Interview With Will Moore,
Filmmaker : Bandwagon Films (added
April 21, 2005)
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] I
run a movie website named MovieVine.com
While looking for casting calls, and other movie information to
post on the website, I found a website of interest for Bandwagon
Films by Will Moore. I wrote him to see if he would like to do
an interview. He agreed and we talked on the phone about it. I
sent him the questions and here is his story...
(May
be reprinted with links and photos with credit & permission.
Please email wendy at dreamish.com)
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com]
How did you get started in the film business?
Who inspired you?
[Will Moore] My father worked in the film industry
when I was growing up, still does, but I had never felt a desire
to work with him. He’d ask every now and then if I wanted
to work on whatever movie or TV show it was that he happened to
be working on at the time, but I was more interested in something
else. Up until I was about twenty I thought I was going to play
football in the NFL. I had walked-on to the University
Of Texas football team, working my way up to second team by
my second year when I learned that I had failed out of school.
I kind of felt lost, not sure about the future,
so I asked my dad if he could get me a job that up coming summer
because more than anything I really just wanted to get away. My
first experience working in film was as Wardrobe PA on
an ABC movie of the week titled the Day Lincoln Was
Shot. It was amazing; I can remember the first day of production
like it was just yesterday. We rolled up to base camp around 5am
and there were dozens of trailers that were lit up, and people
racing this way and that. My dad turned to me and said, “see
how dark it is now?” I said, “yes” and he replied,
“It’ll be this dark when we leave. I knew at that
moment, without a doubt, I wanted to work in the film industry.
When the summer ended I returned to Austin
and attended Austin Community College for a semester,
got my grades up, and returned to University Of Texas
(UT) but there had been a major change in the UT football department.
Mack Brown had replaced John Mackovic as the head coach, bringing
in a whole new coaching staff with him. What this meant for me,
as a walk-on, was that I had to start all over, from the bottom.
I played under Mack Brown for only four months and then I quit.
I was at a point in my life where I had been away from football
for over a year and with the changes in the coaching staff, I
no longer cared to play. In addition to this I knew that my father
was working on the new Robert Rodriguez movie, The Faculty,
which was being shot in Austin. I called him up and he quickly
got me a job as PA in the Wardrobe department. That was the beginning
of the end for me.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
did you decide that you wanted to be a filmmaker? When did you
start Bandwagon Films?
[Will Moore] It
look me a while to build up the confidence to admit that I wanted
to be a filmmaker. I guess I had always wanted to write and direct
but I was not sure what I needed to do to accomplish those goals.
I’d already graduated from a University and had no desire
to return, so in early 2000 I bought a camera and an iMac. I realized
that just wanting to be a filmmaker was not enough so I had to
learn, teach myself by shooting as many short films as possible.
By the end of 2001 I had shot something like 20 short films. None
of them good, most of them horrible, but I was learning how to
tell a story.
From 2002 to 2003 I was enrolled in 2 semesters
of a film production workshop called Austin Film Works.
I had a blast and the instructors who taught the class were great.
The most important thing I took from that class was a sense of
confidence. During the first semester I realized that all of my
work from the previous year and a half, making all those crappy
short films, had given me a huge advantage over my classmates.
I had a lot of hands-on experience. I didn’t necessarily
know what would work, but I sure as hell knew what didn’t
work.
During
the second semester each student was to write a short script.
Then those scripts were to be read aloud in front of the class.
After the readings the class voted on two scripts to produce,
with the writers of those scripts becoming directors by default.
My script, titled the FMC
Project, was one of the two chosen. As a director this
would be my first experience with an actual crew because the rest
of the class had to work on one of these two films. I was amazed
at how having a crew, even a small one, could change everything.
It was during that time, while I was enrolled in Austin Film Works,
that I decided I was ready to make a feature film.
Bandwagon
Films started as an idea that I had in 2001 to create
a film production company that would support all aspects of filmmaking
in the state of Texas. Growing up I had watched my dad try to
find work in Texas only to watch the few available jobs given
away to people from out of state. There is a real problem with
film production in Texas. We’ve got local directors with
power and influence who constantly hire out of state department
heads, run away production, pathetic financial incentives, less
than desirable wages (compared to those in Los Angeles and New
York), and a rather large unemployed film production workforce.
