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PODCAST

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

Liz Manashil & Alrik Bursell

Liz Manashil and Alrik Bursell discuss independent filmmaking, everything from writing, producing and directing to working as crew. But this is not just a podcast about "making it," it"s also about struggling with rejection, self-doubt and everything else that comes with pursuing a career in film. Follow along as we forge our own way through the industry and talk to guests who are also making it happen. Episodes 238-299 are available at our patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/mmihpodcast

tv & film film reviews

All Episodes

01:24:50

From One Tree Hill to Everyone is Doing Great...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/03/15

This week we have filmmakers and actors Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty from the Hulu Series Everyone is Doing Great to talk about from meeting together as actors on One Tree Hill and how they raised over $250k through crowdfunding to make the show. We get to hear about how they made the transition from actors to filmmakers and what it is like to go back to a show as an actor after working behind the camera. We also have filmmaker and listener of the show Derek Viveiros on Get Shorty to talk

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01:21:42

What an Indie Film Sales and Finance Agent Actually...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/03/08

What does an indie film finance agent actually do? This week Liz and Alrik sit down with Ross Putman, Fiance and Sales Executive at Verve Talent and Literary Agency to talk about his switch from producing indie films to being an agent, what he does day to day and how he helps bring a project from script to the screen. We also talk about a lot of misconceptions regarding agents and how filmmakers can best work with agents to get their films made. On top of that we have filmmaker Aimee Morgan on the

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01:44:20

Producing with The Midas Touch w/ Sev Ohanian!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/03/02

On our big 300th episode, Liz and Alrik are very excited to welcome Sev Ohanian to the show - producer of films such as Fruitvale Station, Searching, Run, Judas and the Black Messiah and the upcoming Space Jam: A New Legacy! Sev talks to us about how he got started as a producer and what he learned producing a dozen features that lead to him writing/producing Searching which premiered at Sundance. This was a very deep and enlightening conversation that really goes to show what you can pull off with

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01:04:30

The Climb From Assistant to Producer to Director of a...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/02/22

This week on the show Liz and Alrik talk to writer/producer/director Camille Brown about how she did just about everything you could do to go from being an assistant, to a producer and to directing her first feature film, which indirectly lead to the opportunity of directing her second feature for Lifetime. Camille talks about how she thought there would be a clear path to directing and when she got into the industry, she saw you have to just do it yourself. We also have old editor and long time

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01:10:44

Directing Nic Cage in Animatronic Horror Insanity...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/02/16

This week Liz and Alrik invite director Kevin Lewis on the show to talk about directing his latest feature Willy’s Wonderland, starring the legendary Nicolas Cage fighting a fun house filled of demonic animatronic creatures! Kevin talks about how the movie came about, how they got Nic Cage on board and his road of directing seven features which lead to his eighth feature with an over 12 year gap in between features. It’s a very engaging conversation about the highs and lows of filmmaking plus we get

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01:54:30

From DIY Filmmaking to Directing Mel Gibson and...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/02/08

This week Liz and Alrik have an EPIC conversation with writer/directing duo Ian and Eshom Nelms about their rise from shooting their first feature for $1500 all the way to writing and directing Fatman, a high concept action/christmas movie starring Mel Gibson and Walton Goggins. This conversation is one of our longests but Ian and Eshom drop a ton of amazing knowledge and teachable experiences into the episode. We hear about working with reps, securing feature jobs and the intense grind it takes to

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01:19:09

Life Before, During and After The Love Witch with...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/02/02

This week Liz and Alrik welcome Writer/Director Anna Biller on the show to talk about making and releasing her feature The Love Witch and what her life has been like since the release of the film. Anna talks about the struggles of raising money for her next film, the crazy amount of time and energy that went into The Love Witch and how she brought the very vintage look and feeling to the film. We also read two new listener emails and Alrik gives an update on his film The Alternate!

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01:18:48

From Educator to Producer with Avril Speaks!

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/01/25

This week Liz and Alrik welcome producer/director Avril Speaks on the show to talk about her road from filmmaker to educator and back to filmmaking again! Avril talks about how she landed the job producing the feature film Jinn and how she fell in love with producing and how that three features later it's her main focus in filmmaking. Avril also talks about her directing work and opens up about how directing will be something she turns back to in the future. This is a fantastic conversation about

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01:40:01

Talking with the Multi-Faceted...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/01/20

This week Liz and Alrik welcome producer, director, writer, programmer for Provincetown International Film Festival and Executive Director of FilmNorth, Andrew Peterson to the show! Andrew talks to us about getting started in the locations department in the 90s, working his way up to producing feature films and then pivoting over to be the executive director of FilmNorth. There are simply too many amazing things that Andrew says in this episode to try and jam it all into this blurb, but we cover

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01:09:23

Forging a Filmmaking Career After Raising a Family w/...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/01/11

