IFH 317: How NOT to Follow Your Filmmaking Dream

Published: May 9, 2019, 4:27 p.m.

For anyone who wasn't able to make it out to my talk at the Chinese Theater a few weeks ago you are in luck. I recorded it LIVE so I could bring it to the IFH Tribe. If you want to watch the talk check out the video below but if you are on a commute or can't watch it sit back and enjoy my velvety voice, well just enjoy. The talk is about how not to follow your filmmaking dream. The mistakes I made and why I sold my soul to the devil to make my filmmaking dream to come true.

I go in deep on my story from Shooting for the Mob. I speak about things I never discussed in public before so you are in for a treat. I hope this helps a few of the IFH Tribe out and serves as a warning of what NOT to do. 

Here some info on the book that inspired my talk.

A bipolar gangster, a naive, young film director, and Batman. What could go wrong? Alex Ferrari is a first-time film director who just got hired to direct a $20 million feature film, the only problem is the film is about Jimmy, an egomaniacal gangster who wants the film to be about his life in the mob.

From the backwater towns of Louisiana to the Hollywood Hills, Alex is taken on a crazy misadventure through the world of the mafia and Hollywood. Huge movie stars, billion-dollar producers, studio heads and, of course, a few gangsters, populate this unbelievable journey down the rabbit hole of chasing your dream. Would you sell your soul to the devil to make your dream come true? By the way, did we mention that this story is based on true events? no, seriously it is.

"As a young, aspiring director chasing his dream, the author half-falls and half-skids down the rabbit hole of becoming trapped by his "angel investor" -- into an impossible situation, filled with shady characters, shockingly incompetent unprofessionals and money that seems to fly away as it is allegedly secured. This is the ultimate "How-Not-To" primer for beginning directors -- and, for everyone else, a yarn to enjoy for its dark-edged hilarity." - Jim Uhls (Screenwriter of Fight Club)

Enjoy!