Kimmy Gatewood is a director, writer and actor whose debut narrative feature Good on Paper (2021), starring Iliza Shlesinger, is out on Netflix.

This contemporary romantic comedy shines a light on the darker side of dating and is based - at least in part - on Shlesinger's real-life experiences.

In this in-depth interview with us, Gatewood explains how important it is to keep going as a filmmaker, her struggles of trying to make it as an actor, and provides advice for aspiring filmmakers. 

Kimmy's other credits include Glow (2017), The Baby-Sitters Club (2020) and Atypical (2017).

CREDITS:

Presenter: Aiysha Jebali
Video Editor, VFX & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Conrad Barrington
Images of Kimmy Gatewood: Mandee Johnson
Thanks: Persona PR

'I was homeless and living in my car four years ago.'

This is that kind of interview. An inspiring, genuine conversation about Edward Drake, the life of a filmmaker who hit rock bottom and is now making movies with Hollywood stars.

Edward is the writer-director of APEX, starring Neal McDonough and Bruce Willis.

LOGLINE: Five elite hunters pay to hunt down a man on a deserted island, only to find themselves becoming the prey.

APEX is in Theaters, On Demand and Digital from November 12, 2021.

Edward Drake studied at the University of Melbourne. A former assistant of Academy Award-winning producer Michael Sugar at Anonymous Content and director Mark Romanek, Drake has collaborated with Grammy-winning artists including The Fratellis, Jack Ü, and the Stanton Warriors. He is a member of the WGAw and has projects in development with 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, and Disney.
----------
CREDITS:

Presenter: Sean Johnson
Video Editor: Jack Judd
VFX/Titles & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Danny Morrison
Stills and/or footage courtesy of: RLJE Films

During the course of this interview director Amber Sealey conceded that there have been over 20 narrative movies about serial killer Ted Bundy.

So, it begs the question (which she answers before I get the chance to pose it): why make yet another film about this?

Amber more than provides the answer - whilst admitting that she had her doubts about whether she was the right filmmaker to helm this version.

Sealey also discusses the role of movie star and producer Elijah Wood in the film and her journey as a female filmmaker in the industry. 

NO MAN OF GOD (2021) is available now on VOD & Digital HD. Also stars Luke Kirby, Aleksa Palladino and Robert Patrick

LOGLINE:
In 1980, Ted Bundy was sentenced to death by electrocution. In the years that followed, he agreed to disclose the details of his crimes, but only to one man. During the early days of the agency’s criminal profiling unit, FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier met with the incarcerated Ted Bundy in the hopes of understanding the psychology of the serial killer and providing closure for the victim’s families. As Hagmaier delves into Bundy’s dark and twisted mind, a strange and complicated relationship develops that neither man expected.  Based on actual transcripts of interviews between FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier and the incarcerated Ted Bundy.

CREDITS:

Presenter, Video Editor, VFX & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Juana Rubio
Stills and/or footage courtesy of: RLJE Films 

Isn't a showreel just a compilation of your best bits from your acting parts to date? No - at least, not according to a leading figure in the film and television showreel industry.

Daniel Johnson is a writer and director from London who has made a name for himself by creating high quality showreel scenes for actors from scratch.

In this lengthy and in-depth chat with actor and presenter Aiysha Jebali, Johnson explains why it's more important to choose one great scene for your showreel over five scenes from bigger parts that do not reflect your abilities as an actor. 

He also discusses the top mistakes actors make when it comes to putting together showreels and how to avoid them - and much, much more!

Daniel has also written and directed short films including A Productive Lockdown - work which caught our attention here at Film Forums and led to this very enjoyable interview. 

CREDITS:

Presenter: Aiysha Jebali 
Video Editor, VFX & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Danny Morrison
Showreel and film clips courtesy of: Daniel Johnson.
Stills of Daniel Johnson: James Everett

In a filmmaker's roundtable-style interview, guest host Jim Page (Film & TV Editor) brings us an insightful conversation with the Watts Brothers, with a focus on their horror film Playhouse (2021) which Jim also edited.

Fionn and Toby Watts discuss growing up in a creative family and making films in their childhood. For six years they worked on corporate films and then decided it was time to throw themselves into narrative filmmaking.

PLAYHOUSE is available now on DVD/Blu Ray and VOD platforms in the UK and North America. Also available in Germany, Russia, Benelux, Taiwan and other international territories.

LOGLINE: In a remote Scottish castle, an irreverent writer faces terrifying consequences when his daughter falls prey to an evil curse lurking within the walls.

Imagine getting your SAG-AFTRA card via Breaking Bad alongside Aaron Paul. Not bad, huh?

That's what happened to rising actor Sarah Minnich, student of acting coach Lesly Kahn, who has gone on to feature alongside Hollywood greats like Nicolas Cage, Matthew Broderick, and can now be seen in the Netflix Original Army of the Dead (directed and co-written by Zack Snyder).

In a generous interview Sarah shares with us the story of her acting journey, from being accepted into UCLA but being unable to attend due to financial circumstances, to game- changing acting coaching from Lesly Kahn, callback advice and things to avoid as an actor on set. 

Some of Sarah's other credits include Amazon Original Them (2021),  From Dusk Till Dawn: The TV Series (2016) and Better Call Saul (2015 - 2018).

Army of the Dead (2021) stars Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell and Ana de la Reguera and is OUT NOW!

CREDITS:

Presenter: Aiysha Jebali
YouTube Video Editor, VFX & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Juana Rubio
Showreel courtesy of Elite Publicity / Sarah Minnich
Images of Sarah Minnich: Lesley Bryce

If you love a Western, you’re going to love this episode's guest. Writer-director Justin Lee is a rising filmmaker who has made a number of feature-length movies in the genre, featuring the likes of Bruce Dern, Mira Sorvino and Thomas Jane.

