Top Films With Rock Bottom Budgets

I saw the film 'Primer' a couple of days ago. It was released in 2004 but I only heard of it recently. It's a movie about a group of scientist entrepreneurs looking to make their fortunes who come up with a mind blowing invention. I don't want to spoil the plot so can't go into too much detail (in fact, frustratingly, the nature of the film means that I can't really go into ANY detail), but suffice to say, it's the best film I've seen this year. For me, I know I've seen a good film when I keep thinking back to it beyond the day on which I watched it, and this is definitely one of those films.

For me, the brilliance of the film is all the more sweet because the writer / director / producer / actor Shane Carruth made the entire film on a budget of $7,000. For anyone who ever wanted to make a film, this is inspirational. Of course this isn't the only film made on a shoestring budget, far from it, there are countless films that have been made for, we are told, virtually nothing. But when one sees one of these films, if it stands up in it's own right - not just as a novelty because it's been made for such an amazingly small amount of money - it stands testimony to the fact that ultimately, it's the story that makes a good film. If you have a good story and you have the talent, passion and conviction, you can make a good film, money or not. This is more true now than it ever was - we live in an age where if you choose to, you can film and cut a feature on your mobile phone and broadcast it to the World using YouTube.

Here are some other films made on a shoestring (budget listed after the name) that are well worth checking out:

• Clerks - $27,000 (grossed over $3,000,000)
• The Blair Witch Project - $22,000 (grossed over $248,000,000)
• Paranormal Activity - $15,000
• Eraser Head - $10,000

Also check out Driven - (budget £32,000 and counting) - this film is still in production, but it's shaping up to be awesome. It's being produced by my business partner Rob Fletcher, you can see a trailer here.

Shrek 4 - The Unsung (Anti) Hero

I saw Shrek 4 this weekend. The film we'd planned to see was fully booked so we ended up donning 3D glasses and watching the green ogre and his donkey sidekick running around - and out - of the screen for a couple of hours. Whilst the movie relies on familiar concepts (both within the series and in storytelling in general) - 'loves true kiss' and parallel universes for example, it's fun, and laugh out loud funny.

The animation is amazing. Despite working in the field of animation and doing character animation from time to time, it completely amazes me to see what can be produced these days if you have the budget for hundreds of talented artists, and tens of thousands of computers.

The thing that amazed me most however was the character of Rumplestiltskin. The sneaky little baddy that he is completely stole the show. He was the perfect bad guy - genuinely scary, but also a bit cheeky, flawed and insecure. The character comes across as incredibly cohesive - you really believe that the voice you hear comes from the animated character that you see, which isn't always the case in animated features.

I was so taken with the character that I stayed through the credits to see who played him. I was certain I would recognise the actor - I had no problem placing his A-List cohorts - and was sure that I'd seen a movie with him in before, I just couldn't place the voice.

It turns out that Rumplestiltskin is played by Walt Dohrn. I'd never heard of him.

The reason I'd never heard of him is that Walt Dohrn is actually 'Head of Story' on the Shrek 4 production at DreamWorks and isn't technically an 'actor' at all.

A nice featurette on YouTube explains all and shows a bit of what goes on behind the scenes....



Now as Head of Story you would expect Walt to have a comprehensive insight into how the characters of the movie should play and hence be in a good position to develop a voice that integrates so believably into their visual manifestation. Or maybe Walt had more time available to him than the others appearing in the film, or just more inclination to practice and develop the voice of the little rogue that is Rumplestiltskin.

Whatever the reason for his stellar performance, Walt and his character Rumpelstiltskin completely stole the show and alone make the movie worth viewing. Not bad for a behind the camera guy, for whom this appears to be his first acting role.