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"BOOK REVIEW: FAST CHEAP AND UNDER CONTROL - Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time"
Author: John Gaspard
Book Review by Matthew Terry
Published by: Michael Wiese Productions
ISBN#: ***************
I will tell you right now - that if you are not a film fan - stop trying to be a screenwriter. Every student I have taught enters the class with an idea they want to see up on the silver screen. I've heard the comments in my class: "I've always liked movies and want to explore them more." And I smile because I have a film fan.
This book is for film fans (and film makers) and it is indispensable. John Gaspard takes 33 low-budget films and, using interviews with the film-makers themselves, dissects the films in an interesting, enjoyable and informative way.
Mr. Gaspard finds the commonalties, the continued mistakes, the moments of triumphs and the creative thinking that went behind the making of these 33 low-budget films (and when I say low budget - some of them are REALLY LOW BUDGET).
Many of the films you have probably heard of: "Monty Python & the Holy Grail," "Open Water," "The Blair Witch Project" while others might be a bit more obscure to your average film-goer: "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One" and "David Holzman's Diary" - just to name a couple.
Mr. Gaspard, though interviews and descriptions, breaks down the films as to their cost, their process of being made and the eventual impact they had in films that came after them. Certainly it's easy to see how "Star Wars - Episode IV - A New Hope" had on the film industry in 1977 - but what influence did "Eraserhead" have on Stanley Kubrick? Or what made the low-budget "The Anniversary Party" (that contained a stellar cast) so unique? What lessons did Award Winning Director Ron Howard learn when he made "Grand Theft Auto" and how important IS Roger Corman to the film industry? And how did the low budget "Dark Star" influence the high budget "Alien?"
It was about time someone cast a magnifying glass on these films and explored not only the processes involved, but the influence they had on their big budget brethren (and the film industry on a whole).
As a screenwriter I can tell you that I found a number of the stories both terrifying and enlightening. Where most HUGE BUDGET films rest solely on story and following that blue-print (veering from it too much could cause costly over-runs and delays) - many of these low-budget independent films threw the story out the window and concentrated on what they had at hand - or used improvisation or even hidden cameras to get what they wanted. While still other films profiled in this book did take the story seriously and held to it as closely as possible. I think that it could be both encouraging and discouraging to read about "seat of your pants" film-making and how that impacts story.
If I had one complaint about the book - I would like more information about the films themselves. Such as a quick break-down of cast, crew, how long it took to film, original budget, actual budget, how much the film made and when it premiered. That information could give credence to something like "Blair Witch" and the fact that it made well over $200 million - but does it give credence to a film like "Patti Rocks?" The films may have been influential - but did they make any money (and most of the time, in Hollywood, that's a bottom line). Contact information of the film-makers might also be helpful if I wanted to e-mail and/or write a letter (or send a couple bucks to the film-maker's behind "Carnival of Souls").
Part Reference Book, part "How-To-Guide," Mr. Gaspard's book gets to the heart of independent guerilla film-making. It has something for everyone - from the casual film fan to the next great film director. An amazing book and an amazing look into the world of low budget film-making. If you have camera in hand, read this book first. It will save you a lot of time, energy and heart-ache.
One other note: At least four of the films profiled in this book are in the public domain. Those films are: "Little Shop of Horrors," "Dementia 13," "Carnival of Souls" and "Night of the Living Dead." These films can be found for cheap (sometimes less than a $1) on DVD. Do yourself a favor and pick them up and give them a look.
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