Mistakes In The Making with Jon Fitzgerald - When Casting Friends Goes Wrong

The MAKE IT Podcast

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Jon Fitzgerald discusses his first film, "Self Portrait," produced in 1994, where his biggest mistake was casting friends who provided key locations.

This led to subpar performances, particularly from a young actress in a pivotal scene. The film didn't make Sundance and this failure led to the creation of Slamdance, an alternative to Sundance that Jon Co-Founded.

Jon emphasizes the importance of casting talent over friends. He now focuses on socially relevant films and supports impact campaigns, directing filmmakers to his website and book for more information.

https://www.causepictures.com

Lessons Learned and Final Thoughts from this Mistake In the Making:

• Jon Fitzgerald discusses his first film, "Self Portrait," which he directed and produced in 1994, and the biggest mistake he made: casting friends.
• He explains how one of his cast members, who had no screen credits, provided access to a nursing home and a castle, which he incorporated into the script.
• Jon highlights the challenges he faced with the lead character's sister, a young girl who couldn't deliver the required performance from a hospital bed.
• He reflects on the limitations of his budget and the inability to reshoot the scene due to financial constraints and lack of access to the location.
• Despite the film's shortcomings, it played in a few festivals, but didn't make it into Sundance. This led to the creation of Slamdance, an alternative to Sundance, which supported emerging filmmakers.
• Jon shares his experience with his next project, "The Highest Pass," where he learned to scrap a character who wasn't charismatic on camera, emphasizing the importance of casting talent over favoritism.
• He advises filmmakers to avoid casting friends and family unless they are truly talented, and to take advantage of opportunities to cast SAG actors, even on low budgets.
• Jon concludes by sharing his current work, focusing on stories with social relevance or impact, and directing filmmakers to his website and book for more information.

Products, software, websites, people or places mentioned:

- Self Portrait (Jon Fitzgerald's first film)

- El Mariachi (by Robert Rodriguez)

- Sundance Film Festival

- Slamdance Film Festival

- The Highest Pass (Jon Fitzgerald's documentary film)

- Netflix

- Cause Pictures (Jon Fitzgerald's website)

- Filmmaking for Change (Jon Fitzgerald's book)

- Jon Fitzgerald

Check out our full conversation with Jon Here

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