Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release [Paperback]

Roy Frumkes (Author), Rocco Simonelli (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2002

Shoot Me Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release By Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli 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 filmmaking 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 filmmaking 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 Adding to the authors? testimony are interviews with notable independent filmmakers Ted Bonnitt (Mau Mau, Sex Sex) Michael Ellenbogen (producer, Margarita Happy Hour) and Richard Dutcher (God's Army and Brigham City) who hone in on such issues as digital distribution, the indie film scene in New York and Hollywood, and the niche audiences who could make or break a film. For any film student or indie buff seeking an insider's perspective of the art and business of independent filmmaking, it doesn't get any closer than this.

Editorial Reviews

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, [e-mail]

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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Allworth Press (November 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581152477
• ISBN-13: 978-1581152470
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,925,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great info - fun to read, March 27, 2003

By 

Rico Pagliei (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release (Paperback)

Would you build a house without a blueprint? Of course not. So don't even think about shooting your own independent feature until you've read this book. Laid out in a logical manner (and written in a witty fashion that I quite enjoyed), the authors walk you through the mine field known as Independent Filmmaking. From raising money, to casting, to production, to post-production and beyond, solid advise is offered - the fact that the authors are working professionals and not academics dispensing sage advise from some ivory tower, held much greater weight with me.

I am planning my own independent feature, and found the sections detailing the Business Plan and Memorandum invaluable - the actual document is reprinted in the book. Unless your independently wealthy and financing your feature with the family trust, you won't shoot one frame until you've raised some cash from investors. This book will show you how.

I look forward to seeing their finished feature, and hope it's as good as the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Found this "Shoot Me" review on indieWIRE.com:, April 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release (Paperback)

indieWIRE's Bookshelf: Collette, Hoberman, Simonelli, Frumkes & More -- by Brandon Judell -- Rocco Simonelli and Roy Frumkes both teach film at New York's School of Visual Arts. They also wrote the screenplays for "The Substitute" and "The Johnsons." Frumkes additionally helmed "Document of the Dead" (1989), a not-bad documentary about George Romero that compares the King of the Living Dead to Hitchcock and other masters. Now the duo have teamed up and scribed "Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking From Creative Concept to Rousing Release" (Allworth Press; $19.95). This might be their most successful partnering. After all, every one of their students will have to buy copies, plus Wes Craven has already raved that the authors "know the film business like Dante knew hell." Thankfully, Wes wasn't bull-----ing us. "Shoot Me" has to be one of the best books out there right now on making an indie film from scratch. We get to experience each anxiety-filled moment as Rocco and Roy put together their independent feature, "The Sweet Life." We get to see an actual "collaboration agreement." We learn how to budget a film (working in digital saved the project $750,000) and why storyboarding is so important. But there are little tidbits of info you might not ever think of asking, like how to raise money to make an unprofitable short? For first-time filmmakers, offer "a potential investor points not only in your short thesis/independent project, but in the first feature you produce, so that for the money they invest in the short, they go along for the ride and benefit down the road of your career." There are also unpleasant surprises: "At least during production, shooting in digital video did not lessen the need for a full crew." Written in an acceptably "one-of-the-guys" lively manner, "Shoot Me" is a top candidate for being the filmmaking bible of the moment.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great info - fun to read, March 27, 2003

By 

Rico Pagliei (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release (Paperback)

Would you build a house without a blueprint? Of course not. So don't even think about shooting your own independent feature until you've read this book. Laid out in a logical manner (and written in a witty fashion that I quite enjoyed), the authors walk you through the mine field known as Independent Filmmaking. From raising money, to casting, to production, to post-production and beyond, solid advice is offered - the fact that the authors are working professionals and not academics dispensing sage advice from some ivory tower, held much greater weight with me.

I am planning my own independent feature, and found the sections detailing the Business Plan and Memorandum invaluable - the actual document is reprinted in the book. Unless your independently wealthy and financing your feature with the family trust, you won't shoot one frame until you've raised some cash from investors. This book will show you how.

I look forward to seeing their finished feature, and hope it's as good as the book.