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

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 231 with prolific director Eduardo Castrillo about how he has directed so many features and how he has kept doing it over and over. This is a great pairing for Jon Garcia because I feel like Eduardo is equally as prolific as Jon but just working in very different genres. But stick around because we play another round of...

This week we welcome writer/director Jon Garcia on the show to talk about making over eleven feature films, how he survives as a filmmaker and what motivates him to decide to make a feature. After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy! Watch The Alternate on Tubi Out Now: https://tubitv.com/movies/702632/the-alternate For 20% off your Jambox subscription use code MMIH @ jambox.io Check out...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to do something a little different, we aren’t going to play a throwback interview but a throwback discussion that the original co-host Timothy and Alrik had about if film festivals are helpful from WAAAAAAAY back in August of 2015 on the ninth episode of the podcast. This will be interesting to hear what Alrik thought of film festivals back then and what...

This week we welcome filmmaker and festival programmer Ashlea Wessel on the show to talk about her life working at festivals and how that lead into her life as a filmmaker and what she learned from watching so many movies! After that we play another round of You’re the Expert and we read an itunes review, enjoy! Watch The Alternate on Tubi Out Now: https://tubitv.com/movies/702632/the-alternate Fo...

On this Thursday throwback episode we are going to play our interview with Rick Bosner from WAAAAAY back on April 10th 2017 on episode 97. Rick was the first producer we had on the show and he talked about how he chooses his projects, told us stories about working on Fruitvale Station and talked about how he made a sustainable life for himself as a film producer. After that we play another round o...

This week we welcome super producer Gill Holland on the show to talk about his epic career of producing indie features. After that, we play a round of ‘You’re the Expert’, enjoy! Watch The Alternate on Tubi Out Now: https://tubitv.com/movies/702632/the-alternate For 20% off your Jambox subscription use code MMIH @ jambox.io Check out the ISA at: www.networkisa.org Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz...

On this Thursday throwback episode we are going to play our interview with filmmakers Angie Powers and Elizabeth Stark from way back from January 2019 with one of our old co-host L. Jeffrey Moore! They talk to us about how they got into filmmaking, making films as a couple and making their first feature film, Lost in the MIddle! I thought this was a good match for our talk with Alicia and Alicia b...

This week we welcome Filmmaker Alicia J. Rose and Creator/Star Alicia Jo Rabins to talk about their work on their film A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff which is a hybrid of musical memoir and narrative fantasy! After that we play another round of THE GAME, enjoy! Watch The Alternate on Tubi Out Now: https://tubitv.com/movies/702632/the-alternate For 20% off your Jambox subscription use code MMIH @ jamb...

On this Thursday throwback episode we are going to play our interview with Steven Bernstein back from episode 109 that aired on July 3rd 2017. Steven has shot a ton of amazing films, from huge studio comedies like Half Baked, all the way to Oscar winner Monster and all kinds of films in between, so this felt like a good contrast to Checco’s story. After that we play another round of You’re the exp...

This week we welcome cinematographer Checco Varse to talk about his work on the new Amazon show Daisy Jones and the Six, as well as his work on Pacific Rim, It Chapter 2 and many others! This is a really fantastic conversation because you get an inside look at the life and process of a cinematographer who is working at the highest level of the industry. After that we play another round of THE GAME...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 252 back from February 23rd 2020 with actor, writer, producer and friend of the show Naomi McDougall jones! Naomi talks about transitioning from acting to writing and producing, the difference between making her first and second features and what was like to take a film from town to town rather than do a traditional rel...

This week we welcome Tate Hanyok on the show to talk about the transition from acting to writing and now to directing and what it was like to make her first two feature films as a writer. A big shout out to the wonderful people at the Austin film festival for connecting us with Tate to make this happen and don’t go anywhere because after the interview we play another round of THE GAME and we read...

On this Thursday bonus episode we are going to play the interview from episode 168 back from August 5th 2018 with filmmaker Jean-Luc Julien who talks about moving to Berlin and how he managed to make his first feature on a very low budget while living in Berlin. I felt like this was a good pairing for our episode with Jae because they are both documentary filmmakers who pushed the genre in differe...

