The Final Cut

Brandon Ransbottom Talks Brooker: Florida’s Indie Film Breakthrough


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We talk with filmmaker and writer-producer Brandon Random about making Brooker, a Florida-set adventure with a classic pulse, built through resource-driven writing, local crews, and full creative control. We explore the trade-offs of skipping Hollywood’s machine, and why human performance may be cinema’s last line of defence against AI.

• Indiana-Jones-in-Florida premise and moral twist around a powerful relic
• Writing from available resources to design plot, settings and MacGuffins
• Gains of independence: final cut, creative control, tonal purity
• Drawbacks: no star names, limited marketing, harder discovery
• Building a high-performing local crew and respectful set culture
• Choosing not to direct while producing, writing and wearing many hats
• Production design wins: practical cave set and the relic mask
• Festivals, distribution realities, and marketing without a studio
• Financing via self-funding, favours, trades and modest day rates
• Strategy for the next project: big if financed, small if not
• Florida as a dynamic, underused film canvas and practical base
• Decentralised filmmaking, tech tailwinds and a clear view on AI
• Career advice: be serious, test yourself, keep what survives

The best way to find out more and contact us is at brookermovie.com


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The Final CutBy Charlotte and John