Tracing Course 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 episode, Liz and Alrik are joined by co-directors Lee Cummings and Mitch Altieri to talk about how they collaborated together and were able to take Star Light from script to getting in the can in about three months. We also hear about the duo’s process as co-directors and they both talk about what they took away from making this film.   We also have a short film by writer/director and friend of the show, Lisa Donato, called Foxy Trot, about a married lesbian couple who take a ballroom dancing class together. Liz and Alrik also talk about the current state of movies coming to theaters, which has even changed since this was recorded! Where to Find Mitch, Lee and The Players of the Week! Star Light is Out Now! Mitch Altieri on IMDB! Lee Cummings Website! Nicole De Menses on IMDB! Emily Hagins Website Lisa Donato'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

WE HAVE A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! . We are starting our own YouTube Channel and need your help! Please click the link in our bio and subscribe! We need 100 subscribers by September and you should definitely be one of them!  . We also welcome Terilyn Shropshire to the show! Teri is a superstar editor who recently worked on the Charlize Theron Netflix film, The Old Guard. She speaks about how she approached editing an action film, how she got her start, and her path as an editor. She also breaks down one of the best scenes in the film and how she approached it from an editorial standpoint. . Additionally, we welcome our Players of the Week, Yoko Okumora, Azadeh Nikzadeh, and Mary McGloin to speak about how they are coping and staying creative during the pandemic.   Where to Find Terilyn and The Players of the Week! The Old Guard is on Netflix, watch it now! Terilyn Shropshire on IMDB Mary McGloin's Website Yoko Okumura's Website Azadeh Nikzadeh's Website Lisa Donato'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 269, Alrik and Liz are joined by Julia Swain who speaks about her prolific career as a director of cinematography. Julia shares her thoughts on budgeting, shot lists, and her personal heroes. Additionally, in this week's "Get Shorty" segment, Nate Ruegger joins to talk about the making of his short film Trust Me: A Witness Account of the Goat Man, and taking the short on the festival circuit (including Nightmares Film Festival, which he HIGHLY recommends you check out!) and his plans for making it into a feature.  Trust Me is available now on Alter, one of YouTube's top horror channels. This week Players of the Week Amy Adrion and Rhodes Phire speak on imposter syndrome and the feeling of faking it till you're making it. Where to Find Julia and The Players of the Week!Julia Swain's WebsiteAmy Adrion's WebsiteRodes Phire's WebsiteNate Ruegger's WebsiteContact Liz & Alrik Send us an emailYou can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.comYou can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.comYou can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!Leave a comment on our websiteFind us on our Facebook Community PageContact us on Twitter and Facebook

 On episode 268, Liz and Alrik welcome Robin Kincade to the show! Robin is a producer, among many other titles, and is a part of the Bay Area film production community. She talks about her unorthodox career path, her passion for supporting people on set, and how she strives to help others climb the ladder to success. In fact, she is currently offering a course on how to move up as a production assistant! Additionally, on this week's Get Shorty segment, we meet Brittany Noel! A writer, producer, and actress, Brittany wrote and starred in the very personal short film, "The Other."  Where to Find Robin and The Players of the Week!Here's Kincaid Productions and her PA Training Program!Here's Robin's Producer WebsiteDiane Bell's WebsiteBrittani Noel on IMDBContact Liz & Alrik Send us an emailYou can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.comYou can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.comYou can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!Leave a comment on our websiteFind us on our Facebook Community PageContact us on Twitter and Facebook