“Don’t try and compete with Hollywood.”—Ed Burns

Thanks to Edward Burns for the retweet about the new blog I launch yesterday (E-Filmmaking). It helped give me a nice spike out of the gate. (Many years ago I did a 15-page paper on The Brothers McMullen, so I’m a long time fan.) Today I came across a 2003 interview of Burns that helps show the evolution in his thinking about the filmmaking process. The interview was done a year after his film Ash Wednesday had a limited release. He was disappointed that it not only didn’t find an audience, but in the compromises he had to make for budgetary reasons. And though it would take a few years, you could see he was on the path that would lead him to making the micro-low budget films Nice Guy Johnny (2010) and Newlyweds (2011):

“People ask, ‘What’s the advice you’d give young filmmakers?’ And I always say, ‘Don’t try and compete with Hollywood. Take your lack of resources and make it work for you. Look at Clerks, El Mariachi, Metropolitan, even McMullen, Slackers.  All of these films embrace their lack of resources and instead focused on story or style or characters, and dialogue. And that’s what made them the films they are.’ Ash Wednesday, when I couldn’t get the 8 million I needed,  I really should have changed my approach, the filming style. I was going for this Carol Reed Third Man/Odd Man Out thing and instead I should have said, ‘I can’t afford to light and compose shots like that on a 20-day schedule. I should go hand-held like I did on Sidewalks.’ I should have embraced a more guerrilla filmmaking style.”
Edward Burns
2003 Interview at ING

Related posts:
Filmmaking Quote #15 (Edward Burns) 

“It’s a good time to be a Filmmaker.” (Burns)

The 10 Film Commandments of Edward Burns 

How to Shoot a Feature in 10 Days

Scott W. Smith