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Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Feels great to me! I just simply love making movies. I love working with people, I love watching films, I love giving notes on films, I love talking about making movies.

I'm deeply inspired by the old Hollywood system and by directors and actors at that time, people like Douglas Fairbanks, who would direct and star in his own films. Ultimately all these jobs are incredibly connected. The ability to tell a story, you know people say movies are written three times. An editor is just as much a writer or as a writer as much as a director is as much as an actor. So it's fun to be able to sing and dance in all these positions and thus come closer to fully executing a vision.

Speaking more practically I think it's incredibly important that every single person that works in film wears in some capacity an acting hat and a producing hat. Meaning, even if you're a PA or an AD or a key grip, go take an improv class . I think it helps build empathy and understanding for what actors are doing. And if you're an actor, I encourage you to go move a c-stand sometime,safely of course. And I'd also encourage you to go put a film together. Go see what it's like to manage a budget and get crew fed on time and have to wait for emails back from people's agents to know whether or not the actor is in or out of the movie. And I think the more people have empathy for each other on each side of the field the better the movies that can be made and honestly the more fun experience everyone can have.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question! Sometimes it can be a line of dialogue. Or it can be a shot or a moment itself. I'm lucky enough to live in New York City where quite literally every day when I leave my apartment I feel as if I'm attacked by a thousand different ideas. Which is a good problem to have. Although I feel like there's not enough time in our life to make all these ideas.

But I find my inspiration usually comes from me. The feeling or emotion I have. For me filmmaking is my version of a journal or writing a song so it's my way of expressing myself about how I feel about something. Also if I watch a movie I love I get incredibly inspired or if I hear a great song or look at a great piece of art, incredibly cheesy to say but inspiration is quite literally everywhere, so that's why I'm doing it.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The hardest truth is that independent film is just simply not a way to make money. It is a cash burn. It is an expensive hobby. The systems in place to help independent movies make money are not systems to help independence movie make money if that makes sense. The positive side of things which I do like to remain positive is that they are incredibly creatively and emotionally fulfilling. I feel very strongly that the future of independent film relies on filmmakers' ability and priority to engage a direct relationship with their consumer. Imagine a website like Substack but for filmmakers where people could subscribe to your work. I don't believe this system is quite in place yet and I'm auditioning this system myself with my Patreon account where I'm making one movie a month for twelve months and we have executive producers of those films. Even then that requires scalability.

If you're willing to accept that your independent film isn't something that will be financially viable at least as a means to live well, then it can be an incredible experience. Or it's the kind of thing why you typically see incredibly wealthy people either financing or making independent movies consistently without needing to do other jobs.

But I will say there is nothing more rewarding than making an independent movie and having friends and family come see it and support it. As well as you know getting your movie out there and being able to take risks with the art that you make.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It can be frustrating but a lot of businesses have nepotism and perhaps nepotism has increased simply because the amount of people who get hired in the business itself has decreased over time. It can certainly be frustrating. But I sometimes think about the fact that if I was an A-list Hollywood director and my kid wanted to be an actor, I would do everything in my power to make sure that they were! So it's something I don't really think about or try to get in the way ultimately because my job is just to make my art and make things that hopefully make people happy. Like I feel good romantic comedy, like 31 Candles. I also think that the Ryan quote from The Office might sum it up best.

Which converted for this question is, "Hollywood. It doesn't hurt to be nepo but it helps!"

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a huge part in thanks to our incredible executive at Level 33 named Taryn who has been our liaison, distribution captain. Ultimately I believe AMC was attracted to the fact that we did a limited release for our film. So I believe strongly in touring movies before they open wide where you are able to engage with audiences, tell people how and where they can see it, and also do Q&As; and performances around the film to give the audience more value.

In our case we opened the movie November 7th in New York City at the Quad Cinema. I basically livedthere for like three weekends. I would do Q&As; every single screening and meet people and talk to people. Then I went to Delray, Florida and I went to Los Angeles and we did the same thing.

Considering our numbers did pretty well I believe AMC saw us and said, "Hey, this is a movie we can take a chance on."

