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

This week we welcome Itchak Maghen Sales Rep and Founder and CEO of Consulting IM on the show to talk about why he got into sales and how the business works today and how it is the same and different from when he got started! 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...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 214 from June 2019 featuring animator, pre-viz artist and filmmaker, Michael Cawood! Michael has done pre-viz work for some of the biggest Hollywood films and his last short film, Devils, Angels and Dating has over 16 million hits online! Michael breaks down how pre-viz is done on big budget features, gives us a breakdown of his work on a famous scene and talks us through his life as an animated short filmmaker! I thought Micahel was a good match for our episode with Lucas Culshaw from Monday because they...

This week we welcome long-time friend of the show Lucas Culshaw on the show to talk about their experience as a concept artist and how AI has impacted his world and how it has or hasn’t impacted his work. This is really an incredible conversation and we are so thankful to Lucas for opening up to us and sharing his honest thoughts on this new tool which is leaving it’s mark on our industry. 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 Revi...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 148 from March 2018 featuring writer/director Steve Herold's career began roughly 18 years ago when his first film HR Punkenshette got him meetings with Robert Simonds, Joe Dante, Sony and The Farrelly Brothers production company. What's happened since and why does Steve say he's still trying to get his career "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 Apple Podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/p...

This week we welcome writer/producer Alejandro Zavala on the show to talk about turning his life around after spending some time in prison, becoming a legal consultant then pivoting to filmmaking and writing and producing two features in less than a year. 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 da...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 442 from September 2023 featuring writer/director Sebastien Tobler who came on the show to talk about directing his first feature and how he found his producer for the film! Since Joel Veach, our guest from Monday, also talks about finding his producer for American Muscle, I thought this was a good one to play for this bonus episode. 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 writer/director Joel Veach on the show to talk about his first feature as a director, American Muscle, how he got the film made and how he achieved success with his first feature as a writer/producer Old Man! 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 da...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 292 from November 2020 featuring the Legendary Joe Bob Briggs who came on the show to talk to us about the state of low budget genre filmmaking and what indie filmmakers are up against in 2020. Joe Bob is the perfect match for our chat with the equally legendary Lloyd Kaufman, who’s films have made it on Joe Bob’s show as well as Lloyd himself! After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmih...

This week we welcome film legend and indie filmmaker hero Lloyd Kaufman on the show to help us celebrate the 600th episode of the podcast! Lloyd talks to us all things Troma, how he started the company, their approach to filmmaking and how the company has survived for over 50 years and how he has managed to direct features for that entire time. After that we are going to celebrate the 600th episode of the show and talk about where we are now versus when we started, enjoy! Don’t forget to support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast Leave us...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 428 from June 2023 featuring writer/director Bomani J. Story when he talked about to about directing his first feature the angry black girl and her monster, how he got paid to make that film and what challenges he faced making the film. I thought this was a good match for our episode with Sal Bardo on MOnday because they both talk about making their first features at a high level, just under very different circumstances.. After that we play another round of You’re the expert, enjoy! Do...

This week we welcome writer/director/Producer Sal Bardo on the show to talk about making his first feature Out of the Woods which he wrote, directed and produced and how he 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 use of personal data for advertising.

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 390 from September 2022 featuring writer/director Zoe Alyce Salnave! I thought this was a really good match with our episode with the AMDA/Hussian filmmakers from Monday because while Zoe wasn’t freshly out of college but we talked a lot about her experience at USC directing Voodoo Macbeth with 9 other 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/pod...

This week we welcome recently graduated AMDA/Hushein filmmakers Ashely Villa, Aaron Alvarado and Cydney Jenks who talk about their thesis films, how they got them made, what they think about AI and how they are attacking their careers and films after graduation. 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 da...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 461 from January 2024 featuring writer/directorJosh Stifter who came on the show to talk about directing his latest short film, how he managed to make three features (at the time) and I thought Josh was a good match for our episode with Mehran Torgoley because they are both prolific filmmakers who have made multiple features and show no signs of stopping. 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 Re...

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...