Last week i had the pleasure of filming the first independent film that I am a producer on, the high school romantic comedy: Banging Lanie.
I was approached to help get this film going in the early summer of 2017 by a colleague, actress/writer Allison Powell. I knew she had been developing the project for awhile, and was gearing up for a Kickstarter campaign. As i have long felt that the best way into Hollywood is to make your own content, this seemed like a good opportunity to dive in.
So after we hit our crowdfunding goal and went into preproduction this winter, i got my invitation to set for last week and got to spend 4 days on set. I’m no stranger to being on set, i was a Production Assistant for all of Season 2 of SpikeTvs The Deadliest Warrior, for something like 6-7 months ( met great folks on that show), amongst various day gigs on indie features. So i enjoy being on set, I’m pretty comfortable with the environment and respectful of what the crew goes through to make the magic happen, but this was my first time being on set with any sort of influential capacity (which mind you, wasn’t all that much as I’m a lower level producer on the project).
Now let me tell you, making movies is not easy. It’s a logistics nightmare and takes long days with some grueling effort by all involved. Thts for any movie. If you wonder why some movies don’t pan out, it’s because there are so many things from script to post production to post production that can go wrong, This was a high school movie which presents it’s own issues, namely, shooting at a high school. Needless to say, there were some pretty big speed bumps that’s threw off production, and because we were shooting on location out of Los Angeles, this caused some issues with the cast and crew.
On a low budget picture, no one is making money, and it’s pr probably going to cost you some dough. It’s going to be a labor of love. So one of the key ingredients to making these things work, is treating everybody the right way. And that is in and of itself tricky because some people have different expectations. Well, this ended up being the big issue on the production, which just so happened to be the days I was on set.
And that’s when I got to step up and be a producer. It’s important to hear what’s the issues are, because on set everyone has one. Hear them out, gauge the seriousness, and find a solution. Problem solve. I’ll spare you the details, but It was a good move mento for me, I’m happy about how it turned out, and how much i learned from the situation. This will be an experience that stay strong with me as i move forward in my career.
I’d also like to take the time to say that Las Cruces, NM is a super charming town. It’s a little bit smaller than my hometown, but the environment is so different. I was telling someone that i definitely want to go back and film a western there some time. I’d also be okay with a weekend getaway for some peace and quiet. Bosque Brewery is a great spot across from New Mexico State University-get the flight. Worth noting is that they have Whataburger, a Southwest burger staple. Being a fatkid and living in the home of In n Out, i had to compare. Let’s just say that green chiles on burgers is awesome, but In n Out is still better overall. I do recommend it.
Keep an eye out for the film, and thanks for checking this out.