Indie filmmaker don’t shoot yourself in the foot by investing your time and energy into a movie script you cannot afford to make. It’s tough enough going from movie script to finished movie at the true independent level without making it even tougher. GUNSHOT! Another aspiring indie filmmaker just shot themselves in the foot. Add another indie movie script to the countless thousands that will never get made. Before reading on we need to break in to different camps.

On one side of the room are aspiring indie filmmakers without Hollywood connections that need a movie script they can afford to shoot. On the other side of the room are indie posers with movie scripts that need a million dollar budget and a star attached to get made. Indie posers might as well stop wasting their time here. It’s better spent reading a story in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter about the next million dollar “indie film” making waves.

Some indie poser is thinking in their mind, “Hey jerk I don’t a need million dollar budget! What about Paranormal Activity? It’s making waves and was made for 15K” In my humble opinion Paranormal Activity is wearing The Blair Witch Project all over again. Tons of hype around it, but once you see it you’re let down. It’s more gimmick than any kind of movie making. In true indie film circles some people, borrowing from Penn & Teller, are saying BULLSHIT! Unless that entire cast and crew worked 7 days for free during shooting. Bigger would be post production costs. Say A Lie Enough…People Will Believe It. I better save this topic for my Tim Beachum’s Infamous Rants editorial that runs on Jackin4Beats.com Magazine.

Hollywood or studio backed movies start with a finished movie script then they think how much it will cost to make it happen. You will fail following that way of thinking. Aspiring filmmakers need to ask themselves one major question. How much money do I have right now in hand to make a movie before I write a script? Make a list of your resources. What cars can you use? What locations can you use? Do you know anyone with video equipment? After you’re done contact every person on your list about your movie to what’s real and what’s talk.

Sid Kali broke it down for me. I’m passing this along so you don’t shoot yourself in the foot writing a movie script that will never be made. First thing you have to do is know how much money you have. Not how much money you think you can get your hands on. Big difference. In Hollywood they start with a finished movie script then think how much. You will fail as a spiring filmmaker following that way of thinking. You need to think backwards. How much money do I have to make a movie before I write one word? It’s like shopping for a car or house. You know your budget range before starting the hunt.

The point I want to drive home from working on movies is this. You’re way better off writing a movie script you can make than being a indie poser that never makes a movie. Filmmaker Sid Kali broke it down for me. This is my own spin on it, because that’s what I do. Start backwards. Don’t think about writing a movie script until you know how much money you have to make a movie. You’ll feel way better writing a movie script you can really make than being a self-proclaimed filmmaker that has nothing to show. There is no reason you can’t write movie scripts that need million dollar budgets to make. Just keep in mind how few people make their living as members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Your best shot to launch your career is to write a movie script you can make. Maybe you get distributed by Americana VOD

Tags: Movies

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