Sundance - Not reaaaaally for independent films

[MadMan]

Sundance is known as the place where independent films are shown and the producers try to get distribution... But I looked at the line-up of films that were at sundance this year and, even though they did'nt have a very big budget, and have no distribution, i wouldn't go ahead and call them indie. Let me show you what I'm talking about:
Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini. Both famous.
The Runaways, starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. Both famous.
Hesher, starring Joseph GordoN Levitt. Famous.
Blue Valentine. Starring Ryan Gosling. Famous.

Now off the top of my head, previous sundance films... Reservoir Dogs, starring Harvey Keitel. Famous.
Garden State. Starring Zach Braff and Natalie Portman. Both Famous.
Little Miss Sunshine. Starring Steve Carell. Famous.

I guess The Blair Witch Project is one i can think of that really was indie....


Has there ever been a film accepted to screen at sundance (and even gotten a distribution deal) that had no known actors, writer(s) or director(s)? Does it happen often? Or am i wasting my time submitting it to sundance? Do they only consider films with known actors/filmmakers? Does it help my chances of getting accepted if i start alot of positive buzz (possibly online) first?

 

[TI Irwin]

Why such pessimism?
You just have to figure out how to be as good with little or no budget as the biggies do with huge budgets.
That's TRUE indie filmmaking.

My plan is to come up with about 20 of the best pictures I can film cheaply and send them to sundance. Now I may not have millions, but I have heart. I can FIND or MAKE "ghetto" ways to replicate things that professionals do and do a good enough job that they THINK, I spent millions on my movie.

 

[TI Irwin]

Why such pessimism?
You just have to figure out how to be as good with little or no budget as the biggies do with huge budgets.
That's TRUE indie filmmaking.

My plan is to come up with about 20 of the best pictures I can film cheaply and send them to sundance. Now I may not have millions, but I have heart. I can FIND or MAKE "ghetto" ways to replicate things that professionals do and do a good enough job that they THINK, I spent millions on my movie.

I think it's possible although this tread is a testament to how difficult a feat getting to Sundance is. But I'm going to bust ass (<--- is this a no profanity forum or can I speak like a grown up?) to get it done.

To ask a question, what do you do if you have an amazing screenplay, but you KNOW that you'll need a large budget to take it where you want? I have an action flick (It's not complete yet but so far I think this would sell extremely well. And so has everyone who has read it.) that I know I'll need at least 1 millon to film and that's IF I do all the work myself, with a small crew. The money would go to effects, insurance, and sets. I can't go in detail about it because I'm paraoid about the idea being stolen, but just give me the benifit of the doubt in assuming that the film really is worthwhile and that I'm not just blowing smoke out of my... face.

Any advice on getting that type of funding?

 

[FilmFestNY]

You've got a great independent spirit Irwin, and yea you're standing in front of the same wall pretty much every ambitious filmmaker is at: how to get funding to do your film the way you want.

One of the most repeated things i hear when someone asks a filmmaker where their project stands, is that: oh it's through preproduction and is just waiting on funding. they like to make it sound like the funding is coming in the next few weeks, but in reality most projects will not see any significant funding. it's sadly like everything else, you need to know someone.

there are websites now where you can put up your script/ptich for money people to look at and maybe give you funding, but i take all that with a grain of salt.

a step in the right direction would be to shoot a trailer or small scene from the movie, which would be a calling card, a proof of concept, and an overall better way to convince someone to finance the rest of the film

 

[TI Irwin]

You've got a great independent spirit Irwin, and yea you're standing in front of the same wall pretty much every ambitious filmmaker is at: how to get funding to do your film the way you want.

One of the most repeated things i hear when someone asks a filmmaker where their project stands, is that: oh it's through preproduction and is just waiting on funding. they like to make it sound like the funding is coming in the next few weeks, but in reality most projects will not see any significant funding. it's sadly like everything else, you need to know someone.

there are websites now where you can put up your script/ptich for money people to look at and maybe give you funding, but i take all that with a grain of salt.

a step in the right direction would be to shoot a trailer or small scene from the movie, which would be a calling card, a proof of concept, and an overall better way to convince someone to finance the rest of the film

Thanks for the advice. I actually really like the idea of a trailer, because I can at least show I know what I'm doing with a camera and editing but for my feature, even that would be difficult to pull off. Again, I can't discuss too much, but there is a LOT of action throughout, and I HATE CG and cheezy effects but I lack the funding for real explosions and such. I could do the whole "gurrellia filmmaker" thing, and shoot something beautifully illegal, but that's again, a last resort.

See I don't want to just "wait for funding" because people who do that never do anything. I'm 19 years old, and I'm going to spend my LIFE in pursuit of this. So I'll rob a bank if that's what it takes to finance my film. (Ha Ha I'm not that desperate yet. I'll explore less dangerous means first. lol)

One of the things I've been playing around with as an alternative is building a reputation through smaller projects. I was wanting to start a small production company to do local work like weddings and such as a day job and work on my rep in my spare time. I'm big on the concept of the short film. Right now I'm just coming up with as many things that I can shoot to make myself look good as a filmmaker - for cheap.

I've got a crime drama I'm working on now, but even that is starting to cost. Ugg... Filmmaking is hard when you're poor.