Making Indie Films

I’m not sure if technically LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is an indie movie. Sure, it stars top notch indie thespian Ryan Gosling. Still, with a veteran commercials director like Craig Gillespie at the helm and a script from a SIX FEET UNDER series writer, you might imagine that any indie allusions end there. However, the reason that I have singled out Lars and The Real Girl is because of its independent spirit and more importantly the fact that if somebody WILL bankroll this kind of project then there is hope for all of us.

L-A-T-R-G concerns a lonely man, who for reasons of mental dysfunction, buys something that approximates a Real Doll off the internet and parades it around town to friends and relatives as his girlfriend. Yes! This film is about a man who buys a live size sex-doll (for what of a better word) and treats it as a real person. It looks funny from the trailer - however, this is still a movie whose central prop is a live size sex doll. It’s not something off HBO late night, but a real movie schedule to be in theaters at the weekend. It’s being released by MGM no less.

While Wes Anderson is quirky (yes quirky - don’t you hate that word?) and held-up by many as the doyen of indie cross-over. I say that this movie about a Real Doll is much more independent and subversive. I think it shows us that we can be different and contemporary and at the same time deal with more marginal issues or cultural artifacts. I found L-A-T-R-G to be quite an inspiration in some respects. It actually made me more confident in sending out the latest draft of my script.

Today’s exercise is simple. Find yourself a movie (about to be released) that inspires you - a movie that gives you a sense of possibility and makes your own project seem plausible. Savor the sense that you can and will be inspired to succeed.

Meanwhile here’s the L-A-T-R-G trailer for your edification…