Indie Film Hustle® - A Filmmaking Podcast13 Tammi 2022

IFH 545: The Godfather of Ninja and Cannon Films with Sam Firstenberg

You are in for a treat today. We have legendary 80's action director Sam Firstenberg.

At a young age Sam began to "create" movies to entertain his friends. Horrifying his mother, he would cut up books, stringing together the pictures and rolling them up. He would then put the roll into a box with a cut out window, shine a flashlight from behind, and manually pull the roll, revealing the pictures through the window in sequence.

Sometimes he would plan a special show in which his sister narrated the "film" based on a script Sam would concoct, and his father would accompany on the violin. As he grew up he found a hobby in photography and by high school had turned his bedroom into a darkroom where he would earn pocket money by developing pictures for his friends.

After serving three years in the Israeli army, Sam came to the US in 1971, began to study and work in films, and culminated his studies with “One More Chance," the graduate film thesis which turned into a feature-length film.

"After Golan bailed us out, our film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, then went on to become the official US entry at the prestigious Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, and won a Silver Plaque at the 17th Annual Chicago Film Festival. This film became my calling card, and launched my career." recalls Sam.

By then Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus had acquired Cannon Films. They hired Sam to direct “Revenge of the Ninja." Sam knew nothing about martial arts, but learned quickly and the film, which starred Sho Kosugi, was shot in Salt Lake City, Utah. Distributed by MGM to a great box-office bonanza, it set the stage for Sam's next directing assignment, “Ninja III - The Domination," also starring Kosugi. The film was shot in Phoenix, Arizona and was also tremendously successful.

Both Ninja films directed by Sam were sequels to the highly successful “Enter the Ninja” directed by Golan. "Then came a pleasant opportunity," Sam smiles. "Golan wanted me to direct ' Breakin 2 - Electric Boogaloo," another sequel, which then made me the king of sequels, but also gave me a break from directing Ninja action films."

In fact, each of the sequels directed by Firstenberg resulted in better reviews and box office draws than the originals. “Breakin 2 - Electric Boogaloo " was a musical that featured major dance production numbers, filmed in Los Angeles. Distributed by TRI-STAR it was critically acclaimed; and a box office success, one of the reviews hailed it as "The most exuberant musical of the decade."

Soon after the release of " Breakin 2 - Electric Boogaloo " Sam was on his way to the Philippines to direct "American Ninja" a major action picture starring Michael Dudikoff and Steve James, who would team up with Sam for two additional motion pictures, "Avenging Force," shot in New Orleans and the swamps of Louisiana, and "American Ninja II"

’Avenging Force’ was one of the most physically grueling productions I ever worked on,"

comments Sam.

"We spent days and nights in water, mud up to our waists, with snakes crawling between our legs."

The film opened to rave reviews. The LA Times called Firstenberg

"... a rockin' young action director who's pulled off a series of rave up pictures for Cannon including ' American Ninja ' and ' Electric Boogaloo,' and now in ' Avenging Force ' shows off his savvy style, which combines a keen sense of pacing with brawny punch...it marks the emergence of a truly gifted movie talent."

The next picture for Sam was “Riverbend”, a controversial drama with Steve James and Margaret Avery from "The Color Purple." The picture explored race relations in 1966 Georgia, and was an opportunity for Firstenberg to work with strong dramatic material. In sharp contrast, Sam's next picture was an all-out comedy, “The Day We Met,” which proved to him that his directorial talents were easily extended.

"Delta Force III” came next, a military action picture with Nick Cassavettes, Eric Douglas, Mike Norris, and Matthew Penn, and was followed with a breakthrough approach to martial arts in “American Samurai” introducing hot young martial artists David Bradley and Marc Dacascos. Firstenberg then got his first taste of TV work with a nighttime crime show for CBS, directing six episodes of “Sweating Bullets"

With the creation of Nu Image, principles Avi Lerner and Danny Dimbort recruited Firstenberg to direct their first production, "Cyborg Cop," and then the sequel, "Cyborg Soldier," both sci-fi action flicks with David Bradley. In addition, Firstenberg completed with Bradley and Frank Zagarino the action picture "Blood Warrior." Next came “Operation Delta Force” a military style action / adventure with Ernie Hudson, Jeff Fahey, Joe Lara, Frank Zagarino, and Hall Halbrok.

1997 brought Firstenberg to explore new directorial areas; “McCinsey’s Island” is a comedy for children, a treasure hunt movie with Hulk Hogan, Robert Vaughn, and Grace Jones, and “Motel Blue” with Sean Young, Soleil Moon Frye, and Seymour Cassel, is a psychological thriller with two women in the lead.

Sam and I had an amazing conversation about all things Cannon Films, Ninjas, Break Dancing and 80's action films. Enjoy!

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IFH 015: Selling Your Film at the American Film Market with Ben Yennie

If you have ever looked into selling your film at a film market then you more than likely have heard of the North America's largest film market, AFM or the American Film Market.The American Film Market is a labyrinth of crazy characters, thieves, wannabes, filmmakers hustling their latest film, distributors, industry professionals and of course buyers and sellers from around the globe.My guest this week is Ben Yennie who has written the only real guide to this carnival called "The Guerilla Rep: American Film Market Distribution Success on No Budget." You should not go to the American Film Market or any film market for that matter without reading this book.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

15 Loka 20151h 6min

IFH 014: Post Production Workflow - Understand it or DIE!

