Filmmaker Lee Fanning

A 25-year-old native of Hartselle, AL, Lee Fanning has pursued an interest in film and video production for the past 11 years. Fanning founded Wonder Mill Films with Benjamin Stark in Fall 2006 and the two have had several short films screen at festivals throughout the southeast. Fanning is a 2007 graduate of the University of Alabama and is married to Costumer Designer Peyton Fanning. A Genesis Found is his feature-length debut.

What is the current project you are working on?

We’ve just released our second feature film, THE NOCTURNAL THIRD, which is a slow-burn neo-noir thriller that I produced and Benjamin Stark, who produced A GENESIS FOUND, directed, so that’s been keeping us pretty busy at the moment.  Initially, we’re doing a completely DIY release of the film. We’ve offered a limited time free stream of the film on our website, hosted a public screening in our hometown along with a couple of house screenings, and released it via some VOD options and as a Manufacture on Demand DVD available at Amazon.  We also have plans for a city tour of it, along with A GENESIS FOUND, as a double bill “mini-festival” in Winter 2012.

In addition to the distro chores for that feature, and of course the never ending distro chores for A GENESIS FOUND, Ben and I have just recently worked out a new arrangement for our next feature, an even more run-and-gun effort, with him directing and me writing.

And personally, I'm focusing more on just writing in general, for the time being-- what I've kinda realized about myself in the past year is that I love movies, but I'm not exclusively a movie guy-- I want to work in a number of mediums, and realistically, I don't think filmmaking will ever be my sole source of income, especially since I want to remain a regional storyteller for the foreseeable future.  But I don't want to have a "day job" for the rest of my life, so I've decided to take some steps towards a "legitimate" freelance writing career.

Currently, I'm focusing specifically on juvenile fiction.  I'm getting to do a number of things, but the most fun is developing, with my wife, a "funny animal adventure novel" with active illustrations, kind of like a text based graphic novel with a far smaller number of illustrations, that's in the spirit of Floyd Gottfredson's Mickey Mouse comic strip and Carl Barks' Uncle Scrooge tales.

How do you handle rejection?

I've always handled rejection pretty well, actually.  In high school, I really started getting serious about focusing on my writing and filmmaking ambitions, and sent off short stories, poems, songs, and movies to countless magazines, festivals and contests.  I used to save every rejection letter I got (which was plenty-- I'm not sure I ever did get published or screened in high school) and post it on my bedroom wall, as kind of a constant reminder that I've got plenty to learn.  I don't do that now, but I do still save every rejection letter I get, and they've rarely "rocked my world", but rather inspired me to try harder.

Handling a sense of self-prescribed "failure", however, has proven quite an adversary in the past year or so.  Distributing A GENESIS FOUND has been a struggle.  The film has been such a major force in my life the past three, almost four, years, it’s hard to keep going when you’re constantly trudging uphill, especially when I had some what unrealistic expectations about how natural a process distribution should have been.  It threw me for a loop—I battled some discouragement and depression, lost some focus, and have been struggling, it seems, for the past year trying to make up for the lost time and regain the energy I had when we were shooting.

I’m still not satisfied with the success we’ve had with the film, but it’s improving, and I now feel content to move my primary focus on to other things.

Did you always want to be a filmmaker?

I always wanted to be a writer, as long as I can remember.  Growing up, I was raised a comic book fan, and a Star Wars fan, and those were kinda the “gateway drugs” I suppose.  As far back as I can remember I’ve been coming up with characters and stories and worlds.  I’ve always been a little impatient about it too.  One of my more endearing memories growing up is drawing comic book covers, but never drawing or writing the rest of the comic, just trying to get the whole story out in a single image (in the sensational style popular in the Silver Age).  I did that for years and years and years, utilizing the same characters, with crossovers, mini-series, “events.”  I even had an imprint when a friend of mine wanted to bring in his own characters!

I suppose I’ve always had that “director” instinct—I used to organize clubs in school and kinda dictate who got to be what when we played on the playground.  I remember getting frustrated when I had a plot in mind for whatever we were playing and the other kids started adding in things I thought were ridiculous—like we were playing Super Heroes and one kid decides to be a wrestler.  But I didn’t really “discover” my love of film, or think about it legitimately as a way to spend my time, until late-Junior High, and didn’t commit to it until Freshman year of high school.  I can vividly remember the moment I said to myself “I want to be a Film Director.”

 What inspired you to become filmmaker?

Love of storytelling.  I have an interest in the technical and design aspects of filmmaking, but a lot of that interest is kinda forced and learned.  I mean, realistically, you have to force an interest in those aspects to be a worthwhile filmmaker.  But the only reason I’m willing to put up with them, along with all those logistical problems you have to face, is because filmmaking is such an exciting, natural means of telling a story.  I love a lot of different storytelling mediums, and they’re not really “comparative”, but how you can tell a story with film is the most exciting and challenging to me.  The power of a little shadow, a couple of cuts and a smooth performance is mesmerizing.

 What is the best thing about being one?

Getting to tell stories in the most exciting and popular medium of our time.

 What is the worst thing about being one?

Making it a reality.  Finding money, being smart about distribution, organizing logistics, working around impossibilities.  It’s gratifying on a different level, but it is nothing but frustrating to the part of you that just wants to tell a story.  There’s a reason the industry developed a studio system that emphasizes specialization and collaboration.

