The first thing people ask me when they find out I make faith-based family films is, “Why are they so cheesy?” I am always hoping they don’t mean mine per-se, but in general. Faith is a visceral experience a human being has with a supernatural being and filmmaking is a visual medium. Therein lies a challenge for faith-based filmmakers, trying portray this very intimate internal relationship on the big screen. As my writing partners and I have struggled to portray characters who have a faith experience on screen, I have gained an understanding of how do it. But just like…
Author: Alexandra Boylan
I have been so thankful to write for the Ms. In The Biz platform since the beginning, and in honor of this being my last blog post, I thought it was appropriate to talk about what It means to me to be a female filmmaker. My first blog post was on the sale of my first feature film “Home Sweet Home” how awesome is it that now three years later, I just released my third feature film this week “Wish For Christmas.” This is my love letter to all you AWESOME Ladies and Gentlemen filmmakers out there. Let’s be the change…
It was recently brought to my attention that there was a podcast called “God Awful Movies” (really that’s the name of their podcast.) For an hour and a half they review a Christian movie and completely rip it to shreds. Now, I’m not sure what is worse about this podcast, the fact that these people have dedicated their lives to making fun of Christians, or making fun of people’s hard work creating a movie. But nonetheless, this podcast spent an hour and thirty-eight minutes to go through my film “Catching Faith” and rip it apart scene by scene. I probably…
*originally published on DreamJobbing.com Growing up in rural Massachusetts I dreamed of becoming an actress. Starting out in my father’s church, and going on to perform in all my school plays, I fell madly in love with the art of performing. As my high school years were coming to an end, I made up my mind; I was going to move to LA to convince Hollywood I was the next big STAR! After one year of college per my parents’ request, I packed up my Toyota Corolla and headed out West in search of my dreams. Nineteen years old without…
I recently returned home from the New Mexico desert where I was shooting a super micro budget film with a team of four, including myself. I was surprised by how many people asked me, “Why did you make this movie?” “Do you have a distribution deal?” “Why would you make a no budget film, after you just made a big budget film?” Frankly I was a bit surprised by how many people asked me this question. I am a filmmaker; it is my heart, my soul, and my passion to tell stories. I need creativity, like I need air to…
I joined instagram because my fitness trainer of eight years Tracy Anderson was holding a contest through that platform. I honestly didn’t join because I wanted to have millions of followers, or even to promote my films; I just wanted to win a competition. Little did I know that small decision in my life would have the most rewarding beautiful outcome I could ever image! I became a member of the #tamily, which is a community of women all across the world who connect and share their passion for Tracy’s method. (Alexandra with Maria Kelling and Tiffaney Ann Dwyer) I…
If you had told me five years ago I was going to be making “faith-based films” I would have laughed out loud. Not that I had any problem with them, just that I was not even close to being on that kind of filmmaking path. My first feature film was a horror/thriller, and my follow-up script to that was a supernatural thriller about a girl who works overnight shifts in a haunted nursing home. I was in the process of trying to get that movie financed when the opportunity to make a faith based family football movie was presented to…
As an actress turned producer my eyes have really been opened to the negative effect agents can have on their actors’ careers. And the scary thing is that the actor probably has no idea what is going on. I produce indie films. So far both my films have sold to a large distribution company and have gone on to sell on the shelves of Walmart and Hastings, available on Amazon, iTunes and Netflix. Our budgets are still micro, but we are building an audience and growing bigger each time. So you can imagine my shock when we go to hire…
1. Find your tribe. The most important element of making an indie film is the team behind the project. Everyone is building their team for the future, so either find a team you want to collaborate and rise with, or find people to build your team. We have our core group that we will work with forever, as long as they continue to want to work with us. We are not just a filmmaking team; we are a family. And take care of your crew, first rule of indie filmmaking, treat everyone with respect and kindness. Trust me, it goes…
My husband and I recently delivered our second feature film to our distribution company, and boy did it feel good to pass it off to someone else. Our sleepless nights were over . . . for a moment. When I was telling this exciting news to a friend, he asked, “so is your job done now, are you guys finished with this film?” I laughed and said, “our job is never done.” Yes the hard drive containing all our work for the past year and half has been passed off, but as independent filmmakers our job is never done. Now…
Alexandra: Why did you decide to start Acting UP Network? I think we both knew that there was a need for a place that goes beyond the casting director workshop. Yes, that aspect of networking is important, but it is more than that. Actors are being told all the time that they need to create their own work, but most actors did not go to film school and that seems overwhelming to them. We wanted to create a space to come and REALLY network to achieve those goals. While also offering the traditional casting director workshops, classes and showcases we…
In the past month I have noticed and recognized that I am completely addicted to the feeling of being “stressed out.” I actually love the rush it gives me, so when I don’t feel it, I feel like something is wrong with me. I have spent most of my life stressed out about something, whether it was money or a job or my relationships. The feeling of being “stressed out” is so familiar to me that I recently started stressing about not being stressing out Sound crazy? Well, you’re right. It is and I am ready to stop the crazy!…
There is a temptation in life to try to be someone else, to conform to the masses, to people please, or change in order to be liked. Especially in the film industry. I was nineteen when I moved to LA, and my first week out here I got an audition for a music video. I was so excited as I drove to that first Los Angeles audition, parking my car and hustling up to the door, I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I sat down across from the director and he explained a little about the music…
Hello Lisa. I must first say, I admire your career, and adore you as a person. It is an honor for me to interview you. Thank you very much for taking your time to answer some of my questions. Tell me a little bit about how you got involved in reality television. The truth is that it takes a lot of hard work to have a dream career and achieve your goals; it doesn’t happen overnight and you have to be willing to make some mistakes along the way. My first job out of college was working for Waste Management…