[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: How did you say, “We have money to start.” What was the first step that you took knowing that you two were going to be the engine [driving the film], you and Greg [Porper]?
John Schimke, Filmmaker/Screenwriter: Originally, I know Greg and I, we were trying to raise more money.
We had a certain set budget, but when we realized we squeezed the juice that we could possibly squeeze out of everybody that we knew, we had this smaller budget instead.
We were very detail oriented and we did a preliminary budget ourselves.
We knew a lot of different indie producers, line producers, things like that.
We got a template and we went through and Greg and I had done a lot of web series together in the past.
We have put together small budgets before.
We gave ourselves a certain amount of days.
We knew we wanted to spend a little bit of money to get somebody recognizable.
We have Ed Begley Jr. in our movie.
We set aside a budget for him and for Dot-Marie Jones.
We knew I had a casting director we could work with, Ricki G. Maslar.
She liked the script and she was willing to help us get the script in front of some name talent that would be willing to sign on and we could pay them later while we were raising money.
That’s what we did.
We put that first budget together and then we took trips.
We lived in Los Angeles, so we just looked around Los Angeles for locations where we could shoot.
And then when it was obvious we couldn’t afford to shoot here, I had a friend who suggested maybe shoot the film in Texas.
I know an independent producer out there who could probably help you…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About:
An AFI Directing alum, John Schimke is an accomplished writer/director whose work spans the realms of both film and television. As the lead editor and producer of the Emmy Award-winning TV series Red Table Talk, Schimke has demonstrated a keen ability to shape impactful, emotionally resonant stories for a global audience.
In the world of independent film, Schimke gained critical acclaim with Don’t Tell Larry, which had its world premiere at the Austin Film Festival and went on to win Best Picture and Audience Choice at the Pasadena International Film Festival.
John’s inspiration to develop Where the Wind Blows into a feature film was deeply personal, sparked by a meaningful gift from his mother. She gave him the book and suggested it would make a great movie—a sentiment that continues to drive the project forward. Years later Ashley Elaine read the script and immediately green lit the film with her production company, AE Productions, INC.
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