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

This week we welcome writer/director Mehran Torgoley on the show to talk about his fourth feature Golden, which he shot in Italy, how he funded the film, why he shot a film in Italy and how he has written and directed four feature films. After that I’m going to pontificate on the state of AI and filmmaking and hopefully encourage some of you to call in and share your thoughts! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by S...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 296 from December 2020 featuring writer/director April Mullen where she talks about making her feature Wander and her incredible career in television directing. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Tessa Blake from Monday because they both are prolific TV directors who also direct features but just with a different order of how that played out in their careers. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leav...

This week we welcome writer director Tessa Blake on the show to talk about her latest feature If I Tell You, why she took such a long break from features and what she's took from directing hundreds of hours of Television at a very high level.! After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 89 from Feburary 2017 featuring Justin Plummer III and Martin Strauss who are two San Francisco Bay Area directors who get paid to direct full time. They talk with us about how they got started and what it's like to sign with a big time LA commercial production company, and why they weren't living in LA at the time. I thought this was a good match for our chat with Michael Naizu and John Wilcox from Monday because they are both brother co-directors who are collaborating in a...

This week we welcome writer and directors Michael Naizu and John Wilcox on the show to talk about their first feature Bound for Glory, which Michael also stars in alongside Jamie King, Christ Kattan and Blake Jenner. They also talk about how they work as collaborators, how they raised funds for the movie and how their dynamic as brothers plays into their work. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Ho...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 490 from August 2024 featuring director Audrey Cummings who talks about establishing herself as a genre director. I thought Audrey was a good match for Sophia Banks from Monday because while they have very different careers they are both successfully working in the genre space as feature film directors. After that we play another round of You’re the Expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Host...

This week we welcome director Sophia Banks on the show to talk about her latest feature Tilt, her inspiration for the film and what it was like to shadow Christopher McQuarrie, among other things. You may remember our episode with Arwen Elys Dayton who wrote Tilt and is one of the other 3rds of Sophia’s production company, so this one is really fun! After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id10...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 351 from December 2021 featuring writer/director/producer Omar Lopex who came on the show to talk about directing, Ana who they pulled from the river, and his process as an indie filmmaker. Alrik thought that Omar was a good match for our episode with Glenn Garrabrant on Monday because they both have interesting processes when it comes to making their films, that don’t really feel like they rely on traditional models to make happen. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’...

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Glenn Garrabrant on the show to talk about his 2nd feature Local Area Network, how he got the film made and his philosophy as a indie filmmaker, which is great! After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 510 from January 2025 featuring writer/director Dallas Jenkins who talks about making his feature The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and how he used the success of his massively successful show The Chosen to get that made. I thought Dallas was a great match for our chat with Chevonne O’Shuagnessey from Monday because they are both faith based filmmakers working in different areas of the genre who came to it in very different ways. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forg...

This week we welcome producer Chevonne O’Shaughnessy on the show to talk about her show Sugercreek Amish Mysteries, how she has gone about producing and raising funds for the show, why she now works on faith content and how she keeps her work non-union. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of p...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 379 from July 2022 featuring Cinematographer/Director and writer Savannah Bloch who talks about making her first feature And there was Eve and the tricky distribution process she went through. Alrik thought this was a good match for our talk with Joshua Porter on Monday because they both talk about the challenges of getting their first films made and released. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on A...

This week we welcome writer/director Joshua Porter on the show to talk about the eleven year journey he went on to make his first feature film No Evidence of Man and how he finally got the film made and released! After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ad...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 80 WAAAAY back in August 2016 featuring writer and director Lucas Kitchen to talk about making short films for his youtube page and distributing them with distribber. Alrik thought this was a good match for our talk with Eli Shell on Monday because there is a lot of self distribution in the world of Verticals and it feels like they are both working in their own very specific niches. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patr...

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Eli Shell on the show to talk all things Verticals, which Eli assured me no one calls “verts”, he talks about making his first vertical series In House. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 366 from March 2025 featuring writer Director Jane Schoenbrun who talks about getting into sundance with their first feature, leading to their 2nd feature being bought by A24. I thought this was a good match for episode with Georgia Bernstein on Monday because both Jane and Georgia got their first features into Sundance and had amazing outcomes from playing the festival. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Revi...

This week we welcome writer/director Georgia Bernstein on the show to talk about making her first feature Night Nurse, why she decided to make an erotic thriller at a retirement home and how she got the film into Sundance and After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for ad...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 519 from March 2025 featuring VFX artist turned feature director Bryant Griffin, who left his job at Lucas Arts to make his first feature film, Young King. I thought this was a great match for Anthony Lucero from Monday because he also used to work at Lucas Films and left when he made his first feature as well. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podc...

This week we welcome writer/director Anthony Lucero on the show to talk about his 2nd feature Paper Bag Plan, how he got the film made and why he wrote this story and made this film. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 363 from March 2022 featuring editor/director Roger Nygard who came on the show to talk about directing the documentary Trekkies in the late 90s and his rise as a premiere comedy editor, working on shows like Veep, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Crashing to name a few. Alrik thought that Roger was a good match for our episode with David Wain on Monday because so much comedy is in the editing so hearing from Roger made sense. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, en...

