What does it take to get an independent feature made in Hollywood? The answer to this question could be any one of a million things depending on who you are. Are you a new filmmaker looking to scrounge up enough money for a microbudget feature? Are you an indie darling who has never been able to parlay festival accolades into mainstream success? Or are you an industry icon who nevertheless has to dig deep to prove your continued relevance in the industry? Each path represents unique challenges, often without regard to any previous success you might’ve had in Hollywood.
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In short, there are thousands of stories in Hollywood about the struggle of getting your feature made. Based on the first trailer for “Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business,” director Justin McConnell is determined to collect them all. McConnell, himself a struggling independent filmmaker, has pulled together a veritable whos-who of filmmakers to weigh in on the current state of Hollywood financing. The result is a documentary that promises to tell some harsh truths about the prospects of making a movie in 2020 and beyond.
Want to hear from George A. Romero? Larry Cohen? Paul Schrader? Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead? Guillermo del Toro? Larry Fessenden? Richard Stanley? Even the trailer for ‘Clapboard Jungle’ can’t do justice to the number of filmmakers featured in the documentary. Of course, given the way the industry shakes out, McConnell’s feature does seem to give preference to genre filmmakers and producers, but don’t worry: the documentary promises plenty of interviews with film marketplaces and programmers, too.
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In the end, though, just the fact that ‘Clapboard Jungle’ exists is a testament to independent cinema’s tenacity. Back in 2015, McConnell and his team tried to raise $20,000 to complete the film via Indiegogo. That campaign was a failure – they only raised $5,115 of the requested amount – but the subsequent five years of updates to the subscribers’ page tells its own harrowing story of struggle and success. If ‘Clapboard Jungle’ turns out to be the cinematic equivalent of “title of show,” the 2004 Broadway musical about the efforts of making a Broadway musical, count me very much in.