Get Real: Indie Filmmakers

Keith Gerchak is the great-grandson of Russian vaudevillians with 50 theater credits, from Motel opposite Paul Sorvino in Fiddler on the Roof, Disney's Finding Nemo the Musical . He also did TV, film and commercials, including The Derby Stallion , starring Zac Efron. Marisa Guterman is an actress/singer/songwriter and writer/producer best known for her role as the “Girl with Braces” in a memor...

William Dickerson is a filmmaker, author, and adjunct professor at Hofstra University. He directed the films "Detour" and "No Alternative" and wrote the books Detour: Hollywood and the Tao of Twin Peaks. GET REAL INDIE FILMMAKERS is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays (www.borgus.com), and filmmaker Forris Day, Jr. Show Notes: Seeing Lynch direct Lynch's style W...

Kyle Henry is a filmmaker and associate professor from Northwestern University, Chicago, where he teaches editing, producing, writing, and directing. His latest documentary, Time Passages , is about Kyle's struggle to care for his mother during her final months with late-stage dementia. GET REAL INDIE FILMMAKERS is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays (www.borgus.com), and filmm...

Marc Weinberg and Victoria Fraser are screenwriting partners who have sold scripts to Paramount, USA, and Dick Clark Productions. They've also written for the Discovery Channel and A&E. Before they teamed up, Victoria worked as Director of Development for the Disney Channel. Marc has taught screenwriting at Boston University, Emerson College, and Brandeis University. He also developed a st...

Ashley Elaine is a producer and actor starring in 'Mayberry Man' and 'Mayberry Man: The Series,' as well as the soon to be released feature films, 'Empty Nets' and 'Disciples in the Moonlight.' After earning a marketing degree from the Fashion Institute of Design, Ashley launched her career as an event coordinator in Beverly Hills, California. Her exceptional work o...

Paul Chitlik has written for all the major networks and studios. He was story editor for MGM/UA’s The New Twilight Zone, s taff writer for Showtime’s sitcom Brothers, w rote features for Rysher Entertainment, Nulmage, Promark, Mainline Releasing, and others. He directed episodes of Real Stories of the Highway Patrol and w rote and produced Alien Abduction: The McPherson Tape for UPN. Recently he w...

Richard Currie is a Scottish filmmaker from Cambodia who was 1stAD on a feature film that went wrong. He has a degree in TV from Aberdeen College and has spent years on TV and indie film productions. A "horrific" and "cursed" film shoot in Scotland led him to write a book about his experiences called Lights, Camera, Anarchy. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and auth...

Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio is a Colombian-American filmmaker from New York City. Her feature directorial debut, In the Summers was awarded the grand jury prize and the directing award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. She was the first Latina filmmaker to win this award. She is a member of Meerkat Media, a New York-based filmmaking collective and cooperative. G...

William Rosenfeld is a producer based in Los Angeles. His film: It’s What’s Inside (2024, Netflix), premiered at Sundance. This horror/sci-fi film was directed by Greg Jardin and was filmed in 18 days in Portland with companies Such Content, Edith Productions, and Boldly Go Productions. Within two days of being at Sundance they had a Netflix deal -- $17 Million -- which beaks the record for the sa...

Peter D. Marshall worked more than 40 years as a film and TV director, TV producer, 1stAD. He directed 30 episodes of TV and was 1stAD on 12 movies including Dawn of the Dead, The Butterfly Effect, and Happy Gilmore. He worked with directors like John Woo, Zack Snyder, Phillip Noyce, Ed Zwich, and John Badham . He worked with actors: Peter O’Toole, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Kath...

Dan Shaked is an actor in TV, film, and theater. He studied acting at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He played an Apple engineer in the movie Jobs with Ashton Kutcher, was in ABC’s Body of Proof, and NBC’s Mysteries Of Laura. Dan is also in the upcoming Lionsgate/Oliver Masucci series. GET REAL INDIE FIL...

Christine Chen is a film producer, director and 1st AD. She is one of the founders of GET REELISMS, a picture book made for filmmakers or film lovers to learn set lingo, walkie talkie etiquette, and a plethora of other crucial information for surviving a TV/movie/film set. Christine’s recent feature, "Erzulie" (Erzz-uh-lee) had a limited theatrical run in May 2022 and is now available on V...

