tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7114345050944758857..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: How to make an independent movieBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89302617245327304382015-11-11T05:10:21.248-08:002015-11-11T05:10:21.248-08:00Congratulations to your friend on completing his m...Congratulations to your friend on completing his movie! I just finished a run of film festivals with a short animation I did, and meeting other filmmakers and animators was a big part of the experience.<br />I got the feeling that filmmakers and animators regard each other over a collegial fence of envy, if that's the right word. It's such an undertaking, casting, managing cameras and lights, going on location, I'm totally in awe of it. But the filmmakers regarded me in the same way, amazed that I could just sit in my studio and draw whatever I needed. ("wait, did you draw the WHOLE THING?")<br />I was especially pleased at the level of all the other work (this was the Big Apple Film Festival in NY) and even though there were like 134 films showing, ther were only five animations, so we were all in one set and able to meet and chat. I was also happy to lose to an animation that had fantastic style and storytelling.<br />I talked to one guy who like me had tried pitching a show for TV and the process got so overwhelming that he finally said, "screw this, I just want to create!" For some it's a step to the bigtime, but for a lot of people, it's an end in itself.Gerryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12361836428885324631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-33770578561575508422015-11-11T03:53:57.186-08:002015-11-11T03:53:57.186-08:00Friend of the blogger Michael Douglas recently exp...Friend of the blogger Michael Douglas recently explained the demise of the smaller, "more interesting" American film through marketing costs. The smaller films are as expensive to market as the blockbusters. He also mentioned that makers of the smaller films were paid more to work in television than in film, through combined writer/producer/director deals.<br /><br />To me, distribution is a sizeable chunk of the film's budget, which needs doubling to pay for marketing. And then half of ticket revenue goes to the theatre.<br /><br />Even in a town with a few multiplexes, there's precious little choice. As a long time fan of Chicago's Chess Records, I was not anticipating a problem seeing <i>Cadillac Records</i>, featuring chart act Beyonce. Pretty much every screen in town showed <i>Marley & Me</i>.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06248182899977033579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68185542292270221042015-11-11T01:35:50.397-08:002015-11-11T01:35:50.397-08:00It would be interesting to know what Jeff wanted t...It would be interesting to know what Jeff wanted to get out of making a movie. Experience? Money? Fame? A career? Or just the knowledge that he'd achieved it? Was he happy with the final results, and would he do it again?<br /><br />Many of us dream of making films, but it's such a huge undertaking, with little chance of a big reward, it's interesting to hear whether he felt it had been worth it. <br /><br />Thanks, Ken. Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77910687629733075092015-11-10T22:34:35.304-08:002015-11-10T22:34:35.304-08:00Every Friday the L.A. Times has reviews of a coupl...Every Friday the L.A. Times has reviews of a couple dozen films, and most of them never play outside Los Angeles. I've been to film festivals where they literally showed 100 new movies, 97 of them were never seen again outside the film festival. I expect many can be found on line, but you have to know they exist first. Even movies which go direct to home video still have to have their existence known so that you can even watch them. I saw a great Chinese movie which actually got a release, "Detective Dee and The Mystery of the Phantom Flame" (it's on dvd with an English language dub, if you prefer). 2 years later they released a followup film with the character but I had to drive 100 miles to see it in a theater, but it also made it to dvd. These films are getting hard to find, like the Japanese film "13 Assassins" which I saw in a theater and then on Netflix (plus I have the dvd). These films keep getting made but US distribution is becoming more problematic. I've also seen films in theaters which I cannot find on dvd, such as the 1995 Irish film "The Boy From Mercury" which was released on video in the UK but in the US could only be seen at film festivals (the film festival I saw it at had to add an extra screening due to popular demand). Independent films seem to all too often fall into a vast void and disappear.James Van Hisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06658381884799398658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3064774416286447312015-11-10T16:53:41.422-08:002015-11-10T16:53:41.422-08:00Congrats to Mr. Kingery on his achievement. Now ca...Congrats to Mr. Kingery on his achievement. Now can we find a way to get John Sterling into moviemaking, if only to get him out of the broadcast booth? (John supposedly is a Broadway buff, so perhaps we can find an obscure '50s B'way musical for him to direct for film. "Happy Hunting"?, "Oh, Captain?")VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66499208535605356692015-11-10T14:56:57.338-08:002015-11-10T14:56:57.338-08:00No questions about the wrap party? I'm guessin...No questions about the wrap party? I'm guessing a family-sized bag of Cheetos and a six-pack of Dr. Pepper. MikeK.Pa.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56327472775780950242015-11-10T12:27:52.275-08:002015-11-10T12:27:52.275-08:00Thanks for the article Ken. A big shoutout to Jeff...Thanks for the article Ken. A big shoutout to Jeff, my former boss at KPVI-TV.auragoneboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11122413308047173317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18477745547910061322015-11-10T12:04:18.160-08:002015-11-10T12:04:18.160-08:00Please do a post about Project Greenlight + Leisur...Please do a post about Project Greenlight + Leisure Class, Ken - would love to hear your thoughts!Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77572326468371711392015-11-10T10:14:26.839-08:002015-11-10T10:14:26.839-08:00That classic Ferrari Dino is worth several times t...That classic Ferrari Dino is worth several times the movie's budget, probably. Whose is it?gottacooknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43538456230640888692015-11-10T09:07:00.866-08:002015-11-10T09:07:00.866-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Mighty Dyckersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03567545779834406431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82038555844018856342015-11-10T08:55:10.359-08:002015-11-10T08:55:10.359-08:00Kung Fury is a very well made indy comedy in a sty...Kung Fury is a very well made indy comedy in a style that I can't describe. <br /><br />https://youtu.be/bS5P_LAqiVg<br /><br />It was made in Sweden by kickstarter money and is fascinating and very funny. It takes on Miami Vice, video games, kung fu, Hitler, VHS tape, Vikings gods, dinosaurs and the 80's.<br /><br />blinkyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04284135060900752329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70638471338104101002015-11-10T08:39:25.444-08:002015-11-10T08:39:25.444-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Mighty Dyckersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03567545779834406431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7262665929588994542015-11-10T07:02:56.086-08:002015-11-10T07:02:56.086-08:00The trailer looks like a $65k movie...maybe less. ...The trailer looks like a $65k movie...maybe less. emilynoreply@blogger.com