THE CULTUREPULP Q&A: Kelley Baker, 'The Angry Filmmaker'


As promised to reader's of the Friday, Jan. 19 Oregonian: Here's the "director's cut" of my interview with Kelley Baker, "The Angry Filmmaker"….




Kelley Baker has some advice for all you film-school dreamers willing to borrow tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars to make your first indie movie:

Don't do it.

"So many of these [film-school] kids are like, 'I'm gonna make this film on my credit cards. It's gonna get into Sundance. I'm gonna win the Audience Prize and get a three-picture deal!'" says Baker. "And that's not going to happen."

Baker -- who bills himself as "The Angry Filmmaker" -- speaks from experience. He's an established pro responsible for a series of wryly funny autobiographical short films (including the brilliant "Stolen Toyota"). He was also the lead sound editor on "Good Will Hunting," "Finding Forrester" and "Far from Heaven."

But, as he recounts it, "I took all the money I made off 'Good Will Hunting' and the 'Psycho' remake and plunged it all into [his 1999 feature 'Birddog,' which cost $150,000] -- and walked out heavily in debt, owing the IRS a ton of money.

"I'd listened to the wrong people: 'You have to shoot on 35mm.' Distributors liked the film, but there was nobody famous. So at the end of the day, I'm left with these huge bills and no way to pay them."

Baker, now 50, paid his tax bill and learned his lesson. Today, he's written and directed two more features, 2003's "The Gas Cafe" and 2005's "Kicking Bird"; both were shot on digital video and cost no more than $6,000 apiece. And he tours the country with his dog Moses, leading workshops that preach the gospel of micro-budget filmmaking.

He's leading two of those workshops this Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 20 and 21) at Portland's Hollywood Theatre: "Making the Extremely Low Budget Feature" and "Guerilla Marketing and Self Distribution of Your Film." He'll also screen "Birddog" and "Kicking Bird" to illustrate his points. (More info here.)

I talked with Baker about his travels, his movies, the commercialization of "independent" filmmaking and why, precisely, he's so angry. An edited transcript follows the jump.


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MIKE RUSSELL: I want to confirm: You're 50, right?

KELLEY BAKER: Oh, come on -- do you have to ask that first? Yes, I am. I'm a 50-year-old man making movies.

Q. You told RunningMovies.com, "I'm kind of like a punk band on the road, only there's no band and no music."

A. The punk bands just went out and did it themselves. They toured and made their albums cheaply. And that's what I do: I tour relentlessly.
I'm always asked, "Why are you so angry?" Well, it’s because the distributors in the so-called "independent film business" won't let us in.

Q. I interviewed a Canadian filmmaker a few years ago, and he argued that, in America, the independent film system is essentially financed by the star system.

A. Right. "Independent" is just a marketing term now. When you get $10-million "independent" movies with big stars, how “independent” is that?

Q. Movie stars are strolling down the street at Sundance.

A. Boy, when I think of independent filmmaking, the first thing I think of is Paris Hilton. [laughs]
If the Sundance Film Festival wants to be independent, they should say, "We'll accept no movies that cost more than $100,000." There's a lot of people making a lot of good movies the distributors won't even look at, because Parker Posey or William H. Macy aren't in them.

Q. On your MySpace blog, you went off on know-it-all film-school students.

A. Yeah: "I've watched a lot of DVDs with director's commentaries, and I know how to make a movie."
Making films is an art form and a business -- but it's also a craft. The more you do it, the better you get. I also advocate not spending a lot of money -- and certainly not using your credit cards.

Q. But there's that media myth: "We funded it with our credit cards and got a movie deal!"

A. And for every one of those that's been written about, I can point out 10,000 people who read that, did it -- and now they're trying to pay their movies off at 30-percent interest.
Filmmakers don't want to learn the business, and their film doesn't get into Sundance -- so it sits on the shelf. That's horrible. If it's a good film, you need to take it out there -- because if you don't, you're disrespecting the cast and crew who helped you get there.
I've shown my work in bars. Whatever it takes to get that audience. It's not going to do me or any of my actors any good sitting on a shelf. That's one of those things that really gripes me: Filmmakers don't want to learn the business, and their film doesn't get into Sundance -- so it sits on the shelf. That's horrible. If it's a good film, you need to take it out there -- because if you don't, you're disrespecting the cast and crew and everybody who helped you get there.




Q. You funded a film with unemployment checks. You funded "Kicking Bird" by asking for $100 from 100 people.

A. Those were the big ones. Today, by funding my films with very little money, I can figure out how to get my money back -- but I also have total control.
I'm working on another short film about my life on the road. I've gotten into the wrestling ring in West Virginia with two professional wrestlers -- got my butt kicked. One night after a screening in Montgomery, Alabama, we all went up to the cemetery and drank beers with Hank Williams. A lot of odd things happened. The short will be seven minutes with me and the dog, on the road. The dog goes everywhere.

