"Smash or Trash Independent Filmmaking": For anyone that has never written a book, I can tell you that the parallels to movie making itself are scary. It takes longer than anticipated (I'm on the 3rd year and only now am I seeing light at the end of the tunnel - hope it is not a train!). Fiction is much easier to write, but how-to books get the attention of book publishers and distributors better. I started this whole thing a while back because I had gotten sick of renting crappy low-budget movies. Everyone with a camcorder was churning them out. The thinking seemed to be that as long as you threw a little gore and a pair of boobs up on the screen, you had done your job. Wrong on all accounts. While I like a certain amount of exploitation in my movies, if they are dull and just plain stupid I will go out of my way to make sure everyone with $5 in their pockets knows about it, and to save their money. This book is blessed with some great contributors, including:
Producer Don Dohler - publisher for Cinemagic Magazine and veteran indie filmmaker
Director Kevin Kangas of "Hunting Humans" and Fear of Clowns 1 & 2"
Special Effects Artist Tom Sullivan of "Evil Dead" and "The Fly II"
Veteran Cult Movie Actor George Stover of "Blood Massacre" and "Female Trouble"
Actress and Model Darla Albornoz of "Fear of Clowns" and "Vampire Sisters"
Hollywood Producer Edward L. Plumb of "The Boneyard Collection"
Cult Director Donald F. Glut discusses his career and the challenges of independent movies
Composer Justin Timpane gives the low down on scoring for independent movies
Actress Leanna Chamish of "Stakes" and "Dead Hunt"
Director John Bowker of "The Evilmaker"
Producer Joe Sherlock of "Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires"
Actor Daniel Ross of "Crawler"
Veteran Sound Engineer Glenn Barnes gives the lowdown on getting good location sound
Special Effects Artist Mitch Klein talks about "Stakes" and "Crawler"
Makeup Artist Joan Gross of "Desperation"
Stunt Coordinator Mark BeDell sets the record straight as to WHY it is a good idea to hire a professional, rather than risking your own safety
Hollywood Special Effects Artist Bruce Barlow of "Waxworks" and "Pervert"
Director Jon Clark gives us a look at the making of "Desperation"
Hollywood Sound Engineer Patrick Giraudi discusses getting good audio
Producer Ted A. Bohus gives us a glimpse into the horrors or distribution
Actress Jacqueline Reres of "Fear of Clowns 1 & 2"
Actor Steven King of "Stakes" and "Alien Rampage"
Director Kim Moir of "Sinsitivity"
Set Designer Mark Racop shows how to make fantastic sets on a tight budget
Actress/Musician Lauren Pellegrino of "Fear of Clowns"
and many more!
The goal of the book is to show the experiences of these veterans in the business, some of the mistakes that have been made and to avoid, and most of all, tips and tricks to make low-budget movies come off great and get the proper recognition and distribution they deserve. So, I'll be posting stuff up about the book as it gets done.
