Jesse Harris, Filmmaker: If you probably picked any other career
and you had spent a decade working on it and were really good at it,
you'd probably be really successful and have a good life.
Film Courage: How much money has the first feature that you made Living Life made in total?
Jesse: It probably hasn't made really barely any money I mean it was they paid a small fee to me
to go kind of work on it when they first picked it up and they paid to finish it and put it on film
and release it and market it but I don't think they ever even made their money back on it I mean
it had a small theatrical release in a couple cities it played you know on
I think internationally in a few countries in a few tv markets but the distributor was
you know they were kind of this tiny little indie distributor you know at the time back then there
was all these little companies popping up and I think they meant well but I don't think they
really knew how to kind of get a film out there and so I don't think it ended up really making
very much money for them I definitely didn't recoup the money that my parents had given me
to to make the movie but again for me it was never about that I mean it was they were never expecting
that in the first place I mean it wasn't like an investment either they you know it was the money I
would have used they would have given me if I had you know gone to pay to a film school or something
right and so yeah I don't think it made money but it obviously made just so much for me in terms
of it's what gave me the inspiration to start this film festival for young filmmakers (NFFTY,
National Film Festival for Talented Youth) which then led to starting to do commercials which then
led me back to making a film again and so it was definitely a life-changing experience and yeah
just an incredible thing that I was able to pull off at such a young age do you
think a filmmaker should expect to make money or recoup their costs for their first feature film
it's hard to say you know I mean I think that it all probably depends on the scale and size
of the film I mean I think that ideally you start something small and you build from there
and obviously things are changing all the time you know I think budgets are getting smaller because
they're being forced to be because the people are paying less for them your distributors are
but I think especially if you're going to make a move for any sort of larger amount of money
that isn't your own money you should try to have the attention be to make money because
you don't want to just be taking people's money and with no intention to make it back obviously
but I think the best thing would be to kind of start something small that you know you could pull
off and make good but then would have the ability to maybe make some money back you know I mean
maybe you could find a contained film that would only cost a $100,000 or $200,000 or something
which is still a lot of money but it's probably a more realistic amount of money that you could
make back versus a couple million dollars even if you could get that money you know and so
but I think to make money personally as a filmmaker that's a always a long shot
you know I think that's multiple films and being very successful when you would ever
do that I mean I think right at this stage for most filmmakers it's just you're just
lucky to have been able to make the film you know and if anything happens beyond that that's just
you know a wonderful dream and have it shown in theaters as well I mean that's that's a rarity
too yeah for sure I mean especially now more than ever it's rare to get something in the theater
and if you'd asked me several years ago I probably would have been like that's the ultimate thing now
it's hard to even say right because you probably have a lot better reach if you were on something
like Netflix you know it's not as theatrical and there's a lot of issues probably with
some of that distribution because it's on there and it gets lost right
it's not very curated but it's hard to say I think there's gonna be a lot of change in the next few
years in terms of how people see films and what is the best way to get it out to people but of course
I like nothing more than being in a theater with a bunch of people and watching it and kind of
feeling with them so I would love to always be able to have a film in a theater for sure so the
filmmaker quandary if you want to make films you may or may not make a living at it you may or may
not have to take other jobs what are your thoughts on that what's your advice to other filmmakers
it's definitely the hardest thing about being a filmmaker right I mean if you probably picked any
other career and you had spent a decade working on it and were really good at it you'd probably
be really successful and have a good life you know whether you're as a doctor or business or whatever
right whereas the filmmaker you could do that and you could still be pretty poor after being pretty
successful right or struggling to get by and so I think it's probably one of the hardest careers
you could ever pick because even when you get successful it's still you got to keep going right
so it's definitely not for people that want the easiest life of course but I think if
you are that kind of person and I'm one of those people there's nothing else I would do
I wouldn't know what I would do if I couldn't make movies you know and so
one way or the other I know I'm going to figure out how to do it and the hope is that you can kind
of keep building and get bigger I think things like commercials and branded kind of stuff is
a really good way for filmmakers to try to make money and make a living doing filmmaking because
there is actual is an actual business there where you get paid you know to go and make something
but you're still telling stories you're still being a filmmaker so I think I mean that's the
path I kind of took to be able to kind of support myself while not having a day job or whatever so
that's not easy to get into that either but I think that's kind of a one way to go about it
but on the other hand you know if you also want to be
a writer or something like that maybe you should take a normal job and then spend your free time
you know or the time you can take off because of that job to then just write or to focus on that so
