This is the first of our new series “10 Q’s” where we will be asking independent filmmakers ten questions regarding their filmmaking process. From the struggles they’ve faced to the solutions they’ve found along the way. The filmmaker featured here is Chris Golon. Chris is an NYFA graduate and is the writer/director of the feature film Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid. To learn more about Chris and his films click here. Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid is currently available for rental or download on amazon. Chris is a good example of a persistent filmmaker that doesn’t let budget constraints hinder his ability to keep making films. There are countless obstacles when making no-budget films and it’s a good way for filmmakers to really hone their skills and learn from their mistakes. Chris shares with us the challenges he’s faced and some of the tips he’s learned from the films he’s made.

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Death to the Movies: What made you want to be a filmmaker, and at what age did you decide that was what you were going to do? Chris Golon: Thanks for this opportunity to discuss my background and my projects. I would have to say that it all goes back to when I was seven years old. My family and I had basic cable and one weekend we got a free weekend of ‘The Movie Channel.’ After that weekend, my parents decided to get ‘The Movie Channel’ and my brother and I would spend countless hours watching it. We watched whatever was on including musicals, foreign films, you name it, we watched it. We watched everything that my parents allowed us to and we’d find ways to sneak peeks at the ‘R’ rated stuff. This was really my introduction into everything that was ‘movies.’ Don’t get me wrong, I’d already loved them prior having seen ‘Jaws,’ ‘Star Wars,’ and ‘Jaws 2′ in theatres (along with many others like ‘The Muppet Movie,’ The Empire Strikes Back’ and others). But I never really thought about making movies, at least not until about eight months after graduating from high school. I stumbled across an article about John Carpenter and his early beginnings in film and he mentioned film school and USC. So, I looked into what schools were the best, and my plan ended up being to find a way to get to USC. Being young (and naive), the plan was good in theory but then reality comes. And reality came in the form of money. I couldn’t afford, even with student loans, to attend USC. What killed me was the fact that I ended up getting accepted to USC, not the film program, but the university itself. But in the end, I just couldn’t afford it. I decided on a new plan and since I’d done a lot of reading about trying to break into Hollywood, I decided to try a new approach: to write my way in. A lot of what I read presented this way as the easiest to being a writer/director. So, I picked up my pad and pen and I started writing scripts. Obviously, my first few scripts were awful, just plain awful. Of course, I thought they were great, but I didn’t understand how to write dialogue. As time passed, I gained more of an understanding, and in 2001, I had a screenplay optioned by a Producer in Los Angeles. This would prove to be a huge eye-opening, learning, experience. Working with this guy, I learned how the ‘Hollywood’ system worked. As well as how scripts can be taken away from the writer, mismanaged, and changed. This also showed me how writing isn’t very fun. Granted, over time the deal fell through, and after that, even though I learned so much, I realized that I needed to have more control and that the only person who was going to give me a break was going to be me. I had to make my own films. So, I continued on with my writing and between 2002-2004, I dealt with managers and entertainment lawyers, and I generated some minor interest in one of my scripts but due to this or that – nothing ever came of it. Besides the scripts I had written to sell, I had a project entitled ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid.’ This was mine and I never showed it to anyone as it was my baby. I wanted to make this one more than any other and just like the ad said for Universal Pictures 1981 film ‘Ghost Story’ – ‘the time has come to tell the tale.’

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Death to the Movies: The films that you make seem to have virtually no budget. What do you find to be the biggest challenge in no-budget filmmaking? Chris Golon: Oh, do I wish I had a budget. The reason I made my feature length movie ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid’ was really due to frustration. I was sick of talking about making movies and I was sick and tired of waiting for someone to like the script and rally around it. I had some luck with a prior script and getting it optioned so I decided to take the bull by the horns and just make ‘Knock.’ ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid’ came about from real life and reel life. Using elements from my life and adding some new story elements, I wrote it over the course of 12+ years, it changed from time to time but the core story always remained the same. In 2007, I attended NYFA (New York Film Academy) in Los Angeles, where I got to shoot on the back-lot at Universal Studios Hollywood. This was an awesome experience and what it did was show me that I didn’t need that big of a budget to pull off my ideas, just some extra creativity. After I completed my thesis film at NYFA, I looked over the ‘Knock’ script (which at this time was 212 pages) and began to scale it down. Although I hated tearing it apart, in order for me to afford being able to make it, I had to cut things out. So, gone were any and all expensive sets, characters were removed and consolidated and the script was made easier to shoot, due to what I had available to me. I decided to shoot in Los Angeles (though the script takes place in Connecticut) due to more available talent. Making a no-low budget movie is tough. The good thing is that it forces you to be creative but the bad is the amount of obstacles you face. More money would equal more time. More time would have been great since once we started shooting the project, time was limited to actually shooting. Gone was time to really discuss scenes – we had to make the scene right then and there. My actors worked for free and I really appreciated that. But, when you’re dealing with so many peoples different schedules and no one is getting paid, you have to adapt. And the movie you are making better mean a lot to you since ‘Murphy’s Law’ begins to occur.

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Death to the Movies: Independent films are often rushed due to their budget constraints. How much time do you generally spend on pre-production? Chris Golon:The script aside, I’d have to say that I usually spend a good month or two on pre-production. I’ll take the script and start breaking it down into interior shots versus exterior shots, day versus night, etc. Then once that is 100% done – I start casting and I try to meet as many actors as I possibly can. I like to meet people and see if they have ‘it’ or if they represent a certain character in how they really are. This alone usually takes 2-3 weeks and then working with actors’ schedules (who are doing my movie for free), which can get very tricky, takes a few days. But no matter how much you plan, until the film is done, anything can happen.