Q. You recently said you don't have much use for state film offices and tax-break incentives. Why?

A. They're not for me. The state film office wants to bring Hollywood productions up so people spend money here. Hey -- great: It adds to the economy. But they ignore the home-grown industry. How much do I have to spend to get that tax break? I don't think I'll ever be able to raise that kind of money.

Q. Have you made money on all your films?

A. Of course not. "Birddog" hasn't made its money back; it cost $150,000. I think the better question is, "Do I make a living?" Well, yeah -- I squeeze by, and my films do make a little bit of money. But with the touring and the promotion, I just plunge it back in -- so I can make more DVDs, put gas in the van, and get dog food for Moses.

Q. Do you feel lucky to be around for the advent of digital video?

A. I do. But I think people make too much of it, in that digital video -- or any kind of video -- is a tool. Picasso did oil and watercolor. The medium doesn't matter.
The question I'm always getting is, "What kind of camera do you use?" That doesn't matter. What matters is what you did with it.
The great thing about digital video is that I can afford it. It doesn't cost that much. So in that sense, I'm extremely lucky. But at the end of the day, you still have to have a story to tell and something to say.

Q. Rumor has it you're working on a book.

A. Yeah. The book's called The Angry Filmmaker's Survival Guide. It gives tips on how to save money when you're making films -- and I do talk about how I funded my movies. It's about how to get the most bang for very little buck.

Q. Will you be returning to another filmmaker's sound-mixing studio any time soon?

A. [sighs] Do I have to answer that?

Q. You don't, actually.

A. I'll be honest with you: I don't want to. I like Gus [Van Sant]; I like Todd [Haynes]; we're all still really good friends. I felt like I took that as far as I could and wanted to -- and now it's my turn.
That's why I live so cheaply: so I don't have a huge overhead, and I can just keep working.




Q. What will you be talking about during your Hollywood Theatre workshops?

A. The workshop on Saturday the 20th is "Making the Extreme Low-Budget Feature." I'll talk about looking at the script you've written and asking, "How can I get something for free or very cheaply?"
Don't write a huge car chase into your little movie. How are you gonna do it so it doesn't look stupid? Some friends of mine made a movie, and they had a walking chase. It was hilarious. That's being creative. Figure out the movie you want to make, then figure out realistically how much you can make it for.
You run into these people all the time: "Why raise a million dollars? It’s easier to raise •two• million than a million." I've heard that stupid line so many times. And I always say, "Bring me back $10,000, and then I'll start listening to you."
"Kicking Bird" was made for $6,000 cash. We were in a film festival in Texas. And there was a film there called "Happy Hour" -- a New York feature shot in 35mm with a $3-million budget. According to the organizers of the festival, we barely lost to them by a few votes for best film. A $6,000 movie against a $3-million Goliath? I'll put my movie up against anybody.
On Sunday the 21st, we're going to talk about what happens now that you've made this thing. I'm going to talk about alternate forms of distribution -- how to get out there and promote yourself. I'll talk about touring, going after mom-and-pop video places, going after libraries. There are a lot of venues people don't think about.
It's also about realistically taking a look at your movie. Who is your audience? "Kicking Bird" is about this poor kid who runs and gets on the cross-country team. We've gotten some great reviews from running magazines. Why try to sell this to filmmakers or film festivals? Go after the running market.
The guy who runs RunningMovies.com has been a great advocate for "Kicking Bird." We got a writeup on the Runner's World Web site. And when I'm back in Pennsylvania, the people who run Runner's Gazette let me stay at their house.
And Saturday afternoon, we're showing "Kicking Bird," because that is an ultra low-budget feature. And then we're showing "Birddog"; it's my 35mm print.

Q. That's right. This is billed as a "rare print."

A. I own two of them, but one got chewed up -- so this is a really rare print. [laughs] Did you know a film print costs about $1,200? That's why it's rare.




WHAT: "A Weekend with the Angry Filmmaker"

WHERE: Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland, OR; 503-281-4215)

WHEN:
• Saturday, Jan. 20: "Making the Extremely Low Budget Feature" workshop from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by screening of "Kicking Bird" at 5 p.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 21: "Guerilla Marketing and Self Distribution of Your Film" from 1 to 4 p.m., followed by screening of "Birddog" at 5 p.m.

COST: $40 for each workshop (includes film admission); both workshops $70

MORE INFO: www.HollywoodTheatre.org and www.AngryFilmmaker.com
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Your flick isn't going to win at Sundance (The Oregonian, Jan. 19, 2007)

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