Making Your Own Movie?

[Unknown Primate]

Ok, this might be a little corny, but here goes.  Say you have an idea for a movie, but you really want to recapture the feeling that your favorite classics gave you.  Let's just say you want to make a monster movie or horror thriller without all the flash and you would rather stay true to yourself and your vision of said film.

What would you rather happen?

Give in to the mainstream bigshots, get their money and compromise your original idea. Like adding actors you really didn't have in mind for the project, blowing big bucks on slick special effects, etc.
But, even though you don't really like the final product, it ends up being a fairly solid success and makes the bigwigs happy.  You make a lot of money off of it.

Or...

You scrape together enough money, blood, sweat & tears and are eventually able to put together a low budget masterpiece, capturing exactly what you wanted to achieve.  It doesn't make a LOT of money, but...  It becomes a respected cult classic, revered by the likes of the gang in the UMA and other lovers of the classic monster/horror genre.

Now I guess you could always do the blockbuster first, then with your earnings, make the film you REALLY wanted to make, but let's just say (for some reason or other), you only get a chance to do one or the other.

I would make the movie I wanted to.  And hope the rentals would be good.  Am I crazy?
What would you do?
                                                                                                                                                     

[The Creeper]

I would do the film I wanted to do.  Look at some of the great directors that did just that, George Romero, Sam Rami.  Romero did the big budget thing with Land of the Dead, but I read a interview with him and he said that was his least favorite.  He had to make sure everyone like investers were happy.  So sometimes you would have to change certain things.  And at that point you are changing your vision on the movie your making.  Do I make since?  The big corperations don't care about the film itself but what they can do with it to make as much money as possible.  They don't have their heart and soul in it!  That is just my opinion I guess.  What I am trying to say is do what you feel is right, because if you do that you will be happy with you film.  And if it isn't a big success at first, true fans will love it and it will become a cult classic kinda like what happened with the Evil Dead. 

[raycastile]

I'd go for the low-budget masterpiece.  In the real world, I wouldn't have much choice.  It's not like some studio big shot is going to give me any money.

[Dr.Teufel Geist]

I actually wrote a script of a low budget movie parody of the campy scifi 1950s movies, and
was going to film it on a camcorder, but never did find anyone interested in making the movie.
I wasnt going to try and sell it or anything, just to watch with my friends and family.
So I would have to say the second choice is the best, making movies isnt all about making money.
It's about seeing your dreams come true, so what if Brad Harris is the lead part and not Brad Pitt.

[BlackLagoon]

Well I can say this much, I have been in and out of bands for 10+ years now, and have been with the same one for about 7 years. We are finishing up an E.P. that took YEARS to get out there because of schedules and whatever else. Now in our 30's we're doing it......with people being married, having kids, owning homes, jobs whatever..its very VERY hard to do. But we're still doing it and we made a choice and a comitment to each other to never change our style or sound to suit the masses and get paid. Do I like money?? You bet. Do I like music? Its a GIANT part of my life...will I ever get rich or be able to live off of the kind of music I make?.....Never. Well Im 99.9% sure of that atleast. If it happened? Great...I'd love to get signed and get paid to do this sort of thing....to make the kind of music that I LOVE to make and never compromise or sacrifice anything. It is what it is...if you love something that much, if your that passionate about it....dont do it for money.

So my answer? Just switch the word music to film. I'd stay real to myself and what I love, live within my means, and sleep easy at night knowing I did the right thing........support the underground!!!