I’m not sure who to blame but I wanted to be part of the
solution and this is how Bandwagon
Films came about.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
types of stories or genre are of interest to you to make films
about?
[Will Moore] Rarely
do I see a film I don’t like. I can always find something
in a film that I connect with. That goes for big blockbusters,
foreign films, b-movies, comedies… you get the point. My
favorite films, however, are the ones told by master storytellers
like Spielberg, P. T. Anderson, Wes Anderson, the Coen brothers,
Scorsese, Tarintino, and Terrance Malick because those guys can
work in any genre. What I’m getting at is that I like all
genres and all types of stories and aspire to be the type of filmmaker
who has the ability to tell a story that transcends genre.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
tools or resources do you use to create a film?
[Will Moore] When I write
I use my laptop, note books, magazine articles, newspaper articles,
pictures, the internet, and books, lots of books… anything
that will help me find my way through this world that I’ve
created to tell the most interesting story possible.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
casting for a film, what are you looking for? What advice do you
have for actors who would like to be in your film?
[Will Moore] I
don’t have a lot experience casting professional actors.
Most of the people that have auditioned for me in the past are
novice at best with about only half of them showing up with headshots
and/or resumes. Because of this I have developed a method of casting
where rather than looking for someone who I thought was a good
actor, I’d look for actors with traits similar to the character
I had written. I also rewrite parts once an actor has been cast
to help the actor make the performance more believable.
As far as advice for actors I would
say, RELAX. I realize that the whole process of casting is extremely
stressful for actors but there is nothing more annoying than an
actor who comes in and cannot read his or her lines because they
are too nervous. And it’s not the fact that I’m annoyed
with the actor, I get annoyed because this person maybe an excellent
actor but I’ll never know because they can’t relax
for just five minutes.
Another thing is, be professional. Get professional
headshots made every four to five months. Be on time to casting
calls. Realize that the people you are reading for have seen a
hundred other actors that look and sound just like you so try
and make an impression but whatever you do, don’t…
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
long does it generally take to create a film?
[Will Moore] I
was once told that when you embark on the journey of making a
feature film, from start to finish, be prepared to commit three
years of your life. I think the person that told me this was being
generous.
In the world of independent film it can take as
long as ten years to get a film made. Then comes the hard part...
finding distribution. If there are name actors in the film, then
more than likely you’ll have no problem securing distribution,
regardless of the quality of the film. But if not, well…
A large portion of independent films never get distributed.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
are the typical costs involved in making a film? How do you get
financing? What do you wish investors knew about funding a film?
[Will Moore] You
always hear about production value and that’s because it
is the most important costs when you look at budget expenses from
the standpoint of a producer. What production value means is money
spent that the audience can see up on screen. Who are the actors
in the film? Brad Pitt or some actor no one in the audience has
ever heard of? What are the locations? A mansion on a hill or
a one-bedroom apartment? What types of vehicles are in the film?
Are you using an H2 or your moms Volvo? Are there any special
effects? Is there any camera movement? As a producer, production
value is what you want to spend the budget on first. Everything
else just falls into place from there.
As
far as financing and how you go about getting it, that is something
I am still working on. At present Bandwagon
Films is partnered with a company called the Film
Trade Show Network (FTSN) to raise the needed funds for our
next project, The
Bail Bondsman. And because we are not legally tied to
FTSN, Bandwagon
Films is making its own efforts to raise the money. So
far it’s been difficult, but persistence pays and I’m
sure we’ll figure it out. I’d actually like to be
at a point within the next five years where the tables are turned
and investors are coming to us. Bandwagon
Films has several projects that it would like to produce,
all of them marketable.
Making a film and finding distribution is a long
process and the amount of time for an investor to receive a return
on their investment could be a while. I would encourage investors
to invest in projects that they feel are “packaged”
and ready for production. Also, investing in a film is very risky.
While the film industry is highly lucrative, as an investor you
always want to make sure that whatever money you invest, you can
afford to loose.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
types of jobs do you do when you aren't working on films?