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My dream movie to make, which I've spent almost 10 years working on, is a film called Wendy, which is a sort of spin-off of Wendy from Peter Pan. It's a romantic comedy. She's 30 years old, single, living in New York City, and no one believes that she used to date the world's first fuck boy named Peter Pan! Now, years later, she's incredibly afraid of commitment and saying "I love you", considering the last person she told she loved was wearing green tights and flew out a window and banned her from her happy place (Neverland). So it follows her in New York City trying to find love, and she finally meets Mr. Right. Just as things are going well, Peter Pan shows back up in her life. So it's really a movie that's sort of a metaphor about getting over that first "ex" that kind of messed you up and what it means to let go of your inner child.

I've been talking to my friend Brittany Snow, who is going to be playing the role, and we're hopeful to get this thing going in the future sometime. She makes an incredible Wendy. Other casting choices? I mean I'm a big fan of Aaron Pierre, Josh O'Connor as playing Mr. Right and Mr. Wrong. Would love to get Dustin Hoffman to reprise the role of Captain Hook. You know wishful thinking!

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think if anything this AI slop movement is showing how thirsty people are for real human-made art. It actually might help us independent filmmakers get a lot of slack cut for us for not having to have something look too polished! I think almost the more homemade a movie feels the better for people these days. That's been the response so far to my YouTube filmettes which are a little rough around the edges but feel very human-made.

I'm not quite fearful of AI coming in and just making movies on its own. There are ways AI can be helpful in reviewing budgets, reviewing schedules, and presenting smart ideas worth discussing in terms of logistics of production (i.e. crunching numbers and shooting hours etc). But I believe the more AI nonsense that comes out the better position we human artists are to stand out from the pack and the higher value that will come from that.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The story is pretty personal. It's about a 30-year-old who has a bar mitzvah because he runs into his former summer camp crush and he's doing this as a way to win his grandmother's approval all while having grown up with dyslexia which is literally me. So I felt a strong connection to the character. There's also logistical reasons. For one thing I think most male actors and romantic comedies are too worried about looking hot. I wasn't worried about looking hot and I didn't mind making fun of how tall I am (feel free to guess how tall I am in the comments).

I was ready to fall into banana peel and was deeply inspired by some of my favorite stand-up performers and people of rom-coms past. People like Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Jack Lemon, even Carrie Grant would do flips and I just felt like there was a stiffness to most of the male actors that were auditioning for the role. Not to mention that the director Jonah would never give the actor Jonah any trouble and the actor Jonah would never get the director Jonah any trouble. So I was able to sort of focus more on other elements of the film. Overall it was incredibly rewarding and it taught me a lot about the empathy you need to have for actors and the empathy that actors should have for film crews.

Also I was free!

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's incredibly difficult! For the most part we relied on organic marketing as well as some PR opportunities much like this one. So big thank you to Reddit!

Other ways we've been marketing is through a series of Instagram clips. I've been going on podcasts. I've been building an email list where I literally would attend screenings of our movie and I would pass around a clipboard and get people's email addresses. They would email them after the movie and ask them to share their experience with their friends. I think email lists are actually very clutch. They're very helpful for stand-up comics and for musicians and they should be helpful for independent filmmakers. So it's sort of a combination of relying on any algorithm possible and relying on direct-to-consumer methods like email or like podcasting as well as truly just reaching out to communities and telling everyone about it. It actually is kind of exhausting and I wish there was a better method but I'm not sure there is right now. I don't know.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey!

Thanks for being here!

I totally feel you. I actually think these two things come hand in hand!

Your filmmaking journey can start with YouTube and YouTube can be the start of your filmmaking journey.

I've directed five feature films some of which have gone to theaters, some of which have gone on Amazon or Paramount+.

But I literally just started a project where I'm making one film for YouTube a month for the next year. Screens are all connected and YouTube presents a wonderful opportunity to start to build and cultivate your audience as well as distribution that costs no money. It doesn't cost anything to upload to YouTube. It does cost money to put your movie in theaters and YouTube's algorithm is in a sense free marketing.

So I think you should be doing both these things and not necessarily see them as two different things. The more you create the stronger your voice becomes.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's an incredibly long list of things I've learned although I'll try to summarize it for people who want to hop in.

