What would you do to be able to have life-like interactions again with a lost loved one? What if it was as easy as taking a pill and closing your eyes? Would you be able to safely walk the tightrope of reality and illusion? Or would you become addicted to the solace this drug provided? It's a riveting concept explored in the film AS EASY AS CLOSING YOUR EYES, which WMM was honored to help bring to life last Summer.

On the eve of her late son’s birthday, Lila attends a group meeting for people addicted to Amesten, a new black market drug that gives its user life-like dreams about the ones the’ve lost. Although the drug has exacted a terrible toll on her, her sobriety still only hangs by a thread. As she prepares to celebrate Bodie’s birthday with her brother Kieran, the temptation to see Bodie again begins to overwhelm her and she must choose whether to finally let go of an impossible dream or follow the light of her life into darkness.

As the film is only days away from it's prem...

The future of We Make Movies comes down to two simple words:  Creative Freedom.

by, Sam Mestman - CEO and Founder We Make Movies

In a world where creative people are exploited, underpaid, and their work is largely taken for granted… to the point where everyone thinks it can be replaced fully by AI… many might ask themselves “what’s the point?  Why bother?”.  Well, We Make Movies exists to answer this question.

Most people I know did not enter the film industry to be told what movies to make, to be typecast as characters they don’t want to play or having the only acting they do be the endless self tape auditions they submit that no one watches.  No one grows up wanting to be making infinite variations of the same unboxing video on their youtube channel, to make marketing videos for soulless corporations, or work on an endless steady stream of film sets where not a single person is passionate about what is going on screen.  It’s all a compromise and it’s all not what we grew up wan...

At WMM, we're all about exploring different creative paths and embracing our inner multi-hyphenate. And let me tell you, David Beatty is the ultimate example of that ethos. He's an award winning filmmaker, actor, director, producer, writer, cinematographer, teacher and also the creator of our post-production workshop, What's Next, which turned into our Rough Cut Lab and has hosted many of our Performance Labs over the years. If that list wasn't exhausting enough he recently added published author to his resume with the book, An Actor's Process.  What initially started as a collection of anecdotes for himself, has morphed into a practical guide and quick source of inspiration for artists at every stage of their process. So, even if you don't typically fancy yourself an actor, take a page from David's book (literally) and try some of this advice on for size.

WMM: After many years of wearing so many hats within the industry (writer/actor/director/cinematographer/filmmaker) what prompted ...

NY based Actor and filmmaker, Nick Sakai used to be skeptical about crowdfunding. The idea of asking friends and family for money to get your movie made never seemed like a viable route to him as a filmmaker. 

But all that changed after he joined the leadership of We Make Movies NYC, especially after watching fellow WMM NYC team member Carly Wilkins' successful campaign. He came to understand that crowdfunding is not just about raising money, it's about building an audience base for your project before you roll camera. So, after showing a couple of his short films at WMM NYC's monthly Lab Mixtape, actor and writer Nicholas Bompart approached Nick with the possibility of producing his script "The Pardon" which was very well received at WMM NYC's labs. 

With We Make Movies' production services team providing tailored crowdfunding coaching (via expert Izzy Stephens) and general guidance, Nick landed on SupportOurStory.com as the perfect platform for his project. They offer step-by-step ...

In today's world, women are expected to juggle multiple roles in both their personal and professional lives. From being a mother to a CEO, the pressure to excel in every sphere is immense.  Writer/Actor/Producer Cora Vander Broek's and director Stephanie Owens' latest film, THE MODEL, delves into the complexities of a figure model's identity crisis. This female driven project (over half the cast and crew identify as female) is about an aging figure model, pushed to a crisis of identity by her relentless art instructor and ambitious lover. In the course of a sitting, she must decide if she will remain a still life to please others or risk evolving to please herself. As she wrestles against her constraints, what ripple effects could her evolution cause within her and the women around her?

We chatted with Cora and Stephanie recently to learn more about how they approached making this short film which will be making the festival rounds this year. 

What compelled you to make this film? Wh...

