Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking

This week Alrik and Liz welcome writers and directors Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey to talk about the making of their brand new feature film, Writers Block which comes out on VOD, Itunes and Amazon on November 3rd! Jeff and Ray talk about reconnecting after thirty years since they knew each other in high school, starting to collaborating together and what it was like to write, direct and produce their first feature later in life. This episode truly proves that it's never too late to follow your dreams! We also have filmmaker Michael Groves on the show to share his short film Left Behind!

Where to Find Michael Groves, Jeff Kerr and Ray Spivey!

Watch Writer's Block Now!

Jeff Kerr's Website

Ray Spivey on IMDB

Michael Grove's On Youtube

Contact Liz & Alrik 

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• MMIH is now in video and on Youtube @ www.youtube.com/c/MakingMoviesisHARDPodcast

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

 This week Alrik and Liz welcome writer and director Oz Rodriguez on the show to talk about the making of his latest film Vampires vs. The Bronx which is now streaming on Netflix! Oz also talks about how he came up in the world of comedy, how he made it as a director on SNL and taking the leap from directing television to telling a story that is very important to him and that captures his vision start to finish. We also have a new get shorty segment featuring friend of the show Dave Bundtzen's horror short 'The Devil's Passenger' and we have a Soapdish segment from filmmaker and author Sarah Moshman!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Alrik and Liz welcome San Francisco Bay Area Filmmaker and Writer Jonathan Kiefer onto the show to talk about his process in collaborating on making and writing his first feature film, Around The Sun. Jonathan talks about how he and the director collaborated on the film, where the concept came from and the steps he took in writing the project. We also talk about being a filmmaker in these crazy times and the artistic motivations to decide if you should write or direct a certain project! Liz and Alrik also answer a listener question and talk about their all time favorite episodes of the podcast!

Where to Find Jonathan Kiefer!

Watch Around The Sun Now!

Jonathan Kiefer's Website!

Jonathan Kiefer on IMDB!

Contact Liz & Alrik 

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• MMIH is now in video and on Youtube @ www.youtube.com/c/MakingMoviesisHARDPodcast
• You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!
• Find us on our Facebook Community Page
• Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Alrik and Liz welcome back previous 'Get Shorty' Filmmaker Felicia Pride on the show to talk about how she moved to LA at 35 and forged her filmmaking career through her own sheer will and hustle. Felicia talks about the steps she took in crucial points in her career, how she hit career milestones for herself and how she managed to sell a feature, land management and get staffed in a writers room all in the same year. This episode is a must listen if you feel like you missed your chance to have the career that you wanted because it really just shows that putting in the work and staying focused on your goals really pays off. We also have short filmmaker Parrish Stikeleather on the show to talk about his short film 'Long Drive to Yadkin' which we have deemed as a serious ode to the Cohen Brothers!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alrik and Liz welcome writer, director and social media queen Jessica Ellis on the show to talk about making her first feature film, What Lies West! Jessica also talks about her life as a working writer, how she is staying motivated during the pandemic and the reality of what 50k twitter followers actually means when you are running a crowdfunding campaign. We also have producer and filmmaking sales consultant Alec Trachtenberg on the show to  give us some tips on advertising your film and finally we've got a the short film 'We Are Having Sex' from writer/director Michael Callahan!

Where to Find Jessica, Alec and Michael!

Jessica Ellis' Website

Jessica Ellis on Twitter

Alec Trachtenberg's New Book!

Alec Trachtenberg on Instagram!

Michael Callahan's Website!

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!
• Leave a comment on our website
• Find us on our Facebook Community Page
• Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On episode 278 of the show, Alrik and Liz welcome iconic horror director Darren Lynn Bousman (Spiral, Saw II-IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera) to talk about his latest film, Death of Me starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth, which was shot on a remote island off the coast of Thailand. Darren talks about the struggles of shooting a film on a remote island, working with actors who don’t speak english (and who have little experience) and how they pulled off some of the amazing practical effects in the film. We also have listener and filmmaker Oscar Sanudo on the show to talk about his short film Modus Vivendi which he shot on an Iphone 11!

Where to Find Darren and Oscar!

DEATH OF ME is available in select theaters, on demand and digital October 2nd!

Darren's One Day Die Halloween Event!

Darren's Website

Oscar Sañudo on IMDB

Contact Liz & Alrik

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week Liz and Alrik welcome return guests Hannah Black and Megan Petersen to talk about their first feature film Drought, which won Seed and Spark’s Hometown Heroes competition back in 2017. Megan and Hannah talk to us about what they have learned from working with Mark and Jay Duplass on their film and the long road they took to getting their film finished once they got their greenlight! We also have international filmmakers (names) to talk about their latest 1980’s inspired sci-fi short film ‘Slice of Life’ which they made using all the old techniques used on films like Blade Runner and no CGI whatsoever!

Where to Find Megan, Hannah, Dino and Luka!

Megan and Hannah's Website!

Drought on Facebook!

Slice of Life's Website

Dino Julius' Website

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!
• Leave a comment on our website
• Find us on our Facebook Community Page
• Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we dive into the world of Shudder’s Cursed Films with director/editor of the show Jay Cheel! Jay talks to us about how he landed the job on Cursed Films, what attracted him to these stories, and how he approached making the series. We also have the short film Lace, from Australian filmmaker, and listener of the show, Charnstar Anderson!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week on episode 275 of the show, we have director Matt Eskandari to discuss his latest film Hard Kill, starring Bruce Willis, Jesse Metcalfe, and Natalie Eva Marie! Matt talks to us about how he found his way to directing three action films back to back to back, his journey as a director, and how he gets through slow times as a filmmaker. We also have the superhero concept short film Kinetic from writer/director Kylie Eaton, and two stories from our Players of the Week about how they figure out if someone is a good fit to work with or not.

Where to Find Matt and Kylie!

Watch Hard Kill right now!

Matt Eskandari on IMDB!

Kylie Eaton's Website!

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!
• Leave a comment on our website
• Find us on our Facebook Community Page
• Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On episode 274 of MMIH, Liz and Alrik are joined by filmmaker Eugene Kotlyarenko to talk about directing his latest film Spree, starring Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, Mischa Barton and David Arquette. Eugene talks about his journey to getting the opportunity to make Spree, what it was like going from a micro budget indie to a production with an actual budget, and his approach working with Joe Keery on creating the psychotic but recognizable killer, Kurt Kunkle. We also have segments from filmmakers Marcia Haufrecht and Lily Gareth and the short film Spaghetti from writer and star Mary McBain!

Where to Find Eugene, Lily, Marcia and Mary!

Watch Spree Now!

Eugene Kotlyarenko on IMDB

Lily Gareth Cunningham's Website

Marcia Haufrecht on IMDB

Mary McBain's Website

• Send us an email
• You can find Liz Manashil @ www.lizmanashil.com
• You can find Alrik @ www.alrikbursell.com
• You can now find MMIH @ mmihpodcast on instagram!
• Leave a comment on our website
• Find us on our Facebook Community Page
• Contact us on Twitter and Facebook

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.