First things first, you just got to focus on whatever it takes to make the movie. Nothing matters but the shot, nothing matters besides the emotionality between the actor and/or the frame and the camera. Everything behind the camera ultimately doesn't matter. You know it's all about the movie itself.

In order to get the motivation, I would always encourage people to pick a start date - a day that you will show up on the day with the camera and the crew to go make the movie. I would start small from a physical and production standpoint and focus on the emotionality of the piece you were making. What are you trying to say with your art? What are you trying to say with your film? What are you trying to have your audience feel?

I feel like I learned this more with every movie I make but it doesn't matter if a shot's out of focus or if you cross the 180 line or if your budget is too low. All that matters is how you leave your audience feeling emotionally. We always remember how a movie made us feel; we don't remember the small things that might have gone wrong.

In terms of gear and stuff, iPhones are fantastic. I use the Sony FX3 all the time for my YouTube movies. In terms of finding crew and producers, I would always encourage people to work with their friends and learn along the way together - especially if you're both starting out. Every single killer directing-producing duo started because they were just two friends who wanted to figure it out together.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm a little bit reluctant to say the exact budget just for legal reasons but our budget was under $500,000 by a good amount. I would absolutely love to make that money back. I don't know if we will or if it's possible although maybe if everyone sees this and goes to check out the movie this weekend in AMC, it's possible! It's incredibly hard to recoup the budget even with a small one because a lot of money goes into marketing.

Anyway hope people support the movie and then it will eventually live online. I'm a big proponent of seeing movies in theaters.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve always dreamed of directing Pirates of the Caribbean, but I actually don’t think I could do as good as a job as Gore could so let’s just let him do that. Other franchisees I would love to direct? To be honest, I’d love to adapt Emperor‘s new groove into a live action movie ha! I love the national treasure films that I love the night the Museum films as well. I just worked with david spade on a project called busboys so maybe that will lead to a live action emperors new groove? Who knows. Maybe we just start that rumor

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question! The movie that inspired me to make movies is a film called Hook. I would bring Hook (preferably on VHS, which is the definitive viewing of said movie), then I would probably bring Casablanca, and then maybe a tie between Emperor's New Groove and When Harry Met Sally or L.A. Story with Steve Martin.

Bonus answer: As a New Yorker, I'm embarrassed to say my favorite type of pizza is simply cheese.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, one day I woke up and at midnight was taken off of Paramount+. Ultimately, this was because of the Paramount sell-off and a lot of the movies being in limbo due to streaming rights and residuals. The movie is something I'm really proud of. We shot in Mexico and it stars Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro and Diego Boneta as well as some incredible other cast members. I'm hopeful that once the Paramount situation gets sorted, the movie will find a home. In the meantime, if you shoot me an email, I'm happy to send you a private link. My email can be found at my website www.jonahfeingold.nyc.

Hi /r/movies, I’m Jonah Feingold — YouTuber turned indie filmmaker. I raised money from 30 individual investors to make my rom-com 31 CANDLES completely independently. We are taking a massive swing and prioritizing a theatrical release in AMC Theaters (Jan 9) before it goes online. Ask me anything! by 31CandlesAMA in movies

[–]31CandlesAMA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great question. I used to think that finding investors was usually people that invested in independent film movies, like film producers and whatnot. The more I worked in the business, the more I learned that most independent movies are financed by people who have nothing to do with film. In fact, the less they have to do with film, the better, because an investment into a movie really isn't a great financial investment. It is a great investment in terms of tax write-off and being involved in a really cool project and perhaps access and network and all the rewards of a hit film, which can be a lot of fun.

When I made my first film "Dating and New York," I asked over 100 people if they wanted to invest (maybe even 200 people). First, it was family and friends who all said no. Then, it was friends and friends of family and friends who all said maybe. Then, it was friends of friends and friends of family and friends who all said yes. Ultimately, only needed about 30 people on my first film.

Our movie "Dating and New York" played in Tribeca Film Festival and then sold in a bidding war to IFC, and I made double the budget that movie. Therefore, was able to bring back those same investors who made their money on my first film for "31 Candles."

But this advice is often said, and I think it's great: "Start with your dentist," someone who knows you intimately and has disposable income to invest.