One of our longtime LA filmmakers and actors, Bill Ferris recently premiered his short film HERE & THERE after a year long festival run. If there was a project that was a better example of how to utilize all the resource We Make Movie's has to offer members, we've yet to find it! From workshopping in WMM writers groups, to being read during a WMM short film challenge (where he attached producer Steve LaMorte,  director Krista Amigone, and co-star Jennie Fahn - all WMM members), to accessing affordable production insurance through us, and even finding his editor amongst our WMM family, we feel honored to be along for the ride every step of the way.

HERE & THERE explores the universal balancing act of duty to one’s family and duty to oneself. Where does one draw the boundary between sacrifice and self-preservation? No matter one’s age, race, religion, or gender, these questions will come up in everyone’s life – whether inspired by death or less final circumstances -- and there is never ...

You're probably familiar with the saying that "audiences are more forgiving of poor video than they are of poor audio." If you've ever watched a film whose audio mix is too low or the background noise is too intense. you've probably lost interest pretty quickly and shut it off. Capturing and mixing audio professionally is truly one of the most crucial steps in filmmaking. So, we're bringing in sound designer, audio post mixer and composer  Mark Menza to share his expertise with the WMM community during a free virtual Industry Lab on April 5th 2023.  (No RSVP necessary - grab the Zoom link here!)

Mark has been creating scores, sound design and sound mixes for network television and independent feature films for 30+ years and is going to walk us through what your audio and creative team needs to plan for when capturing and editing sound on their project. Check out this interview we did with Mark to learn more about his experience and what we'll cover on April 5th! 

Can you share a litt...

Hopefully you've gotten acquainted with another core member of THE USUAL BS PRODUCTIONS already, Brandon Goins, but we now we've gotta introduce you to Teresa Cicala! Remember, you can meet the Usual BS Crew Wednesday, March 22nd at our live Lab Mixtape!

Teresa is an Emmy winning editor, producer, and associate director with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. She currently works as an AD and editor on "General Hospital," the longest-running entertainment program in ABC television history. Teresa also produced and edited the feature film "Women and Sometimes Men," as well as the Emmy-Nominated streaming series "Tainted Dreams" (Amazon). Other favorite projects include "90 Day Fiancé," "Pawn Stars," and "Tiny House Nation." She is a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Motion Picture Editors Guild.

Where are you from? 

Teresa Cicala: Born in Brooklyn, NY. Moved to LA in 2018. 

What is your education/background? How did you start working in ...

We first got to know Yu Jung Hou when she attended some of our events back in 2016, then we started to become really smitten when she brought her short film Fa Fu into our 2020 WMMINTL Film Festival. Since then we're fully head over heels and asked her to join the ranks of our festival judges (and essentially became our golden buzzer judge since it's not easy to impress her!) and have cheered from the sidelines as she became a full time editor working on projects such as The Mandalorian, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, American Born Chinese, Incredibles 2 and recently the feature WILDER THAN HER by Jessica Kozak with Sunita Mani, Kate Easton and Danny Deferrari.

ISomehow, we also convinced her to moderate one of our upcoming post production workshops -- our Rough Cut Lab on 3/29 (more info + sign up to participate via our calendar) so we took the opportunity to get to know her a bit better. 

Where are you from? What do you do?

Yu Jung Hou: I'm from Chiayi, Taiwan.  Being ...

Winning isn't everything, but the creative forces behind THE USUAL BS PRODUCTIONS have collectively won over 12 Emmy's! We're lucky enough to have these artists guest moderate one of our upcoming LA Lab Mixtapes on March 22nd, so we took the opportunity to get to know some of the team a bit more. 

BRANDON GOINS, is co-owner of THE USUAL BS PRODUCTIONS,  and has worked in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. Brandon's most recent projects include Amazon’s 8x Emmy nominated series, Tainted Dreams, in which he received 2 Emmy nominations (2017 & 2018) as the show’s Story Producer and co-writer. A member of both SAG/AFTRA and Actors's Equity, Brandon is currently starring as the longest reoccurring 2nd lead in the hit Off-Broadway production of My Big Gay Italian Wedding and the sequel, My Big Gay Italian Funeral in NYC as well as the touring company around the country. 

Fellow co-owner of THE USUAL BS PRODUCTIONS and 3x Emmy winning director/producer, Sonia Blangiardo directs bot...