(Starving) Arts: The making of an indie movie

Before any filmmaker can call 'action', a lot of work needs to be done that has practically nothing to do with the story being told—and everything to do with the cost of getting it made according to your vision.

Just ask Dave McLaughlin, director of On Broadway. The film, starring Joey McIntyre, Eliza Dushku, and Will Arnett, is the story of a blue collar worker in "Southie" (South Boston to locals) who, finding his inner muse after a family tragedy, writes and stages his own play in the back of a neighborhood bar.

"Before you even think about getting behind the camera, you have to figure out how much it's going to cost to make your movie," McLaughlin said. "An action movie that spans the globe and a two-person drama that takes place in one room cost the same to write, but are very different in terms of what it will cost to actually film them."

The most important thing to consider when hiring people to work on your film, even in the early stages of preproduction, Mclaughlin said, is to find people who share your vision for the film.

"I started my first draft of the screenplay in 1999 and didn't start actually filming it until 2006, so I had a lot of time and a lot of passion committed to it already," he said. "When I started meeting with people, I needed to know that they believed in it as much as I did, that they saw it as a story worth telling, and that they would do everything they possibly could to see it told. We had to trust each other and believe in the film or it wasn't going to happen."

One of the first people McLauglin asked to join him in making On Broadway was Mark Hankey, the eventual line producer for the film. (For those unfamiliar with filmmaking, a line producer is the person who figures out the overall budget for a film, breaking the script down scene by scene, and then coming up with a bottom line for the cost of capturing it all on film.)

"As the writer, I created scenes that took place in a bar, in the characters’ homes, in the streets of South Boston, and anywhere else my imagination took me," McLaughlin said. "Mark was able to project not only how much it would cost, but ways that we could save money along the way, like shooting scenes out of sequence while we had the location."

With a better handle on what his budget should be realistically, McLaughlin then started meeting with cinematographers. He struck gold when he found Terrence Hayes, both for the talent of his eye and his commitment to the project.

The great thing about working with Terrence is that he's very knowledgeable about the technical side of his profession, which I am not," McLaughlin sad. "So I could just sit and talk to him about not only what happened in a scene, but about the emotions I wanted that scene to convey to the audience and he would come up with ways to capture it on film through lighting, through camera angles, and through the lenses he used. It was an amazing collaboration."

Having a realistic shooting budget and a talented cinematographer on board gave McLaughlin the confidence he needed to start making his pitch to potential investors.

"Just as you want the people actually working on the movie to be passionate about it, you want to find investors who are, too," he said. "Be very careful of people who are just looking to make a fast buck. Yes, you want them to see a return on their money, but it could take a long time for that to happen. Ideally you want people who want to be part of making the story come alive as much as you do. It may take longer to find them, and you may have to find more of them to make it happen, but it will be worth it in the long run."

In the end, McLaughlin was able to raise $937,000 and was able to make the movie he envisioned when he started writing the script almost 10 yeas ago. On Broadway has been a big hit at festivals around the world, with audiences and critics alike, and this director has his fingers crossed that they'll soon get a distribution deal and be playing in theaters nationwide.

"I definitely want On Broadway to get into theaters because it's a good movie," McLaughlin said. "It's something I'm really proud of. If it doesn't, I'm sure it will find an audience on DVD because it's the kind of movie that people talk about. It's a good story, but it's also the kind of movie that, watching it, you know that everybody involved gave their heart and soul to get it made. Those kinds of movies always find their audience no matter what they cost to make."

Check out OnBroadwayTheMovie.com to find out more about the film and to sign up for Dave's newsletter to stay informed about upcoming screenings near you.

Curious about how to make your own movie on a Shoestring budget, or have tales of making a film with just two nickels to rub? Please post a comment!