Note From Tongal: “Top Indie Film and TV Success Stories That Make It Seem Possible" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
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You always wanted to do it. Someone read your latest thing, and told you to do it. Your tax return came back double what you thought it would be. Or you just woke up and decided today is the day. It’s time to make something and show it to everyone! There’s always a reason to try, and it’s usually immediately followed by a reason not to, but we have found that studying the indie success stories that make it seem like all your dreams are within arm’s reach can quiet the whispers of doubt.
Indie film is alive and well. With a full-fledged professional quality camera in everyone’s pocket today, there is no excuse not to make your first feature film or TV pilot. Making entertainment outside of the studio system is still a viable way to break in and if well made and well-received, possibly even break out. Here’s some behind the scenes details from true Hollywood success stories that came from humble beginnings. From Do-It-Yourself to Doing-It-Big!
Napoleon Dynamite
On a budget of just under $400,000 Jared Hess made Napoleon Dynamite in Preston, Idaho, near the Utah border by casting many of his friends from school including the lead Jon Heder. He relied on the generosity of the locals to provide housing and food for crewmembers. It premiered at Sundance, went onto gross $46 million at the box office and spawned an animated series and a videogame. Jared Hess has gone on to direct more comedies like Nacho Libre and Masterminds.
The Puffy Chair
Mark and Jay Duplass wrote and directed The Puffy Chair after borrowing $15,000 from their parents. The actors in the road trip movie were paid $100/day and shot on a Panasonic camcorder usually reserved for home movies. The Duplass Brothers have gone on to either write, direct, produce, and/or star in some of the best indie films of the last decade including Jeff Who Lives At Home, Safety Not Guaranteed, The One I Love, The Skeleton Twins and Paddleton. They currently have a feature deal at Netflix and a TV overall at HBO.
Broad City
For those with smaller screen aspirations, look to Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobsen’s digital-series-to-TV-series success story with Broad City. After teaming up at Upright Citizens Brigade and being mentored by Amy Poehler, the show ended up on Comedy Central where it ran for five seasons. The two are now in a massive deal across multiple Viacom platforms that will see their creative output realized for many years to come.
Brick
Rian Johnson spent about eight years shopping the script for his high school noir, but couldn’t get enough interest so he figured out the minimal amount of money he would need and asked friends and family to back him. He shot the film in his hometown, at the high school he once attended, enlisted current students to work on it, shooting on the weekends. Since then he’s gone onto write and direct The Brothers Bloom, Looper, and a little film called Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Super
Before James Gunn took the Marvel Cinematic Universe cosmic with Guardians of the Galaxy, he was subverting the superhero genre with his second film Super. An independent low-budget violent affair starring Rainn Wilson that started shooting in Louisiana and finished shooting at his own house in Los Angeles, where all cast members were paid scale. Up next James Gunn will be completing his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and rebooting Suicide Squad for DC.
Insecure
Before Issa Rae knew that HBO would come calling for her, she was toiling away on her web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. This directly led to Insecure and it’s success now sees Issa at the helm of her own production company producing three more shows for HBO and making big-screen moves with upcoming star turns in The Photograph and The Lovebirds.
Tiny Furniture
Lena Dunham announced her brand and skillset with this micro-budget semi-autobiographic feature shot on a Canon 7D which featured her real-life mother and sister playing her character’s on-screen family. After winning an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the movie premiering to critical acclaim, Dunham earned a blind script deal with HBO which led to the show Girls.
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
The FX comedy premieres its 14th Season at the end of September and is now the longest-running live-action sitcom of all time. But it started as an independent pilot that might have been shot for less than two hundred dollars. The three actors then shopped it around to various networks, and the rest is now actual history.