[Will Moore] I’ve waited tables and
worked in sales. That’s all I have to say about that.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
finished your first feature film, Wesley
Cash, last year. How did you come to make this film?
[Will Moore] When
I first decided I wanted to be a filmmaker back in 2000 I thought
I would skip the whole process of making short films and just
dive in head first and make a feature. Sounds easy enough, Right?
So, I wrote an 80 page script titled A DIFFERENT WORLD
that was strongly influenced by Terrance Malick’s BAD
LANDS, although to compare the two would be a felony in all
50 states I‘m sure. I wrote the script while I was in California,
on vacation, and figured that when I returned to Texas I would
make the movie come hell or high water. Well, once back in Texas,
reality set in and I realized that I had absolutely no idea how
to make a movie. This is when I bought my first camera and the
iMac and I came up with the idea to shoot as many short films
as possible in order to learn.
Flash forward to December 2002 and 20+ short films later.
At this point I was feeling somewhat confident in my ability to
get a film made so I decided it was time to revisit A DIFFERENT
WORLD. When I reread the script I was disappointed because
I could not connect with the material. This was for several reasons:
1) I was at a different place in my life than when I had written
the first draft and me not relating to the script was a reflection
of that. And 2) I had grown as a writer and more importantly as
a filmmaker. My only option was to completely rewrite the script,
which is what I did and which is how A DIFFERENT WORLD became
WESLEY
CASH.
Once I had the script at a place where I felt I
could actually go out and shoot it, I began working on a budget
and looking for crew. When I started out I figured that I could
get the film made for around fifteen thousand if I bought the
equipment and then resold it after the shoot. This way I would
get to use the money twice in turn doubling a portion of my budget.
For example, if I spent $2,500 on a camera, use the camera during
the shoot, then sell the camera after the shoot for $2,500 then
turn around and use that $2,500 for lab costs and it would be
like me having $5,000 instead of $2,500. Finding the crew was
easy, I just asked a few of my classmates from the Austin
Film Works workshop that I was taking and they agreed. Obtaining
the budget on the other hand was not as easy. I had been working
two jobs, one an 8-4 office gig in sales and the other a 5-11
job waiting tables, but I still was no where near having enough
money. Something needed to be done. Something drastic. So I made
the decision to sell my 2000 Explorer that I had just paid off
one month before. This gave me enough money to go buy all of the
equipment that I needed but I still needed to buy film along with
a few other minor yet important details, like food. Then out of
the blue a guy by the name of Michael Lamendola contacted me via
email and asked about investing in my film. Long story short Michael
ended up investing and I know had enough money to begin.
The shoot was from August 3 - 29 and you can get
all the details
of that on my website.
It took me three months (Sept - Nov) to raise the
money I needed to have my film processed and transferred. Funny
story about the lab where I had this done: I asked for a quote
before I sent my film to the lab, this way I would know exactly
how much money I needed. When I went to pick up the film they
wanted over a thousand dollars more than the amount they had quoted
for me. I flat out did not have the money so I sat in the lobby
for a couple hours arguing until they gave me my footage for the
price they had quoted.
As far as editing the film goes, it was difficult
because I was using a computer that was not built to handle the
amount of footage I was dealing with. I used my old iMac and it‘s
got a G3 so about five times a day my computer would crash and
I would almost always lose some of my work. At one point, when
I was just getting started, I lost three weeks of work because
I had not backed up my files… important lesson learned.
Another pain was the fact that I had to sync up all of my sound.
Usually this would be done at the lab for a minimal cost but I
could not afford it. To top it off about 95% of my original sound
was bad because the camera we used was so loud. So in March of
2004 I assembled all of the actors and re-recorded most of the
sound for the film. About 90% of the sound you hear in the film
is not original.
In July 2004 I finished a cut and held a screening
at AFI in Los Angeles. I was less than impressed with this cut
but I felt pretty damn good about what I had accomplished. From
August - November I did not even look at the film because I was
working on the script for The
Bail Bondsman (my next film, which I was told we “had”
to have the script completed ASAP). In December I revisited the
film and re-edited to its final version which I am very proud
of.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
chronicled some of the progress and news about the making of Wesley
Cash on your website. Have you had much feedback from
it? Do you find it essential to have a website??
