The Making of an Independent No-Budget Feature Film in the Twin Cities

My name is Mike Ascher and I am in independent filmmaker here in the Twin Cities, embarking on my first feature-length film. Having read Robert Rodriguez’ REBEL WITHOUT A CREW, I decided to keep my own diary.

So where do I begin? How does a project like this start and what are the first steps to bringing it to fruition?

Directors that inspire me are Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Tony Scott, Rob Zombie, and of course the biggies such as Spielberg, Howard and Scorsese. My influences are the Exploitation films of the 70s, Kung Fu films, horror, and monster movies and action-adventure like Indiana Jones and over-the-top thrill-rides.

I would say that the first step is to create a story. I knew what kind of story I wanted but I didn’t know where to begin. A few years ago I had made a horror short called FLASH. After a handful of awards, I was itching to make a feature-length film. After a year or two of feeding my obsession with independent films, I stumbled across the web page of Twisted Twins Productions. Jen and Sylvia Soska, twin sisters from Vancouver, had made a feature film, DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK, which was getting rave reviews from biggies such as Tarantino and the like. This was when I realized that independent low-budget films did not have to suck. I contacted the Soska sisters via email and we communicated over the next few months. They gave me a lot of great tips, advice and encouragement.

Thus began my feature-film journey: how to create a zero-budget feature film, with style and flair that doesn’t fall flat on its face in the first five minutes. Style is important. Cameras have to move. Scenes that drag bore an audience.

Technical issues aside, I needed a story or there was no reason to contemplate any of it.

In August of 2010, I decided to start. So there I sat with pen in hand. How do you start a feature-length script? What is the first scene? What I always liked are movies that hit you hard in the beginning and then fill in the gaps as they go along. And that was exactly my approach to writing this script.

I decided to start with two people talking about something, and it had to be comical. I went through many topics before I found one that grabbed me. After many trials, I wrote dialogue that had a life of its own. I could barely type fast enough to keep up with it.

So now I had my beginning. How do I finish it from here? I just followed a few simple guidelines: have colorful, fun and unforgettable dialogue, characters and situations. And hit with the unexpected. Just when the audience thinks they have it figured out, sucker-punch ‘em.

After two months of writing, editing and rewriting, I had most of what became the working script for EMMA’S REVENGE. Now, how do I make it into a movie, with no money?