In an effort to dissuade anyone from getting into screenwriting,
I was gonna do some financial breakdowns of Indie Films, but got sidetrack on just the horror genre, because that's where the money is. I'll cover Indie Films in general in another Thread.

So, even though money is a fool's pursuit:

If you wanna make money as an Indie, then I fear, no pun intended, that Horror is the way to go. They're CHEAP to make, there's always a demand, and most importantly, they’re FRANCHISEABLE!!...Probably spelled that poorly...You can even enter in as just a writer...Although most of the one's I’m gonna mention were low budget writer/director/actor/production teams.

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead may be the granddaddy, but other’s have come along, and often led to much better things for those involved.

The Evil Dead, 1981…3 films, by Sam Raimi...Michigan Boy who's gone on to much bigger things, as has the actor Bruce Campbell.

EDITTED TO ADD: This just in. The originals, Mr. Raimi & Mr. Campbell have filmed an updated version due to be released this spring woo hoo!!!!!!!!


Halloween…Friday the 13th…Freddy...Fast forward to the 2000's...SAW, and the one that kicked off the Horror reboots as well as the Found Footage and Shakey Cam, 1999's: The Bair Witch Project...I believe Paranormal Activity is the current darling.

Hollywood is full of small companies that are looking for the next small thing that could turn huge...ie: Contained Thrillers/Horror...Movies set in 1 location. Tiny budgets. Big dreams.

But here’s the deal: They still need to be marketed!! The Blair Witch idea began around 1996, was released in 1999…And here are the numbers via Wiki:

The initial investment by the three University of Central Florida filmmakers was about US $35,000. Artisan acquired the film for US $1.1 million but spent US $25 million to market it.[14] The actors signed a "small" agreement to receive some of the profits from the film's release.[15]

That’s 35 grand to shoot...25 million to market...Oodles & Oodles of Profit.

Contained THRILLERS, have a niche, but it's pretty small. If you have a contained HORROR script lying around, there are dozens of big-dreamers out there with cameras and crews who might be interested...But financially, it's an all or nothing crapshoot.

It's not my cup of tea, but have at it...

Onward

Midnite

Satchel was right. Something is gaining on me.

The Shoebox & Dinner at Eight trailers available at:

http://www.twometer.com/Two_Meter_Studios/HOME.html