I know I'm being a bit dramatic when I say "Understand Post Production Workflow or DIE!" but I've seen and been involved with sooooooo many independent films that just die in post production because of one simple thing, they didn't understand post production workflow.Post Production Workflow is not a black art that only a few understand, granted it is getting more and more complicated these days but you as a indie filmmaker can still understand the basics.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

12 Loka 201516min

IFH 013: Inside the Edit with Paddy Bird

I've been an editor now for over twenty years. When I was starting out I looked everywhere for some course, book, video, or anything that could teach me the black art of creative editing. There are many courses design to teach you AVID, Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro software but nothing on the creative process.One day I was surfing the net and found this site called "Inside the Edit." The site was boasting the it was the world's first "creative editing course," which I found very hard to believe. I took the course for a test ride and OH MY GOD, they did it, they cracked the code.LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEInside the Edit - 10% OFF email: IFHDISCOUNT@insidetheedit.comInside the EditBlackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Software for Mac/Win/LinuxAdobe Premiere Pro CCFinal Cut Pro XFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

8 Loka 20151h 30min

IFH 012: How to Turn Your Independent Film into a Business

How to Turn Your Independent Film into a Money Making BusinessSo many independent film creators just want to think of themselves as artists. That's fine but it's called show business for a reason. If you don't understand the business you won't be able to create the show.In this episode I share with you what it takes to change your mindset and start thinking of your independent film not just as a precious piece of art but to also think of it as a product that needs to do well in the marketplace in order for you as the filmmaker to continue putting on that show!LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODEFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Action Items:Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS.If you like this show take a listen to Dov Simens Interview:America's Greatest and Quentin's Tarantino's Film TeacherEnjoyed this blog post? Please share it in your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, email etc) by using social media buttons at the side or bottom of the blog. Or post to your blog and anywhere else you feel it would be a good fit. Thanks.I welcome thoughts and remarks on ANY of the content above in the comments section below...Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleYouTube: Indie Film Hustle TVPodcast: IFH PodcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

6 Loka 201512min

IFH 011: Suzanne Lyons Pt 2: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

Here's Part Two of my interview with Suzanne Lyons. This week on the show I'm excited to have uber independent film producer Suzanne Lyons. She has been living in the indie film space for over twenty years. Working on SAG Ultra Low Budgets to over $15,000,000 budgets she has seen it all.Suzanne Lyons takes you by the hand and walks you through what it takes to produce your first feature film. She goes over the pitfalls, legal concerns, deliverables, selling to foreign countries and most importantly of all how she gets her financing for her feature films.She laid out such amazing information that I had to break the episode up into two parts. I spoke at one of her famous indie film producing workshop and learned a ton while I was there. Suzanne Lyons also wrote an amazing book called Indie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget Filmmaking. I suggest you all pick it up. It's better than film school!LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Suzanne Lyons IMDBSuzanne Lyons Production CompanyIndie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget FilmmakingFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Syys 201551min

IFH 010: Suzanne Lyons Pt 1: How to Produce Your First Feature Film

This week on the show I'm excited to have uber independent film producer Suzanne Lyons. She has been living in the indie film space for over twenty years. Working on SAG Ultra Low Budgets to over $15,000,000 budgets she has seen it all.Suzanne Lyons takes you by the hand and walks you through what it takes to produce your first feature film. She goes over the pitfalls, legal concerns, deliverables, selling to foreign countries and most importantly of all how she gets her financing for her feature films.She laid out such amazing information that I had to break the episode up into two parts. I spoke at one of her famous indie film producing workshop and learned a ton while I was there. Suzanne Lyons also wrote an amazing book called Indie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget Filmmaking. I suggest you all pick it up. It's better than film school!LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Suzanne Lyons IMDBSuzanne Lyons Production CompanyIndie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget FilmmakingFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

29 Syys 201553min

IFH 009: Suki Medencevic ASC & the Art of Cinematography

Suki Medencevic ASC and the Art of CinematographyI have found over the years that is one of the biggest technical issues in independent film. Someone borrows a friends RED Camera or Arri Alexa and thinks that's all you need. Cinematography is not only a mystical art but imperitive in today's gluttony of indie films in the market place.Good cinematography can really make your independent film project rise out of the gutter of poorly produced indie films. Today on the show I interview Suki Medencevic ASC (American Society of Cinematographers).For all the show notes goto: http://www.indiefilmhustle.com/009Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

23 Syys 20151h 8min

IFH 008: Karl Iglesias Screenwriting Master Class & How to Create an Emotional Impact

This week we were lucky enough to have as out guest screenwriting guru Karl Iglesias. He has written award winning books including: The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, Writing for Emotional Impact, and Cut to the Chase.I discovered Karl Iglesias' work reading Writing for Emotional Impact. It really transformed the way I wrote screenplays and created a bunch of new habits that I still use today.It was a major treat to interview Karl on the show. His work is so specific but yet broad. His one rule that can never be broken,"Always be interesting."I think most films coming out of Hollywood today should take that advice. Keep your audience engaged and emotionally invested. So many filmmakers and screenwriters today don't understand that basic concept.I really asked Karl the tough questions so we could fill this episode with amazing content for you. This is one podcast your won't want to miss. Enjoy!Right click here to download the MP3LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Pixar's Emotional Core: The Essential Element in all Successful StoriesWriting for Emotional ImpactCut to the ChaseThe 101 Habits of Highly Successful ScreenwritersKarl Iglesias' Official SiteFreeFilmBook.com (Your FREE Audio Book)Six Secrets to get into Film Festivals for FREE!Action Items:Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or via RSS.Get Social with Indie Film Hustle:Facebook: Indie Film HustleTwitter: @indiefilmhustle Instagram: @ifilmhustleBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/indie-film-hustle-a-filmmaking-podcast--2664729/support.

16 Syys 20151h 2min

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