I don't know if there's one perfect way but it's definitely not an easy career and I don't think
you should go into it thinking you're going to become rich and famous but because you want to
do this because it's what you love it sounds like you have to be prepared to be very resourceful and
just not needing everything spelled out for you sounds like you've pieced together a lot of things
on your own yeah 100 I mean it's just all about putting together that puzzle of like you know
what you can how you can pull something off and then at the same time how you can kind of make
a living and that still amounts for me you know I mean I’ve just made a film but I still have to
do commercials too you know I'm trying to write other stuff so it's I don't think it ever stops
you know it's always just kind of this I don't know what you would call it this dance I guess
of trying to figure that out but yeah I don't know I couldn't do anything else I know that
did you ever have a day job for a short time never like a traditional day job like the closest thing
was running this film festival which was a day job i'd go in there every day and do it we had
an office for a while I mean like so that was my day job but it was different because I had
created it it was something I was super excited about it I don't think I could be the person
who sits in the office and works for someone else that's just not me especially this point
I would figure out something else I would have to do you know if that was what I had to go but
again that just kind of fits with my personality which is I don't like to like be forced to do
something I want to go and go and make something so I think I would rather like I don't know become
like a tour guide in some other country or like I don't know do something totally random that wasn't
being kind of controlled and forced into a career but yeah magician yeah maybe go back to that
what advice would you give to 17-18-19 year olds on making their first feature film I think if you
were a really young kind of late teenage early 20’s trying to make a feature film I think my
first advice would be is that actually the best thing to do that's what I did and it
was the perfect thing I guess for me because it led me to where I am now but I just wonder
is it what's really going to help you the most and so I think if you have an incredible feature
script that is super personal and is something that could be made at a realistic budget and
you feel really confident then go do that for sure but maybe it would be better to
make a short film or a proof of concept or or kind of develop your skills a little bit more
I think I had this idea when I was that age that I just had to make a feature film because that's
what would legitimize me or allow me to kind of go make the next thing and I think that was
partly just because of the era because short films weren't really available because this was this was
before kind of online platforms to watch them everything like that and so to be a filmmaker
was to make a feature film but I don't think that's necessarily the case anymore I think that
you can make a short film and it can create other opportunities I mean even in the feature I just
made in order to allow me to make this I made a short film as a proof of concept you know and so
I and that was essential I had to do that I don't think I would have been able to do it
without that and so I think my advice would just be to to really make sure if you're gonna put in
all the energy is that is that the right thing the other side of that is I know a lot of people just
make short film after short film and never do a feature or never take that next step so I also
don't think you should just get stuck because it's also a huge amount of work to do any kind of film
whether it's a short film or a feature film it's a huge amount of work so I think it's just about
figuring out what is going to help you the most excel and kind of make the next project from there
and if that means making a feature then go do it but maybe it means also pulling back a little bit
and taking time to write that really compelling feature while you make a short or something else
or a documentary I think that's if I was giving this advice to myself maybe just to slow down
and pull back even and I don't mean that and lose that excitement and that energy but just
be a little bit more strategic I guess about what you're gonna go make
I don't know that's not what I did so I it's hard it's funny that I'm saying that
advice to people but I did the complete opposite I just dove in and did it but
I feel like that's what the more sane advice would be to kind of take it a little slower well
the environment has changed since 2003 when you I mean your story is very unique I think it's very
interesting but I mean to have you know this thing in the back of the variety or whatever publication
that was to say hey we're looking for this the whole thing is a very interesting journey but for
today's temperament and costs and everything but can people get stuck in this sort of short film
just making one after another and never progressing or is that not a bad thing
I mean I think people can definitely get stuck making short film after short film I think if your
intent is not to really become a career filmmaker but just a lot of people make films short films
and they have regular jobs they have other things in their life they just love making films and
there's nothing wrong with that like people should keep doing that I mean everyone should make a
story if they're compelled to do it but I think if you really want to be a director as your career
making a short film after one after the other forever is either a sign that if it's not getting
you somewhere else then maybe there's problems with your your filmmaking or your your something
there is not working or you need to reshift your focus you know maybe it's finding a a story that's
even more personal or compelling or it's finding something someone else wrote if you're not the
stronger writer or maybe it's making a documentary I don't know or maybe it's taking that leap to go
then try to do a feature it's really hard because it's like there's not one perfect path you know
and so it's hard to say but I definitely think you you want to kind of have some
sort of momentum going and if that's not happening maybe you got to figure out a way to shift it up.