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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

00:57:54

Writing and Directing Vampires vs. The Bronx with Oz...

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

2020/10/26

This week Alrik and Liz welcome writer and director Oz Rodriguez on the show to talk about the making of his latest film Vampires vs. The Bronx which is now streaming on Netflix! Oz also talks about how he came up in the world of comedy, how he made it as a director on SNL and taking the leap from directing television to telling a story that is very important to him and that captures his vision start to finish. We also have a new get shorty segment featuring friend of the show Dave Bundtzen's

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01:10:05

Collaborating on a First Feature and Writing Around...

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

2020/10/19

This week Alrik and Liz welcome San Francisco Bay Area Filmmaker and Writer Jonathan Kiefer onto the show to talk about his process in collaborating on making and writing his first feature film, Around The Sun. Jonathan talks about how he and the director collaborated on the film, where the concept came from and the steps he took in writing the project. We also talk about being a filmmaker in these crazy times and the artistic motivations to decide if you should write or direct a certain project

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01:12:02

Moving to LA at 35 and Hustling Your Dreams Into...

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

2020/10/12

This week Alrik and Liz welcome back previous 'Get Shorty' Filmmaker Felicia Pride on the show to talk about how she moved to LA at 35 and forged her filmmaking career through her own sheer will and hustle. Felicia talks about the steps she took in crucial points in her career, how she hit career milestones for herself and how she managed to sell a feature, land management and get staffed in a writers room all in the same year. This episode is a must listen if you feel like you missed your chance to

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01:09:54

Making That First Feature Film, Writing and Surviving...

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

2020/10/05

Alrik and Liz welcome writer, director and social media queen Jessica Ellis on the show to talk about making her first feature film, What Lies West! Jessica also talks about her life as a working writer, how she is staying motivated during the pandemic and the reality of what 50k twitter followers actually means when you are running a crowdfunding campaign. We also have producer and filmmaking sales consultant Alec Trachtenberg on the show to give us some tips on advertising your film and finally

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01:19:58

Darren Lynn Bousman: Directing Maggie Q and Luke...

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

2020/09/28

On episode 278 of the show, Alrik and Liz welcome iconic horror director Darren Lynn Bousman (Spiral, Saw II-IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera) to talk about his latest film, Death of Me starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth, which was shot on a remote island off the coast of Thailand. Darren talks about the struggles of shooting a film on a remote island, working with actors who don’t speak english (and who have little experience) and how they pulled off some of the amazing practical effects in the film

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01:20:10

Winning Seed and Spark’s Hometown Hero Competition...

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

2020/09/21

This week Liz and Alrik welcome return guests Hannah Black and Megan Petersen to talk about their first feature film Drought, which won Seed and Spark’s Hometown Heroes competition back in 2017. Megan and Hannah talk to us about what they have learned from working with Mark and Jay Duplass on their film and the long road they took to getting their film finished once they got their greenlight! We also have international filmmakers (names) to talk about their latest 1980’s inspired sci-fi short film

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00:57:50

Documenting Cursed Films with Filmmaker Jay Cheel!

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

2020/09/14

This week we dive into the world of Shudder’s Cursed Films with director/editor of the show Jay Cheel! Jay talks to us about how he landed the job on Cursed Films, what attracted him to these stories, and how he approached making the series. We also have the short film Lace, from Australian filmmaker, and listener of the show, Charnstar Anderson!

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01:13:56

Directing Hard Kill starring Bruce Willis w/ Matt...

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

2020/09/07

This week on episode 275 of the show, we have director Matt Eskandari to discuss his latest film Hard Kill, starring Bruce Willis, Jesse Metcalfe, and Natalie Eva Marie! Matt talks to us about how he found his way to directing three action films back to back to back, his journey as a director, and how he gets through slow times as a filmmaker. We also have the superhero concept short film Kinetic from writer/director Kylie Eaton, and two stories from our Players of the Week about how they figure out

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01:15:45

From Micro Budget Features to Directing Sundance Hit...

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

2020/08/31

On episode 274 of MMIH, Liz and Alrik are joined by filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko to talk about directing his latest film Spree, starring Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, Mischa Barton and David Arquette. Eugene talks about his journey to getting the opportunity to make Spree, what it was like going from a micro budget indie to a production with an actual budget, and his approach working with Joe Keery on creating the psychotic but recognizable killer, Kurt Kunkle. We also have segments from filmmakers

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00:45:26

Live Q&A for What We Found w/ Director Ben Hickernell...

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

2020/08/27

For this bonus episode, Alrik and Liz moderate a live Q&A for the film What We Found. They are joined by the writer and director Ben Hickernell, featuring a large amount of the cast of the film, including stars Jordan Hall, Julian Shatkin, Oona Laurence, Yetide Badaki and Brandon Laaracuente. We hear about how the film came about, what the casting process was like and we get a ton of on set stories from the group. If you ever wanted to hear about the making of an ensemble film from the actors

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01:10:07

Christian Sesma: The Path From Restaurants to...

