How Not to Make a Movie

Part memoir, part primer, part cautionary tale, this book takes the reader along on a filmmaker’s 12-year journey through Hollywood Hell, culminating in the movie Angels In Stardust (2016), starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka and Billy Burke. Describing meetings with producers, agents, managers, hustlers, wannabes and famous celebrities, and how he overcame the host of problems encountered while trying to produce a movie, William Robert Carey’s humorous and confessional narrative illustrates why it takes a minor miracle, a cabinet of liquor and plenty of Pepto-Bismol to complete a film. Copies of his option agreement, script sales contract and director’s contract, crafted by LA entertainment attorneys, are included as a valuable guide for aspiring filmmakers.

William Robert Carey, a member of SAG, AFTRA, DGA, AEA, & the WGA, is an actor, writer, director and producer. He has won numerous awards for writing and directing commercials; played Danny in the Chicago premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea; wrote and directed the Angels In Stardust; and won the 2019 Scribe Playwriting Competition Marsha A. Croyle Award for Achievement in Playwriting for Daniel/Danielle.

William Robert Carey
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 210
Bibliographic Info: 34 photos, appendix, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8321-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4140-9
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
1. In the Beginning… 5
2. My First Deal 37
3. Penny and the Hustler 52
4. Quantum, Cranks and Canadians 67
5. The Wheeler Dealer 73
6. Fast Eddie Returns 85
7. Oddballs, Outliers and Oafs 92
8. Contests, Community Websites and Shorts 97
9. The Return of Tex 109
10. Tex Has a Meltdown. I Pay the Price. 121
11. The Stretch Run 125
12. Shoot the Film / Shoot Yourself 138
Appendix 169
Option Agreement 169
Writer’s Purchase Agreement 174
Director’s Agreement 184
Writer’s Guild Short-Form Contract 194
Index 201