In this episode, Justin talks about the importance of making your first movie, whatever the budget, getting the right cast and crew on board more than one project, and why he would like to sit down with the great Alfred Hitchcock...

Lee's latest film is APACHE JUNCTION, featuring Country music superstar Trace Adkins (Moms’ Night Out, The Lincoln Lawyer), Stuart Townsend (“Salem,” “Betrayal,” Queen of the Damned), Scout Taylor-Compton (Halloween I & II, The Runaways), Ed Morrone (Final Kill), Victoria Pratt (“Heartland”), and Thomas Jane (“The Expanse,” Deep Blue Sea, Boogie Nights).
 
Apache Junction is an outpost of lawlessness, a haven for thieves and cold-blooded killers. After big-city reporter Annabelle Angel (Scout Taylor-Compton) arrives to write an article on the town, she becomes a target when notorious gunslinger Jericho Ford (Stuart Townsend) comes to her aid. Now Annabelle must entrust her future to a man with a deadly past, as Jericho heads toward a tense showdown in this thrilling Western that unloads a double-barreled blast of action. 

Our guests for this episode are Claire and Anthony of Bueno Productions who, in 2007, decided to make a documentary about Ghostbusters. 

Little did they realise what was ahead of them, as they interviewed the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and the late Harold Ramis. 

The result, over a decade later, is the best documentary you could wish to see about a film franchise loved the world over. 

Here’s an insight into their long journey to making Cleanin’ Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters.

SYNOPSIS:

CLEANIN’ UP THE TOWN: Remembering Ghostbusters delivers the most complete account of how the classic film Ghostbusters was made.  UK  brother and sister team of director Anthony Bueno and producer Claire Bueno have travelled all over the United States from Lily Dale to Jacksonville cross country to San Diego, LA and San Francisco, gathering interviews with over 40 members of the cast and crew. Responsible for bringing these stories to life include actors Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson and Sigourney Weaver, director Ivan Reitman, producers Joe Medjuck and Michael C. Gross, Visual effects crew include Richard Edlund, John Bruno and editor Sheldon Kahn.

AVAILABILITY (AS OF SEPT 2021)

Blu-ray / DVD and VOD:

UK

Blu-ray release 15th June. Distributed by Screenbound

Shop via Amazon UK – RRP £14.99

Shop via Zavvi – RRP £14.99

Available on demand from 8th November on iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft Store, Sky Store, Rakuten
----------
CREDITS:

Presenters: Richard Williams & Juana Rubio
Audio Podcast Editor: Juana Rubio
Stills and/or footage courtesy of: Bueno Productions

FILMMAKER WEBSITE: https://buenoproductions.com/
MERCHANDISE: https://buenoproductions.com/shop/ 

WEB: https://film-forums.com
FILM INTERVIEWS: https://bit.ly/film-interviews
ACTOR INTERVIEWS: http://bit.ly/actor-interviews
DIRECTOR INTERVIEWS: https://bit.ly/director-interviews
WRITER INTERVIEWS: https://bit.ly/writer-interviews

PODCAST: 
Spotify: bit.ly/spotify-podcast-ff
Apple: bit.ly/apple-podcasts-ff
Amazon: bit.ly/amazon-podcast-ff
Google: bit.ly/google-podcasts-ff

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Twitter: http://bit.ly/filmforums-tw​​
Instagram: http://bit.ly/filmforums-insta​​
Facebook: http://bit.ly/filmforums-fb
LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/filmforums-linkedin
TikTok: https://bit.ly/filmforums-tiktok

#Ghostbusters #HaroldRamis #SigourneyWeaver #DanAykroyd #Documentary #Filmmaking #BuenoProductions

Dan Mazer is a British filmmaker who just so happens to be Sacha Baron Cohen's co-producer and co-writer on Da Ali G Show (2000 - 2004), the Borat movies, Bruno (2009) and The Dictator (2012). 

Yes, if you've seen any of those, you know what you're getting into with Dan. Edgy? Tick. Comedy? Tick. Borderline uncomfortable? Gotcha.

Other notable credits include I Give It a Year (2013), Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) and Dirty Grandpa (2016) with Robert De Niro.

In this candid interview, Dan offers up some insights into the differences between directing and writing, how to make a film on a small budget (and much larger budgets), as well as providing plenty of useful advice for aspiring writers, directors and filmmakers.

Dan's latest directing credit is The Exchange (2021), about an awkward teenager Tim (Ed Oxenbould), who hopes to find friendship with a French exchange student Stéphane (played by Avan Jogia). He discovers that the student is not as sophisticated and cultured as he assumed. 

Written by Tim Long ("The Simpsons," "Late Show with David Letterman").

THE EXCHANGE is out on VOD and Digital July 30, 2021.

Presenters: Aiysha Jebali & Millie Hayward
Video Editor, VFX & Artwork: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Juana Rubio

Medalion Rahimi is an American actor perhaps best known for her roles in Before I Fall (2017) and as Princess Isabella in the Shondaland drama, Still Star-Crossed (2017). Since 2019, she has played Special Agent Fatima Namazi in NCIS: Los Angeles (2009 – ).

In this interview, Medalion Rahimi discusses her journey into film and television; from working as receptionist and filming printer commercials, to sitting at a table read with Shonda Rhimes. She also talks about the importance of representation in the media, working on big budget sets and gives useful advice for actors starting out in their career.

Credits:

Presenter: Aiysha Jebali 
Video Editor: Richard Williams
Audio Podcast Editor: Juana Rubio
Visual Effects & Artwork: Richard Williams
Images of Medalion Rahimi: Markhor Entertainment