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Death to the Movies: How much time do you devote to rehearsing the scenes with your actors? Chris Golon: That’s a great question because a lot of it comes down to time. I try and do multiple table reads and then a walk through of a scene right before the camera rolls but I feel I never have enough time to rehearse with my actors. Since I have to cast and then get ready to shoot in such a short period of time – there isn’t the time that I would like. I would love to have a few weeks of rehearsal, that would be ideal. Because we could really get into each character and go through everything in that character’s world. This would then make it much easier come time to shoot.

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Death to the Movies: How many shooting days did you have for your feature? Chris Golon: Since ‘Visions of Violence’ and ‘Hollywood’ are my student work (‘Visions’ was made prior to NYFA but trust me, it’s student work), the one and only feature I’ve made to this point, ‘Knock ‘Em Dead, Kid’ took three weeks. Not all day, every day three weeks, just three weeks when people were available. However, the original schedule was two weeks. But let me reiterate, you can’t always predict everything that can go wrong. But I rolled with the punches and in the end, I ended up with the entire shooting script shot.

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Death to the Movies: After making your first feature film, what was the most valuable lesson you learned and how do you apply it to future projects? Chris Golon: Hmm, let’s see…that’s a tricky question. Every film, no matter how big or how small, is a learning experience. What I did learn was that trying to direct a movie is the equivalent of being a teacher, a student, a circus ringleader, a referee, and a crazed general. You’re dealing with so many egos and personalities and there is a lot to manage. I wish I took the time to manage some scenes better. I know that time puts a damper on that but going forward I will try and get more coverage and more takes. A few more takes might’ve made the movie a bit more polished.

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Death to the Movies: What is the most rewarding part of filmmaking for you? The part that makes you say “it was all worth it”. Chris Golon: Ending up with a finished feature that had a great score was a step in the right direction. I still didn’t feel that it had been worth it just yet. And even when the movie won Honorable Mention at the 2009 Twin Rivers Media fest, I still wasn’t there. It was after I decided to roll the dice and send dvd screeners to a bunch of dvd review websites. When the good reviews started coming in, then “it was all worth it.” Because now I had actual moviegoers ‘getting’ my movie and liking it. Granted, not every review was positive but I was getting it out there. Having it reviewed, and getting positive reviews, that made all of the shooting and editing problems worth it.

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Death to the Movies: If you could change one thing about the filmmaking industry, what would it be and why? Chris Golon: That’s a dangerous question and I have to watch what I say so as not to blacklist myself. I would say the way movies are selected for distribution, especially direct-to-dvd distribution. Not every movie has to have sex and violence to be a ‘hit.’ I understand that there is a glut in the direct-to-dvd marketplace. Everybody and their grandmother is making a feature on digital video. But most of it is inferior garbage. Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that I made ‘Citizen Kane’ or ‘Gone With the Wind’ but I made a movie with substance. And when a movie with a story and some substance and style has difficulty finding an audience, that’s a problem. But then you look at the rental wall at Blockbuster Video and you see another torture-porn rip-off? What gives? I understand that this is a business and that you need to get ‘what sells’ out there. But you can’t deny a real story for a naked woman lying in blood for 90 minutes. I mean – come on. Many low budget movies that end up with direct-to-dvd distribs have gore and boobs. Most of the people who make these films disappear and are never taken seriously. My goal has, and will continue to be to be taken seriously as a filmmaker. I’m sure there are many filmmakers out there who have experienced the same frustration but I only speak to those who are real filmmakers. Real filmmakers have something to say, more so than depicting a woman tied to a chair, wearing nothing but fake blood and being tortured. I’m not knocking horror movies, some of my favorite films are horror, but come on people. Scare me. Don’t disgust me – the world is an evil enough place, know what I’m saying? I could ramble on and on but I’m sure you understand my point. Filmmakers pay the price for art while the hacks make a quick buck. Have most of them ever even seen the original horror classics? Probably not. This business is about getting respect, being respected, and respecting who has come before you.

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Death to the Movies: What is the next project you are working on? Chris Golon: I just wrapped post on a short that I shot last fall in LA called ‘Cahuenga Pass.’ And now I’m working with a few low budget producers and trying to find some executive producers to help me procure a budget and set up my next two screenplays from which I will direct. Both titles can be found on: christopherlgolon.com . The first project is titled ‘City Limits’ and is about two girls who like to party in Hollywood, CA. Only stopping to do the occasional crime in motel rooms, ripping off lonely men. The story then focuses on what happens when the girls try to one up one another and one goes too far. And the second is entitled ‘Teenage Kicks’ and is about a young man named Kurt who is home for the summer after his first semester away at college. Apparently he has yet to learn that for every action there is a consequence. You see, shortly after arriving home, he has a rendezvous with an underage girl and then he runs into another girl from his past – who has some pretty big news that will change his life. I’m also writing a sci-fi script, but that’s in the very early stages since the other two are taking up more of my time.

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Death to the Movies: Lastly, our Death to the Movies question. What is a film you’ve seen recently that you loved, and what is one you’ve seen recently that you hated? Chris Golon: Being a fan of cinema from it’s last great period (1967-1984), a film that I watched recently, and that I always love, is the vastly underrated ‘Halloween III: Season of the Witch.’ This is a very good film and it stands on its own. I have always thought if people could get over the whole ‘Michael Myers isn’t in it’ idea then they would appreciate it for what it is. And a bad film? I caught a film called ‘Drive Thru,’ for free on demand on digital cable and it was just plain bad. They had a decent idea but if you don’t try and put a spin on the slasher genre, of which I’m a huge fan, then forget about it. The movie was bad.

Thank you to Chris Golon for taking the time to answer these 10 Q’s!