[Gary Huff]

[shawn Bockoven] ” My 24-year-old enjoys FreddieW’s work more than most things produced by the networks or studios.”

What movies does he own on DVD/Blu-ray?

[Gary Huff]

I just bought one of the WD Passport Ultra drives and it seems pretty speedy. Read/Write is about 100MBps.

[Gary Huff]

[Oliver Peters] “”You can work in commercials and corporate and make a decent living most of your life, or you can work in features and live like a king for six months every two years”

Excellent.

[Gary Huff]

[tony west] “People don’t know their name, but if they walked in a room and said “I directed Blair Witch” folks would know that film”

And that could be why it’s all been Straight-to-Video films. The kind that people complain about being the only things on Netflix Instant Watch.

Look, I’m not bashing them at all, and I hope I don’t give that impression. But the problem is that Blair Witch has been used as an example countless times as to why it’s an okay risk to put up a mortgage on your house and get into significant credit card debt. That’s not their fault, but it has to be pointed out that it’s not a slam dunk.

[Gary Huff]

[Charlie Austin] “lol. when I was doing freelance production work I would run away as fast as I could when I heard that word…”

My standard response to that is, “so you mean work for free?” People get all upset when I say that, but I have yet to meet anyone who ever got any of this mythical deferral money.

[Gary Huff]

[shawn Bockoven] ” Josh took a chance with his own money”

How much of a chance did “Joss” take? There’s a difference between barely scraping up enough for a $200,00 project with the possibility of losing your house, and risking $200,000 that losing it means you at least get a nice tax write-off.

His example should not be held up to inspire someone to max out 4-5 (or more) credit cards because it’s worth it to be successful. It’s irresponsible.

[Gary Huff]

[Oliver Peters] “). That means if they banked it, they had some personal pad to not be immediately hurting for money.”

I’m not saying they didn’t get anything, just that it’s probably not as much as people might think (definitely, like you said, if they were smart to keep them comfortable for a while).

But outside of that, it didn’t lead to any continuing career from what I can tell. They are still unknowns and haven’t made anything since 2009. Not the career path I would want for myself (except for the money).

Much unlike, say, Reservoir Dogs.

[Gary Huff]

[shawn Bockoven] “Joss Whedon funded the project himself (at just over $200,000) and enjoyed the independence of acting as his own studio.”

He’s also Joss Whedon and is thus a named entity that people knew already from several successful properties.

How do you translate that into an example to follow? “First, create three television franchises that are cult hits.”

Yeah, right.

[Gary Huff]

[Oliver Peters] “The usual examples that are held up are Rodriguez’s first film and “The Blair Witch Project”. Neither one of those efforts would have ever seen the light of day if the studios hadn’t paid for a significant amount of additional post after the project was picked up.”

And let’s tackle these two examples, because, like you, I am annoyed when people spout these off like it means something.

First, El Mariachi. Rodriguez recognized a niche market that wasn’t being served, and he was rewarded handsomely for it. Now? That niche market (like pretty much every other conventional narrative film market) is oversaturated, so you’re going to get pennies. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time. The difference between investing in Apple right before the first iPod and investing in Apple when its stock was over $700.

Second, The Blair Witch Project. A movie that wasn’t very good, and relied solely on the “gimmick” of believing that it was real. Easily found in the DVD bargain bin not so long after it was released. Who made the Blair Witch Project? No one can tell you off the top of their head. And how much did they make from this movie? Depends on the deal, but these being first time filmmakers, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s lower than you might think.

You might as well put that money in the lottery.

[Gary Huff]

[Jeremy Garchow] ”
It’s not about the money and these days”

That’s because there isn’t any. Not that it’s a good thing.