Dan Attias has worked as a director in the film and television industry since 1984 and has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards for his comedy directing. He continues to work on some of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed American television shows, including Homeland, The Americans, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Previously he has directed The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, True B...

Alex Ferrari of Indie Film Hustle joins us for an epic discussion about the changing indie film industry, how to survive as an indie filmmaker in 2020, and how to use the power of the niche to compete with big studios. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays (www.borgus.com), and filmmaker Forris Day, Jr. Show Notes: Rise of the Filmtrepreneur: How to Turn...

Joshua A. Friedman and Voravong Nachampassak are making it easier to find crew in your local area with their new app, Crew Me Up. Josh has worked on such productions as 'Law and Order' 'Adjustment Bureau,' and wrote the quintessential guidebook for production assistants: 'Getting it Done.' Not a paid endorsement. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author J...

Steve Kaplan, Hollywood's most sought-after expert in comedy writing, joins us to talk about "cancel culture" and surviving as a comic in the age of political correctness. Steve wrote the quintessential book about comedy writing, 'The Hidden Tools of Comedy' and 'The Comic Hero's Journey.' GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael B...

Heather Hale is a film and television writer, director, and producer with over 60 hours of credits that have won Emmys. She wrote the Lifetime Original Movie 'Courage to Love,' (2000) and co-wrote, directed, and produced 'Absolute Killers' (2011). Her latest book for filmmakers and screenwriters is "Story Selling." GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author...

BREAKING: Documentary filmmaker Jeff Witzeman talked with someone on the inside of Distribber and reveals some details. Alex Firarri of Indie Film Hustle has successfully pulled his film from Distribber and recovered all his customer reviews and ratings. Jeff and Alex join us for this special report. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays ( www.borgus.com...

BREAKING: Distribber is apparently closing, leaving thousands of indie filmmakers wondering what to do. We talk with media strategist Jon Reiss, founder of 8 Above and author of "Think Outside the Box Office" about options moving forward. CORRECTION 9/24: Jon mentions that iTunes relies on Rotten Tomatoes for reviews - they don’t anymore, but Apple TV does. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hos...

Everything you ever wanted to know about gaffer tape! Marty Gage from Gaffer Power is our guest as we examine the importance of gaffer tape to film sets. After 15 years of working in film and television in a variety of capacities, Marty teamed up with a leading tape manufacturer in the US to produce a new brand of premium grade gaffer tape. Gaffer Power® was launched in December 2013 and is now th...

Including "Audio Description" in your production will enable the 26 million blind in the US to enjoy your movie. Today's guest is Roy Samuelson, an Audio Description narrator based in LA whose narration includes blockbuster features like Venom, First Man, Get Out, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Spiderman: Homecoming, Skyscraper, Equalizer 2, Superfly, Pacific Rim, Uprising, The Hatefu...

Weiko Lin has taught playwriting and/or screenwriting at Northwestern University, UCLA, and Taipei National University of the Arts. Based in Los Angeles and Boston, he is a tenured Associate Professor at School of the Arts at Emerson College. He received his B.A. in English (Creative Writing - Playwriting) and M.F.A. in Film and Television at University of California at Los Angeles. His credits as...

Greg Loftin says that screenwriters can learn a lot from film editors, especially when it comes to visual storytelling. Greg is a writer and director with a PhD from the University of Exeter, and author of 'Writing for the Cut' endorsed by Walter Murch. We are not paid by the companies or products we mention! GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays...

Today we talk with "The Guerilla Rep" Ben Yennie of ProductionNext and Producer Foundry about ways to raise financing for your indie film. We ask him what to say in meetings with potential investors, how many meetings to have, and other ways to raise finance before seeking investors. Ben is an executive producer and producer's rep in San Fransisco, author of "The Guerilla Rep"...

Indie director, author, radio producer, and "Hitchcock Whisperer" Jeffrey Michael Bays talks about creating gripping moments for all genres of film. He produced the SiriusXM radio production 'Not From Space,' winner of the Mark Time and Communicator awards, and directed the suspense film 'Offing David.' Jeffrey is an adjunct instructor at Lights Film School, and travels the...