This week Liz and Alrik connect with Writer/Director SJ Chiro to talk about her filmmaking career and how after turning down her acceptance in USC in the early 90s, came back to film 20 years later and has forged a successful indie film career for herself. SJ talks about what it took to get her first feature made, Lane 1974 and how it led to her second feature, East of the Mountains, which she just wrapped up during the pandemic. SJ is very open and honest about her filmmaking journey and this

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01:34:46

Shooting Red Snow in the Snow w/Sean Lynch and Gavin...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2021/01/06

Happy New Year! This week Liz and Alrik welcome back previous guests Sean Lynch and Gavin Murray to talk about their new film Red Snow which they shot along with Alrik as producer back in February of 2020 right before the pandemic hit. We recorded this conversation back in April of 2020 so some of our comments on COVID19 are pretty dated but this is a really fun conversation about shooting a horror film in the show, roughly over a month after we wrapped production. Liz and Alrik also have filmmaker

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01:11:54

Amber Sealey: Filmmaking Life Through the Pandemic...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/12/28

This week on MMIH Liz and Alrik sit down with writer/director Amber Sealey to talk about her life as a director, how she's been surviving through the pandemic and directing her latest film, No Man of God, starring Elijah Wood! We also have filmmaker Courtney Therond on to talk about her exceptional short film, Rehearsal, which is a must watch for all aspiring filmmakers and filmmakers alike!

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01:13:22

Shooting Red Stone During the Pandemic w/ Derek...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/12/21

This week Alrik and Liz talk with writer director Derek Presley and producer Jason Starne about the making of their latest feature film Red Stone, starring Neal McDonough during the global pandemic back in June 2020. They tell us how they were the first SAG film to get greenlit during the pandemic and how they managed their set to keep everyone safe. They also talk about how Red Stone laid to their third feature which they went to shoot in Washington in the fall. Alrik and Liz also answer a listener

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01:13:21

Living Off Your Films, Firing 1.21 Gigawatts of Love...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/12/14

This week Liz and Alrik welcome long time listener and documentary filmmaker Taylor Morden on the show to talk about his latest film The Last Blockbuster which is dropping on VOD and digital on Tuesday December 15th! We also talk to Taylor about his amazingly crazy and endearing film project, Project 88: Back to the Future Too in which he wrangled filmmakers and fans from all over the world to recreate Back to the Future 2 during the early days of the pandemic! We also have filmmaker Brittany Synman

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01:18:08

Going All In On Your Film and Directing A-List Actors...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/12/07

On this week's episode Liz and Alrik chat with Director April Mullen about directing her latest film Wander starring Tommy Lee Jones and Aaron Eckhart! April talks about how she pulled the project together from nothing, how long it took her and her team to get the film made and after eight features and dozens of episodes of TV this was her hardest project yet! We also have filmmaker Paul Notice on the show to talk about his first feature film Willow, which he is currently raising funds for on Seed

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01:37:13

Building a Consistent Directing Career at a Young Age...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/12/01

This week Liz and Alrik welcome writer/director and filmmaking Wunderkin, Emily Hagins on the show to talk about directing the segment ‘Cold Open’ for the new horror anthology Scare Package which is out now on Shudder! Emily, Liz and Alrik have a classic filmmakers conversation, covering how Emily got started, what it was like to have your third feature film accepted into SXSW at age 17 and how Emily is still dealing with ageism and sexism ten years later. This conversation is on the longer side so

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01:11:11

Taking the Time to Make Your First Feature Right w/...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/11/23

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. This is a great episode just to show that there are more options to tackling your first feature than trying to get it shot in as little time as

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01:09:47

Film Development and Working in the Pandemic with EP...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/11/16

This week we have a very exciting episode featuring development executive and Senior Vice President of Film/TV at EA. Our special guest joins Liz and Alrik to talk about what her job entails, what she looks for in a project and how she likes to work with up and coming writers and directors. She also talks about her day to day and how that has all changed with the pandemic! If you want to learn more about how filmmaking works on a studio level, this is the episode for you! Also, Liz and Alrik answer

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00:59:36

Making a Great Low Budget Genre film with the...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/11/10

Oh do we have a special episode for you! This week Liz and Alrik invite legendary film critic, film aficionado and Drive-In movie specialist Joe Bob Briggs to talk about all things genre filmmaking! Joe Bob talks about the rants on his show ‘The Last Drive In’, the mistakes young filmmakers make and what kind of movies he would love to see more of in the world of low budget genre filmmaking! Alrik and Liz loved talking to Joe Bob so much that they had an extra post show wrap up talk so once Joe Bob

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01:20:47

Writing, Directing and Producing a Feature Film After...

Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie... ·

2020/11/02

This week Alrik and Liz welcome writers and directors Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey to talk about the making of their brand new feature film, Writers Block which comes out on VOD, Itunes and Amazon on November 3rd! Jeff and Ray talk about reconnecting after thirty years since they knew each other in high school, starting to collaborating together and what it was like to write, direct and produce their first feature later in life. This episode truly proves that it's never too late to follow your dreams

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