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Do you know Jonathan in real life? If not, I don't know how you came to that conclusion.
He speaks with authority on this subject, but his only film was apparently unsuccessful. And I do question his advice about getting an A lister. Sure it sounds like a great idea, but I don't think it's realistic. I find it very hard to believe that an unknown can throw 50k at a true A lister and get them to appear in a super low budget film.
No, I don't know him. But I've read enough of his posts to form an opinion, which is, after all, what we do here, isn't it?
I have also read many of ironpony's posts over the years.
I didn't address the "A lister" thing at all.
I addressed the fact that JonathanLB quite apparently has much broader financial and social facility; and therefore, had "less" to lose overall. Whether his film was "successful" or not was not my point. But there can be no question (based on what we read here at C-D) that he was better prepared to "suffer" a failure than ironpony is.
I guess we're even: I don't know why you would choose this particular point to take me on.
Do you know Jonathan in real life? If not, I don't know how you came to that conclusion.
He speaks with authority on this subject, but his only film was apparently unsuccessful. And I do question his advice about getting an A lister. Sure it sounds like a great idea, but I don't think it's realistic. I find it very hard to believe that an unknown can throw 50k at a true A lister and get them to appear in a super low budget film.
He said even if it's a couple of lines, they don't have to star in the movie, just to be able to pitch it with a known name. He said that is what HE was told when trying to figure out why it didn't get sold to a studio.
Obviously he is not on the spectrum as OP is, and is going to be much more able to schmooze, pitch a sale, and make connections than OP is.
Basically I want to get into a career as a film director, and have decided to make my own feature film after saving up a lot of money. But people think I am crazy for wanting to do this, and everyone is telling me absolutely not to.
But now since then, and now that I am closer to getting the ball rolling, the pressure for me to quit is so much higher, and I feel like everyone is just at my legs trying to pull me away. Even my parents think it's a huge mistake and waste of so much money as the movie will never sell. They think I have gone insane, and are trying to seize control of my savings, cause I am mentally unfit.
I understand they care and they mean well, but what can I do to get them to be more supportive. If I lose it all, then I am back to square one, but what can I do to make them see that it may be a necessary risk?
Moderator note: Thread moved from Community Chat to Non-romantic Relationships.
Do it like plenty of other directors do:
Keep your day job and get money from investors to pay for the film.
He said even if it's a couple of lines, they don't have to star in the movie, just to be able to pitch it with a known name. He said that is what HE was told when trying to figure out why it didn't get sold to a studio.
Obviously he is not on the spectrum as OP is, and is going to be much more able to schmooze, pitch a sale, and make connections than OP is.
Well I could try this but I think audiences feel manipulated when a producer does this though. For example, one filmmaker I know with his first feature was able to get a named actor to play a very minor role, but then he put that actors name on the posters and everything misleading everyone into thinking he was the star of the movie. So people felt duped when they found out that the actor was only in a cameo, even though his name was on the poster, as if he was the star.
I just don't want people to feel duped or suckered by a marketing gimmick, and have that affect the movie in a bad way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PuppiesandKittens
Do it like plenty of other directors do:
Keep your day job and get money from investors to pay for the film.
(I've done Broadway show financing before.)
Don't use your own money! That's basic!
Okay, but I was operating under the assumption that investors will not likely give me the money. Every time I have wanted to do get something done in life, I have do it myself without being able to get much help, so I didn't think that someone was going to give me the money.
Another problem I have with investors, is that right now, I am helping two other filmmakers make their own separate feature films. They both applied in to investors for funding, but the investors wanted them to have the main cast, and the main crew already lined up to go for the project. Or they would not have a chance of getting the money.
So if I were to cast the movie, and get crew like a DP, music composer, sound mixer, etc, and then have everything ready to go, what if in the end, I am still denied the money? I can't just tell everyone on board then, that I have to cancel it just cause I didn't get the money. That would be bad for my reputation, so I would be under serious pressure to still make the movie then, since I already got a cast and crew on board.
Yeah okay, I can try it, and hope it works. It's just whenever I place my goals in someone elses hands like that, it's never been good. I talked before about how I never worked a job I like, and that is what happened when I allowed other people to give me jobs, rather than trying to invest in a career or myself. So if I place the goal in someone else's hands again, I feel the same thing will happen again.
As for the idea of being part of a project that will only be green lit if an investor funds it, how long do you think I should wait on that? I am suppose to be an editor on a feature film production, but it keeps being delayed cause the producer wants to get funding.
The producer wants me to be available for all these weeks, and I keep putting on some of my own projects on hold, and have turned down other people's offers, cause I am keeping my time available for this movie project which they have been trying to get invested for months now. I signed the contracts, but do you think I should give them a cut off, or should I still remain hopeful that maybe sometime in the next few months, they will get it?
I'm not sure, they just said diploma. I went to the filmschool much more for the educational experience, rather than the type of certificate I would get at the end. But maybe I should have payed more attention to the type of certificate I would get out of it?
Not sure?
Truly, it's not a diploma. A diploma and a degree is earned going to college for more than a few weeks.
Please just make something for YouTube and call it a day already. Buy something to live in with your money & give your parents a break, please.
Ironpony, not trying to be rude, but I would suggest that you network and get some mentors in the filmmaking field--people who have produced films. They'll tell you the answers to your questions. Bottom line: you can lose all of the film costs, and losing a pretty good portion of them is pretty likely. Do you want that lost money to be your own money or someone else's? The only right answer is someone else's.
I also feel that no matter what advice I take the people who gave it always change their minds about it later. Like I was told before, that before making a feature film, I should make short films. So I did a few of those, and said thought maybe I was ready to take the next step on move onto a feature.
But then the same people who told me to make short films before making a feature then acted like they took it back, and said I have to go film school first, or do something more first. So I did that, and learned a lot, and then thought I was much more ready to make a feature than before, as long as I had a really good cast and crew for it.
But then those same people who told me that, seemed to take it back, acting like oh we were wrong, film school hardly did any good for you, for me to be making a feature on my own money, and I should get investors to invest it before doing anything.
So on this thread before, I talked about how I met up with a person from Vancouver in the producing business and how she knows all these investors that she could try to get my script too, as long as I had certain things lined up and ready to go... and now people on this thread were saying that she is probably a fraud who just wants money and that this is probably not good, even though I was told to link up with investors.
So I feel that I keep getting advice to do something to be able make a good movie, but then once I do it, they then take it back, as if they change their minds, once I do it, each time.
Why is this? Cause it feels like no matter what I do based on people's advice, no one will ever think I will ever be ready. Even I got the money, then people will change their mind and tell me that I can't spend someone else's money like that and hope it will turn out good. So why is that?
Keep your day job and get money from investors to pay for the film.
(I've done Broadway show financing before.)
Don't use your own money! That's basic!
Well if he knew how to do that, I’m sure he would’ve done so by now. Do you have any advice for him? Especially keeping in mind that he’s on the spectrum and social skills are not his strong suit?
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