šŸŽ¬ Filmmakers, Your Audience Isn't Going to Build Itself audience building film marketing filmmaking lessons filmmaking mindset independent distribution independent film social media

What do Backrooms, Iron Lung, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have in common?Ā 

Their success was built, at least in part, on audiences that already existed before the movies hit theaters.Ā 

Now, obviously audience building isn’t new. It’s always been the foundation of the movie business.Ā 

Traile...

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šŸŽ¬ The Movie That Made Me Want to Make Movies becoming a filmmaker black filmmakers directing film history filmmaking inspiration school daze spike lee

I recently saw an interview with Tisha Campbell where she discussed how she got started in the business. The interview talked a lot about her time on Martin and, of course, House Party.

Now, I love Tisha Campbell as an actress and a person. My favorite TV show of hers is My Wife and Kids, but my fa...

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šŸŽ¬ A Weekend Movie List With Absolutely No Robots creativity film advice film culture film history film studies independent film

With all the talk about AI (or is it SI now šŸ˜‰) possibly killing us, I think this might be a good weekend to unplug.

Put down the phone. Close the computer. Get outside. Meditate. Write something with an actual pen. Sit under a tree. Talk to another human being. Spend some time with yourself.

Or......

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šŸŽ¬ Get It in Writing: What the Obsession Lawsuit Can Teach Independent Filmmakers backend participation distribution waterfall film business film contracts film distribution independent film movie money movie profits obsession producer agreement

Here's one of those blogs where I have to start by saying:

I am not a lawyer. Nor do I play one on TV.

Nothing in this blog constitutes legal advice. It's based on my experience and knowledge from working in the entertainment industry for many years. Learn from it, but by all means, do your own du...

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šŸŽ¬ How to Become a Film Director: Sometimes You Have to Give Yourself the Job actors award season career pivot directors film culture salli richardson-whitfield women film directors women in film

I’ve worked in this industry for many years, and along the way I’ve met my share of celebrities: Spike Lee, RZA, Jennifer Hudson, A$AP Rocky, Jeffrey Wright, 50 Cent, Larenz Tate, John Singleton, and plenty more. But believe me when I tell you, I was never as excited as I was when I met Salli Richar...

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šŸŽ¬ Confession Time: There Are Classic Movies I've Never Seen classic movie film history film studies film style filmmaking moviemaking

I have a confession. There are classic movies I've never seen. Not because I don't know they exist. Not because I don't respect them.

Ā 

I just... never got around to them.

Ā 

The other day I was listening to The Movies That Made Me podcast, and they mentioned one of those "every filmmaker should ...

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šŸŽ¬ The First Five Minutes Might Be the Most Important in Your Entire Film cinematic directing filmmaking lessons microbudget filmmaking opening scene screenplay storytelling

Let me tell you something.

I'm not one for labels, but when it comes to going to the movies, I can be a little OCD.

I have to get there before the trailers start. Early enough to grab a kid's popcorn and nachos. I prefer to sit dead center in the theater, high enough that I'm looking straight at t...

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šŸŽ¬ "So, What Can We Learn From Christopher Nolan?" cinephile creative voice directors film critique film culture film directing film style hollywood

With Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, he once again proved that he can get people into movie theaters. The film opened to more than $260 million worldwide—his biggest global opening ever, according to reporting.

And I know everyone is talking about it right now, which I would be too, but I haven’t ...

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šŸŽ¬ Legacy Isn't Built at the End of Your Life audience building creative habits creative process creativity filmmaker lifestyle filmmaking filmmaking mindset legacy

This weekend, I found myself thinking about legacy.

It started after hearing about the death of someone whose public life took such a dramatic turn that, regardless of how anyone feels about his politics, history will probably remember him very differently than it would have just a decade ago. And ...

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šŸŽ¬ Sh*t I Should’ve Done #4: Never Release a Rough Cut You’re Not Prepared to Defend directing editing film festivals filmmaking mistakes independent filmmaking post production producing rough cut work in progress

I’m part of the programming committee for a film festival that recently wrapped up. It’s always a fun process because I get to watch a ton of movies. Even the ones I don’t like or that don’t ultimately make it into the festival. As a filmmaker, it’s encouraging to see what people are creating.

This...

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