Filmmaker Marty Lang

Marty Lang is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Film, Video and Interactive Media at Quinnipiac University, in Hamden, Connecticut. His feature writing/directing debut, RISING STAR, is currently in post-production, and he raised $15,211 for it through crowdfunding on the web site Kickstarter. He is also the Assistant Director of the Connecticut Film Industry Training Program, a nationally-recognized state workforce development program. He has covered film for the New York Times, Filmmaker Magazine, and Film Courage. Follow him on Twitter: @marty_lang.

What is the current project you are working on?

Right now, I'm in post-production on my feature writing/directing debut, a dramedy called Rising Star. It's a story about an insurance adjuster who finds out layoffs are coming at his job. He tries to drink his troubles away the night he finds out, and he meets a free-spirited girl who, over the course of a weekend, makes him reconsider the weight he puts on his job, as opposed to hobbies he has outside of work. Our Web site for the film is www.risingstarmovie.com, and we also have a Facebook page for it at www.facebook.com/risingstarmovie .

We shot it last fall in Hartford, Connecticut, and we're starting music composition and sound editing this month. We're hoping to have it done by the end of the year. I also just started teaching full time in the department of Film, Video and Interactive Media at Quinnipiac University.

How do you handle rejection?

I think I handle it better than most. :) I used to be a journalist before I got into movies, so I'm used to editors tearing apart everything I write. If someone doesn't want to get involved with me on a project, I don't get too upset about it. It doesn't make me smile, of course, but I know now that I can just move onto the next person.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

I didn't - I always wanted to be a writer, though. In my middle school yearbook, when I was 13, I wrote that when I grew up, I was going to be a reporter for the New York Times. And when I was 22, the Times hired me as a reporter covering Connecticut. So writing has always been a huge part of my life. I always loved movies, but it wasn't until I was in my early 20s (while I was working for the Times, actually) that I thought I could make a go of it as a filmmaker.

What is the estimated number of projects you have worked on?

I started working in film in 2000, and since then, I've worked on around 75 feature film, short film and documentary projects.

Who is your favorite filmmaker?

Definitely, my favorite filmmaker team is the Coen Brothers. They've been at it for so long, they work with all the biggest stars, and they have such a distinct signature - when you watch a Coens film, whether it's a comedy or a drama, you KNOW it's a Coens film.

How has your life changed since you became a filmmaker?

It hasn't changed too much - I've always been broke, so that hasn't changed. :) I think it's changed in the fact that my life is a little more creative now, and that's something I really love. When I worked corporate jobs, the money was good, but I didn't get any real sense of accomplishment. Since I'm in a field now that's inherently creative, my work deals with being creative, solving problems, and telling stories. I get a lot of out of that.

What is one piece of advice you can give to someone who also wants to make it in the movie business?

Don't even bother with it if you want to make money. Studios are shedding jobs left and right, and the indie business has never been about getting rich. But if you have a drive to tell stories, to be creative, to collaborate, and to work really, really hard, the movie business might be for you.

What do you like to do besides filmmaking?

I'm a huge basketball fan - I played in high school and college, and I try to play now when I can (and I'm a UConn sports junkie, since I went there). I also like to read, and I love dogs. Especially pugs. I really love pugs.

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to become a filmmaker?

I've done all kinds of jobs - I've worked in construction, as a bouncer, at restaurants, at Blockbuster Video, as a newspaper reporter and copy editor, and in corporate video.

Why did you decide to become a film professor?

After I got out of graduate school, I thought teaching would be a logical next step. Also, I worked as a basketball camp counselor when I was younger, and I really enjoyed working with young people. So Quinnipiac University offered me a chance to teach film, and I jumped at it. I started working as an adjunct professor with them in 2005, and they hired me full-time this year. It's such a fulfilling job - a former student of mine wrote and produced his own independent feature, and another student sold a screenplay he wrote to a production company to be made this year. I really love it.

What are some of your favorite American films? Foreign films? Television shows?

For me, the great American films and TV shows are ones that deal with the state of our country, and the nasty underbelly of the American dream. So I love films like Fight Club and American Beauty and TV shows like Breaking Bad and Shameless. I think City of God is one of the best films ever made. I also love classics like The Godfather and The Deer Hunter ... and I'm a huge fan of The Big Lebowski.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

The film scene in Connecticut is definitely healthy. We have a 30% tax credit program in this state, so many studio films have made their way here to shoot in the last five years. But it's the indie scene that I think is more vibrant. We always have a number of indie films being shot around the state, including Rising Star last year. We have a strong crew base for those films because of the Connecticut Film Industry Training Program, a workforce development program I help run. The graduates of that program work on almost all the indie films shooting here, and some graduates actually make their own films as well.

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

It's revolutionized the industry. Social media now allows filmmakers to round up financing for a film, build an audience for that film, and let that audience know about the film when it's released so they can watch it. It's such an exciting time to be in indie film - the rules are literally being rewritten, and people making movies now are helping rewrite them.

What's your opinion on crowdfunding?

I think crowdfunding can be a part of any film project, and I think it's something that every filmmaker should do at least once. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy - raising money online for a film is really hard work. You need to be out there, promoting, every day, multiple times per day, and at the end of a campaign, the promoting becomes all-consuming. But the greatest thing about crowdfunding is that you're building an audience of people that truly want to see your work - so much so, they're giving you money to help bring it to reality. I think every film project, big or small, feature or doc, can benefit by that.

What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?

I'm not against remakes and sequels in theory, but I really think that if you're remaking a film, you need to bring something completely new to the story that didn't exist in the original. I'm not a fan of something like the Gus Van Sant remake of Psycho, that was literally a shot-for-shot remake. Why do it, then?

As far as sequels, I think that they can be good films, if they're stories that are thought of from the beginning (meaning, when you make the first film, you already have an idea for a sequel that continues the story on). Say what you want about Star Wars, there were nine films planned out, so the story at least was continuous.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?

I love some of them, I hate others. I think that if you're going to adapt a book into a movie, you need to keep the spirit of the book in order for it to be successful. I don't mind story points being changed (for example, the changes to Watchmen didn't bother me), but I think the characters need to be as close to the book as possible. (And I think you need to pick the right type of filming for a story. In the case of Watchmen, I think that was a blown opportunity; if a miniseries was made out of Watchmen, or a trilogy of films, it would've been OUTSTANDING. There was so much material there; some stories, I think, are too big to be made into one movie.)

Thanks for doing the interview Marty. I will do what I can to spread the word about "Rising Star". I am also a big fan of "The Big Lebowski".   I wish you all the best with post production.