The Cheerful Subversive's Guide to Independent Filmmaking

by Dan Mirvish

In this fully updated second edition, award-winning film director and Slamdance Film Festival cofounder Dan Mirvish gives you soup-to-nuts, cradle-to-grave advice on every aspect of the filmmaking lifestyle and craft. He drops advice on playing the Hollywood and indie-film games, and shows you how to finance, cast, shoot and show your indie feature, documentary, episodic series, short film, student film, web video or big-budget blockbuster. Includes extensive tips on film festivals, distribution and continuing and sustaining your career. Once labeled a "cheerful subversive" by The New York Times, Mirvish shares lessons he's learned personally from film luminaries Robert Altman, Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon-ho, Steven Soderbergh, Rian Johnson, Whit Stillman, Harold Ramis, Lynn Shelton, John Carpenter, the Russo Brothers, Emma Thompson, Sean Baker, and more.

This revised edition includes brand new chapters on filming safely during a global pandemic, finding investors and crowdfunding backers, whether and where to go to film school, how to get a big Hollywood agent, when and how to self-distribute your film, selling it to airlines, casting an Oscar-winner as your lead actor, turning your garage into a 1980s New York subway, and an appendix with Dan's exclusive secret list of film festivals worth considering. The audiobook is narrated by Dan Mirvish, himself.

Audible Audio

Published February 15, 2022

Reviews

[Spaghett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll likely never have the chance to work on a film myself, but what I do is entertainment-adjacent enough that I've been interested in reading a lot of filmmaking books lately, who knows maybe someday I'll find an in, and this book I got from Humble Bundle was a great guide to the ins-and-outs of the business side of things. Dan Mirvish has a great sense of humor and lots of interesting stories about his own productions, and spins his anecdotes into compelling object lessons. I always love hearing about the heat-of-the-moment zany schemes that indie filmmakers do go get their movies made, and there's a ton of cleverness on display here. Of course, it's not all fun and games and Mirvish spends great detail explaining all the boring, unsexy legal stuff you'll have to look out for to avoid getting sued. It's a good fast read but very comprehensive. Great stuff if you're a casual film fan or seriously considering a stab at a feature.