This week we welcome editor, writer and director Jae Shim on the show to talk about making his first feature film Opus Cope about composer and author David Cope who spent his life teaching computers how to make music. Jae talks about how he discovered David and his work and how he formed his first feature blending documentary and fiction together through the film. After that we play another round...

On this Thursday throwback episode we are going to play our interview with Rebecca Weaver back from episode 103 that aired on May 22nd 2017. I thought this was a good pairing for Dawn’s episode because Rebecca actually made her first feature with a tiny two person crew on a very tiny budget of $11k. I think this is a bit smaller than what Dawn was thinking of but I think it’ll make a good contrast...

This week we welcome writer and director Dawn Jones Redstone to talk about making her first feature film Mother of Color, how she came up for the idea for the film and how she raised the funds in an untraditional way. We also play another round of the Game, enjoy!  Order The Alternate on Itunes Out Now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-alternate/id1640576609?ls=1  For 20% off your Jambox subs...

Here's a throwback episode from our 100th episode way back on May 8th of 2017 at the end of the 2nd year of the show! Jared Hess is the director of Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre and many others. For those who don't know Napoleon Dynamite basically became the most successful indie film ever and I don't think anything that low budget as achieved that level of success since (maybe paranormal activit...

This week, Alrik and Liz welcome filmmaker Thom Harp on the show to talk about making his move to LA, getting reps, and then after many years, making his two first features back to back during the pandemic. We focus the conversation mainly on The Donor Party starring Malin Ackerman. Enjoy! Order The Alternate on Itunes Out Now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-alternate/id1640576609?ls=1 For...

Here's a throwback episode from way back in the vault from episode 157 with writer/director J.D. Dillard who was famously attached to a Star Wars feature and a Superman feature and was in development on a remake of The Fly for many years. In this conversation we talk about making his first feature Sleight which ended up premiering at Sundance and being released in theaters and made over $1 million...

This week Alrik and Liz welcome writer/director Yoko Okumura on the show to talk about the making of her first feature film Unseen, as part of a Blumhouse/MGM deal, how she landed the director role and what her experience was like directing her first feature at that scale. After that we play another round of THE GAME. Enjoy Order The Alternate on Itunes Out Now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/t...

This week Liz and Alrik talk with indie filmmaker Aleem Hossain about the process of making his first feature film, After We Leave, which he shot across over eight years and made it on a budget under $50k. Aleem talks about his decision to make his film over a long period of time, not rush the process and make sure he got each frame just the way he wanted. If you like these throwback episodes give...

This week Alrik and Liz welcome writer/director Ryan Spindell on the show to talk about how he made his anthology feature The Mortuary Collection, what his approach was, why he decided to make an anthology film in the first place and how he got the film funded and distributed! After that we actually premiere a brand new segment called, You’re the Expert. Enjoy! Order The Alternate on Itunes Out No...

Here's a throwback episode from way back in the vault from episode 151 on April 9th 2018 with practical SFX whiz Don Bies who worked on movies such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusades, The Fly, Galaxy Quest, Starship Troopers, Ghost Busters 2 and many more! If you like these throwback episodes give us a shout at podcast@makingmoviesishard.com and thanks for listening! Check out our patreon at w...

This week, Alrik and Liz welcome writer and director Carter Smith on the show to talk about how he made his latest film SWALLOWED, how he got Jena Melone to star in the film and his pitch to Spielberg which secured his role as director for The Ruins. After that we play another round of THE GAME and read a new iTunes review. Enjoy! Order The Alternate on Itunes Out Now: https://itunes.apple.com/us/...

This week on our throwback episode we feature an old interview with Joslyn Rose Lyons from episode 331 back on August 9th, 2021! The full episode featuring our currently retired segment, Get Shorty and Liz and Alrik's normal discussion, is behind the paywall, so unless you are a patreon supporter, you'll just get the interview itself. Let us know what you think of this throwback interview and if t...