Shoot Me: Independent Filmmaking from Creative Concept to Rousing Release

For any film student or indie buff seeking an insider's perspective of the art and business of independent film-making, it doesn't get any closer than this.

When the script says "shoot me" and Hollywood says no, your only alternative is to raise the money and do it yourself. Here's how screenwriters Roy Frumkes and Rocco Simonelli used digital video to do just that. Witty, original, and ruthlessly on the mark, this unvarnished look at independent film-making chronicles both the creative intricacies of collaboration and the tricks of staying in budget and out of court. The authors compare notes as they describe the entire film-making process, with coverage including:

* Targeting the audience for the script and tailoring the script for the audience

* Raising money: your friends, your family, and the millionaire next door

* Casting: names, no-names, and personality nightmares

* Locations: finding them, securing them, and sometimes even stealing them

* Producing: creating a budget, scheduling the shoot, and dealing with unions

* Directing: working with actors and protecting your vision

* Editing: or dropping that scene you thought was a gem

* Celebrating, publicizing, and distributing the finished product

ROY FRUMKES and ROCCO SIMONELLI have been writing, directing, producing, and teaching in their field for years. The team’s story ideas, rewrites, and authorship include the hit feature film The Substitute (which has spawned three sequels) and the cult favorite The Johnsons. SHOOT ME is based on the filming of their first-time feature film The Sweet Life, which was shot in New York City and surrounding areas in summer 2001 and which will be released in New York in spring 2003.

Roy Frumkes’s accomplishments as director, writer, and producer include the TV special An Evening at Dangerfields, the docudrama Burt’s Bikers, the award-winning feature Street Trash, and the feature-length documentary Document of the Dead. As the owner of Films in Review, America’s oldest and most prestigious film publication, Roy has brought the magazine online. The site draws thousands of hits daily. For the past twenty years, he has taught courses in film production and screenwriting at The School of Visual Arts, and he has lectured widely at such institutions as Harvard University and the Cornell Medical Center.

Rocco Simonelli has penned the scripts for the mystical thriller The Johnsons (based on a story by partner Roy Frumkes), the gangster comedy Me and the Mob, and the independent short Swirlee. His writing has appeared in The Perfect Vision, Films in Review, and Expressions of Dread. He teaches screenwriting at The School of Visual Arts, and has also taught and lectured at SUNY and Marymount College. The Sweet Life represents his directorial debut.