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

2020/08/24

On episode 273, Liz and Alrik welcome Christian Sesma! Christian is a former restaurateur turned producer...and writer....and director! Christian speaks about his feature, Pay Dirt, starring Val Kilmer, a thriller/mystery that was shot in 12 days in the Coachella Valley. They also touch on making movies in the time of COVID, which includes testing every 3 days, creating a quarantine pod on set, wearing masks on set at all times and how these precautions affect a film's budget! We also have a short

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00:51:05

One Person's Journey to Redefine Limits, Overcome the...

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

2020/08/20

On this special episode Alrik and Liz welcome Patrick James Lynch, director of Bombardier Blood! Bombardier Blood is a documentary that captured Chris Bombardier on his historic quest to conquer the seven summits, including Mt. Everest, as the first person with severe Hemophilia. Patrick, who has Severe Hemophilia as well, speaks on directing a documentary without being on location, how he got investors in this niche field, and getting Alex Borstein of Mad TV and The Marvelous Ms. Maisel fame to

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01:51:15

Willing Your First Feature into Existence w/Reed...

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

2020/08/17

This week Liz and Alrik welcome back returning guest, professional script reader Reed Shusterman to talk about making his first feature film Blood Born which he shot back in November of 2019, before the world ended. Reed talks about how he came up with the story for the film and how he ‘wrote what he knew’ and his process of getting the film shot day to day. We also have a special interview with Jon Synder who talks to us about all things COVID-19 safety on set. Jon just finished working as a lead

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01:15:59

Mitch Altieri & Lee Cummings: Bringing Star Light to...

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

2020/08/10

On this episode, Liz and Alrik are joined by co-directors Lee Cummings and Mitch Altieri to talk about how they collaborated together and were able to take Star Light from script to getting in the can in about three months. We also hear about the duo’s process as co-directors and they both talk about what they took away from making this film. We also have a short film by writer/director and friend of the show, Lisa Donato, called Foxy Trot, about a married lesbian couple who take a ballroom

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00:56:22

Flexing Your Storytelling Muscles and BIG NEWS!...

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

2020/08/03

WE HAVE A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! . We are starting our own YouTube Channel and need your help! Please click the link in our bio and subscribe! We need 100 subscribers by September and you should definitely be one of them! . We also welcome Terilyn Shropshire to the show! Teri is a superstar editor who recently worked on the Charlize Theron Netflix film, The Old Guard. She speaks about how she approached editing an action film, how she got her start, and her path as an editor. She also breaks down

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01:31:08

Quality Over Quantity and Doing Things With Intention...

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

2020/07/27

On episode 269, Alrik and Liz are joined by Julia Swain who speaks about her prolific career as a director of cinematography. Julia shares her thoughts on budgeting, shot lists, and her personal heroes. Additionally, in this week's "Get Shorty" segment, Nate Ruegger joins to talk about the making of his short film Trust Me: A Witness Account of the Goat Man, and taking the short on the festival circuit (including Nightmares Film Festival, which he HIGHLY recommends you check out!) and his plans for

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01:15:44

How to Get on Set and Make It in This Crazy Industry...

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

2020/07/20

On episode 268, Liz and Alrik welcome Robin Kincade to the show! Robin is a producer, among many other titles, and is a part of the Bay Area film production community. She talks about her unorthodox career path, her passion for supporting people on set, and how she strives to help others climb the ladder to success. In fact, she is currently offering a course on how to move up as a production assistant! Additionally, on this week's Get Shorty segment, we meet Brittany Noel! A writer, producer, and

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00:57:43

Natalie Erika James: A Dream Come True!

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

2020/07/13

This week we speak with Australian writer and filmmaker Natalie Erika James about the making of her horror film, Relic, that had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. Natalie also talks about the adventure of making a horror film as a woman, from proof of concept to getting Jake Gyllenhal on board as a producer and the Russo brothers as executive producers and if she suffered from any sort of imposter syndrome directing Emily Mortimer as a first time director. Additionally our Players of the

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01:23:18

J. Lee: Don't focus on the problem, focus on the...

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

2020/07/06

This week On episode #266, Liz and Alrik have writer, director and actor J. Lee on the show to talk about working with Seth McFarland, making a feature film in 12 days, and working his way from PA to writer, to actor, to director! We also have segments from our Players of the week, female filmmakers Felicity Tillack and Erika Longo, as well as our first ever edition of the new segment Get Shorty, featuring a short film from Television writer, Felicia Pride! Where to Find J and The Players of the

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01:42:26

From Acting to Directing to Writing a Studio Feature...

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

2020/06/29

This week Liz and Alrik have actor, producer, writer, and director Leah McKendrick on the show to talk about producing, writing, and starring in her first feature film, MFA. Additionally, Leah discusses writing on her first studio feature for Paramount, Summer Loving, the prequel to Grease! We also have two stories of why filmmakers got into filmmaking from our Players of the week, Jessica Jacobs and Molly Ratermann! Listen to this episode now or subscribe to us wherever you find your podcasts:

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