Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release - Softcover

Frumkes, Roy; Simonelli, Rocco

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1581152477 ISBN 13: 9781581152470

Publisher: Allworth Press, 2002

Synopsis

For any film student or indie buff seeking an insider's perspective of the art and business of independent film-making, it doesn't get any closer than this.

When the script says "shoot me" and Hollywood says no, your only alternative is to raise the money and do it yourself. Here's how screenwriters Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli used digital video to do just that. Witty, original, and ruthlessly on the mark, this unvarnished look at independent film-making chronicles both the creative intricacies of collaboration and the tricks of staying in budget and out of court. The authors compare notes as they describe the entire film-making process, with coverage including:

* Targeting the audience for the script and tailoring the script for the audience

* Raising money: your friends, your family, and the millionaire next door

* Casting: names, no-names, and personality nightmares

* Locations: finding them, securing them, and sometimes even stealing them

* Producing: creating a budget, scheduling the shoot, and dealing with unions

* Directing: working with actors and protecting your vision

* Editing: or dropping that scene you thought was a gem

* Celebrating, publicizing, and distributing the finished product

About this title

From the Publisher:

A "Divine Comedy" of Indie Filmmaking

Acclaimed Screenwriter Team and Makers of THE SWEET LIFE Reveal the Human Trials of Indie Auteurs;

SHOOT ME Offers Cool-Headed Advice Amidst Digital Video Gold-Rush

It may look like yet another no-fail guide to the indie film revolution, but better look twice. SHOOT ME by Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli is an irreverent, enticingly human look at the challenges of making one’s own movie and a bold response to the DV-driven hype of fast-and-easy success.

Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli are longtime screenwriting partners who have written, among others, the script for the hit action-adventure movie THE SUBSTITUTE. Like so many of their colleagues, the two were frustrated by seeing their scripts corrupted by the Hollywood rewrite process. When digital video came along, they seized the opportunity to shoot their own movie, the romantic comedy THE SWEET LIFE. In SHOOT ME: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release, the newborn indie auteurs offer an unvarnished look at the business and creative challenges of making one’s own movie—from a dante-esque viewpoint that is unheard of in their field.

In SHOOT ME, we meet a post-surgery drugged Simonelli who, on his sickbed, is beguiled and ensnared by his partner into agreeing to direct THE SWEET LIFE and who, despite his meticulous preparations and precautions, dreads his first day on the set with the anxiety of a schoolboy. We meet a self-deprecatingly witty Frumkes who preaches on the dangers of on-set romance only to reveal his own romantic entanglement during the shooting of THE SWEET LIFE. Through these honest and witty accounts, the two filmmakers convey a message that is rarely heard among ambitious young filmmakers: that filmmaking is not only about artistic self-realization, but also a personal juggling act that demands business acumen and inner growth.

Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli have been writing, directing, producing, and teaching in their field for years. Their combined accomplishments include having written the original scripts for THE SUBSTITUTE, THE JOHNSONS, and THE SWEET LIFE, among others. Simonelli currently teaches film writing and production at The School of Visual Arts in New York.

THE SWEET LIFE is a biting romantic comedy of unrequited love and sibling rivalry, starring James Lorinz, Barbara Sicuranza, and rock music icon Joan Jett. Filmed in summer 2001 using digital video technology, the project features over thirty speaking parts and involved shooting at multiple interior and exterior locations all over New York and New Jersey, including a wedding scene with sixty extras. THE SWEET LIFE will be released in Summer 2003. CONTACT: Birte Pampel, 212.777.8395, ext. 13, bpampel@allworth.com

From the Inside Flap:

"Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli know the film business like Dante knew hell."

—Wes Craven, writer/director, Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Music of the Heart, and Swamp Thing, among others

"SHOOT ME is the best book I’ve ever read on the topic of independent filmmaking. Anyone even remotely interested in producing, writing, or directing for the screen must read it. Those not interested at all should read it as well; they’ll be more able to relax and have a good laugh."

—George A. Romero, writer/director, Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Martin, and Monkey Shines, among others

"Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli are the Obi Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker of independent filmmaking. They have outlined the pitfalls and triumphs of making an independent film through personal experience and an unwavering will to succeed."

—Buddy Giovinazzo, writer/director, The Unscarred, No Way Home, and Combat Shock; and novelist, Life Is Hot in Cracktown and Poetry and Purgatory

About this edition

• Publisher: Allworth Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1581152477
• ISBN 13: 9781581152470
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240