This week we welcome writer/director/actor and comedy mastermind David Wain on the show to talk about his latest feature Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass which he wrote with the equally great Ken Marino. David talks about how they got the movie made, his process and why even after making so many movies, shows, even doing a character on Bob’s Burgers, he still feels like he has so much more room to grow as an artist. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 350 from December 2021 featuring Cinematographer Alice Brooks who talks about lensing the studio feature In the Heights among other films and how she got to where she was as a cinematographer Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Julia Swain from Monday because it feels like they are both on the same trajectory, just Julia is a little earlier on her journey then Alice. After that we play another round of You’re the Expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patr...

This week we welcome cinematographer Julia Swain back on the show to talk about shooting her first Studio Feature Voicemails for Isabelle, how she got attached to the film and all about her career achievements since we last chatted! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 370 from May 2022 featuring writer/director/producer Naveen Chathap-uram talking about making his first feature The Last Victim! Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Joe Zentil from Monday because they both took long roads to make their first feature at really high levels. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Host...

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Joe Zentil on the show to talk about making his first feature Born to Lose, how he fell in love with motorcycles and the journey he took to get his first feature made. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 329 from July 2021 featuring writer/director T. Arthur Cottam on the show to talk about the re-release of his film Carbunckle and how he has gone about making and funding his features. I thought this was a good match for our talk with Michael Kellman on Monday because they both wrote/directed and edited their first features. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podc...

This week we welcome writer/director/editor Michael Kellman on the show to talk about making his first feature Say Less, how he got the film made and how he went about the distribution of the film. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 438 from August 2023 featuring writer and director Lee Moss to talk about their first feature Birth/Rebirth, how they got the film made at such a high level and how they are dealing with not working during the strike. After that we play another round of You’re the Expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adsw...

This week we welcome writer/director/producer Madison Young on the show to talk about her first feature By the Roots, which she wrote based on her memoir that she wrote in 2016. Madison talks about how she developed the story into a script and raised the money to make the film. After that I talk a bit about re-writing my script Ricky and the Ooze, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See ht...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 516 from February 2025 with actor turned feature writer/director Julia Stiles. Julia talks about going from acting in studio features and shows to making her first feature behind the camera and the challenges she faced to pull it off. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Katie Aselton (Ace-sol_tin) from Monday because they are both actors turned filmmakers, just Katie is further along in her filmmaker journey then Julia. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t fo...

This week we welcome writer/director/actor Katie Aselton on the show to talk about her latest film Magic Hour which she co-wrote, directed and starred in alongside Daveed Diggs. Katie talks about why she decided to make this film and how she pulled it off. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and us...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 333 from August 2021 featuring writer/director Nicholas Bruckman on the show to talk about making his Documentary on the late Ady Barkan, how he found his subject and what drove him to tell that story. Alrik thought Nicholas would be a good match for our chat with Loren on Monday because they are both documentary filmmakers who talk about how they made their features and connected with their subjects. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on P...

This week we welcome producer/director Loren Goldfarb to talk about making his first feature documentary 96lbs of Dynamite, how he found his subject Chad “shorty” McDaniel and what drove him to make this documentary. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 369 from May 2022 featuring writer AJ Bermudez who talks about getting started as a writer and how she goes about getting her projects out there and her move to driecting. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Melinda K. Bryce from Monday because they both started as writers who are branching into other roles.. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Appl...

This week we welcome producer/writer and long time listener Melinda K. Bryce on the show to talk about her latest feature Delirum, moving from being an author to a screen writer and getting her scripts produced. After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 217 from July 2019 featuring writer/director Rob Smat on the show to talk about directing his first feature The Last Whistle, Alrik thought this was a good match for our episode with Gille from Monday since they have both made two features and started on shorts and Alrik thought it would be fun hearing Rob talk about his first feature while Gille talks about his second. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patr...

This week we welcome writer/director Gille Klabin on the show to talk about his latest feature Weekend at the End of the World, how he got the movie made and we touch on his first feature The Wave as well (which I love). After that we play another round of the GAME, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id1006416952 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 378 from July 2022 featuring producer Marc Smolowitz! I thought this was a good match for our live show from Monday because this is the last time we did a live podcast recording in front of an audience, so I thought it would be fun to put these shows together. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-movies-is-hard-the-struggles-of-indie-filmmaking/id10...

This week we have a very special episode of the show, it’s our live show from the Phoenix Film Festival! Producer Eric and Host Liz went there over the weekend and did a show in front of a live audience and interviewed Writer/Director and actor Julia Coulter who talks about making her first feature that she wrote, directed and starred in. We didn't play The Game since we played it at the live show but we talked a lot about the show, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Revi...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 420 from April 2023 featuring filmmakers Alicia J. Rose and Alicia JO Rabins who talk about collaborating on their first feature together. While the Alicia’s collaboration is very different from Alex and Travis who we talked to on Monday, I thought they were a good compliment to hear how different filmmakers collaborate and get their projects off the ground.. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us a Review on App...