Indie Filmmakers Face Long Road to Fame
May 22 -- It was nine years ago that brothers Richard and Robert LaPorta came up with an idea for a movie about a frustrated architect struggling with a creatively stifling boss, a wife who's ready to have children and a noisy upstairs neighbor with a penchant for cranking rock music at full blast.
Armed with a screenplay, they tried to drum up financial support for the project over the years, but there were no takers.
"We didn't have any real game plan; just trial and error and meeting with people," says Richard. "It didn't seem like there would be any savior."
Like the LaPortas, many young, unknown filmmakers trying to get started in the world of independent film face a long, tough battle raising enough money to make a movie, and an even tougher competitive environment once the film is completed. With the proliferation of digital technology and a growing number of budding filmmakers trying to get noticed, sticking out from the crowd to get funding and attention has become a difficult task, but one that can bring enormous rewards.
Quick, Sell the Nova!
Eventually, Richard, a 35-year old Chicago-based filmmaker, had to sell a 1967 Chevy Nova that had belonged to his grandfather to get enough money to produce a short film based on a scene in the script.
Called Man and Wife in Bed, the film was shown at the Telluride film festival in 1997 and generated enough positive attention from festival-goers that the brothers decided that they were on the right track. Though the praise was welcome, it didn't translate into cash.
Then in 1998, the critically acclaimed Danish film The Celebration, which was filmed using digital cameras, gave Robert an idea. If they made their movie using much-cheaper digital technology and equipment, the cost of production would be much lower than using film.
Robert convinced Richard to give it a try, and the two were able to drum up enough money from friends and family to get the movie made on digital. Completed last year, One Man's Ceiling debuted at New York's Tribeca Film Festival two weeks ago.
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