[Will Moore] People
love the fact that I chronicled the journey of making Wesley
Cash. It gives folks a real appreciation for what it
took to get the film made.
I think for me, what I am trying to do, build a
company, it’s imperative for me to have a website. Is it
essential for filmmakers in general to have a website? I don’t
know.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
steps are usually taken once a film is created?
[Will Moore] The daunting
task of finding distribution begins.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] How
are things going with the Wesley
Cash film now?
When will it be available for purchase?
[Will Moore] Up
until recently I was depending on a third party to sell Wesley
Cash, but I honestly feel that no effort was put into
getting it sold. I mean I held two weeks of public screenings
and the response we received was wonderful. I’m not saying
everyone liked the film but we had great turn outs, I mean we
packed the theater almost every night. The local paper even wrote
a favorable review of the film, “Wesley
Cash Sits Well With Movie Goers…”.
The reason I had depended on this third party was
because I had no idea how to go about selling the film. But, like
I said, I didn’t feel like they were doing their job so
I decided I’d give it a try. I needed to learn how the process
works anyway and what better way than to do it yourself. It’s
kind of early to tell as I’ve only been working at it for
about three weeks now but the response I’ve received thus
far has been great. I’ve had about six distribution companies
contact me because of postings I’ve made on various websites.
I’ve also been entering the film into festivals, something
that I had not done before a few weeks ago.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] You
are working on some new films, including The
Bail Bondman, The
FMC Project, and Quarter to Life. What are they
about? How are you progressing with them?
[Will Moore] Quarter
to Life is a project that I am developing with Chad Mathews.
Chad played Wesley in Wesley
Cash (WC) and he had written a script called On A
Sunday. We had originally talked about me directing it after
I finished with WC, so we both rewrote the script and On A
Sunday became Quarter
to Life. Somewhere, somehow I decided that I did not
feel that I was the best fit for Quarter
to Life and now I am just developing it as a producer.
The
FMC project
is a short film that I made several years back that I don’t
think I’ll ever adapt into a feature.
The
Bail Bondsman came from an idea that I had a couple years
ago about a Bail Bondsman who recruited criminals from Travis
County to come and work for him. When I first came up with the
idea I wrote a 77 page script that was incomplete and had no ending.
I mostly put the script aside so that I could focus on rewriting
Wesley
Cash, this was in January 2003.
While I was editing WC I was trying to decide what
my next film would be… You should always have a couple projects
ready to pitch. So I revisited The
Bail Bondsman and decided that I really like the idea
and wanted to try and make the movie. Realizing that one of my
weaknesses on Wesley
Cash was the writing I decided to recruit one of my good
friends, Jonathan Case (who is an amazing writer) to help write
the script with me. We finished at the beginning of the year and
at present we are still trying to raise the budget, $550,000.
For the most part the film is ready to be shot. We have several
of the roles cast, crew members ready, locations have been scouted…
we’re just waiting on the money.
[Wendy at Dreamish.com] Do
you network with other filmmakers, actors, etc.?
[Will Moore] Bandwagon
Films is going to start throwing a bi-monthly networking
party. We threw one during South By South West and had
a blast so we decided to make it a regular occurrence.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] When
did you first go to a film festival? How was your experience?
[Will Moore] I
was a reader for the 2002 and 2003 Austin Film Festivals.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Is
there anyone in particular you would like to work with on a project?
[Will Moore] Sure.
Too many to list.
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] What
is your most memorable moment?
[Will Moore] Walking
onto the set of the first film I ever worked on (described I think
in question 1).
[Wendy
at Dreamish.com] Thanks
Will. This was fun! I look forward to watching your films and
seeing your new projects. :)
(This
interview may be reprinted with links and photos with credit &
permission. Please email wendy at dreamish.com)
If you are interested in watching
or investing in Will's films, you can contact him below... and
visit his website by clicking
here.
Will Moore
Bandwagon Films, Inc.
(P) 512-585-2630
(F) 361-574-8855
will@bandwagonfilms.com
www.bandwagonfilms.com
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