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

Oh man, a lot, I’m happy to say!  I’ve lent a hand to a lot of great productions, but only produced two features, one of which I also wrote and directed.  I think I’ve produced and/or directed about 9 shorts (that I’ll claim at least).

 Who is is your favorite filmmaker?

Orson Welles.  He was a once-in-the-history-of-the-medium kind of talent that changed everything. Probably the only young master of the medium ever (even Spielberg didn’t hit full stride til his 30s, despite how great Jaws is).  More young filmmakers should make a serious study of his life and work, instead of just texting through Citizen Kane in Film History 101.

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

Find out, as quickly as you can, what part of the process satisfies you, and build a plan—a very realistic plan—on what you need to do to make doing that for a living a reality.  In example—I know all I really enjoy about the filmmaking process is storytelling, and it makes the most sense for me, right now, to work a non-directly related day job and pursue films “on the weekends.”  I can do it anywhere, so I haven’t had to relocate to a more industry-centric location.  But, if you want to be a production designer, or in the wardrobe department, or something like that, relocate to where there’s more industry (not necessarily LA) and pursue opportunities there.  Unless you’re making your own opportunities, you need to relocate if you’re serious about it.  Hopefully it won’t be that way forever (that’s part of what I hope to help remedy), but that’s how it is right now.

What do you like to do besides filmmaking?

I love writing, and telling stories in numerous mediums.  Honestly, I could probably live a happy life without making films, so long as I was telling stories in some way.  I also enjoy consuming stories, collecting animation DVDs, and following Baseball and College Football.

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

I’ve had ONLY other jobs, as I’ve yet to make a dime making movies.  Currently, I work as both a freelance writer and an IMAX projectionist to pay the bills.

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

I LOVE animation.  I watch probably a 70% to 30% cartoon to live action ratio.

Favorite Films?  The Third Man, Fantasia, Star Wars, F for Fake, The Dark Knight.

Foreign wise, I’m a big fan of Herzog, Hayao Miyazaki, and of course the greats like Kurosawa and Lang.

I mostly watch television cartoons.  Big fan of Hanna-Barberra and Filmation.  Huge fan of Bruce Timm’s DC Animated Universe that ran through the life of several series when I was growing up.  Also can’t go wrong with good stories of the strange and fantastic: “The Twilight Zone”, “Star Trek”, “Kolchack” and “The X-Files”.

 How would you describe your film education?

Mostly, I learned by doing.  I’m an alum of the University of Alabama (roll tide roll), which is where I met Ben and a lot of the other collaborators I worked with on my first professional films.  I had a great mentor there, filmmaker Aaron Greer, and the program is a great place to get a solid, useful telecommunication degree.  But most of what I learned there came from developing short films with other students outside of class, on projects that were entirely self-generated.  I do have to thank the University’s resources, however, for all the equipment they let us “borrow.”

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

Non-existent?  Haha, no, there’s actually a good associate-base of filmmakers in North Alabama (though most of the Alabama “scene” is in Birmingham), and Ben and I try to keep one foot in the door with them.  Networking has never been my strong suit, however, and outside of occasional projects, I rarely interact socially with filmmakers from outside of my immediate circle.  Of course, I rarely interact socially with filmmakers from inside that circle, but that’s just living in the sticks.

 How has social media changed the independent film industry?

It’s fundamentally changed recruiting and promotion.  I’ve met crew members via social networking—I’ve known others who’ve used social networking to line up their entire cast and crew.  Film is a collaborative medium, and therefore it is all about networking—and with social media, you can develop relationships and contacts in a fashion that was unprecedented ten years ago.

I mostly have used social media as a promotional tool, and promoting my work to potential audiences and to other filmmakers.

It addresses needs that have always been in the industry, but helps to make them obstacles that are much easier to overcome now than they have ever been before.

What's your opinion on crowdfunding?

I think crowdfunding is a great concept, and it does work for some people, but I don’t have enough experience with it yet to give anything but a speculative opinion.  We used a little crowd funding to help with some distro funds for THE NOCTURNAL THIRD, with fairly underwhelming results, but frankly we didn’t need much money and our approach was rushed and under-calculated.

I am planning on utilizing crowdfunding strategies to help gauge interest in the book I’m currently working on, a little further down the line.  I’ll probably also use this experience to gauge whether or not crowdfunding, if strategically executed, can function as a reliable fundraising outlet for feature projects.

 How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

I once saw this great article at the parody website “The Onion”, titled “Low-Budget Film Panders Just As Shamelessly As Big Studio Feature”, which is great pointed commentary and right on the money.  In my opinion, there are good intentions, and there are bad intentions—good movies and bad movies. From an audience standpoint, there is no difference between the big and small, only between what’s genuine and what isn’t.

Obviously, from a production standpoint there are differences, and the discrepancy between the size of each types budgets have led each to develop, typically, different aesthetics, visual techniques, styles, and approaches.

But a good film is still a good film, and a bad film is still a bad film, and I don’t really care how much money was used to make it.

 You could go back in time and see any film being made. Which film would it be and why?

THE GOLD RUSH.  It was my grandfather’s favorite film and it looks like Charlie was having a whole lot of fun making it.

What's your favorite movie quote and why?

"Now this has been standing here for centuries. The premier work of man, perhaps, in the whole western world, and it’s without a signature: Chartres. A celebration to God’s glory and to the dignity of man. All that’s left, most artists seem to feel these days, is man. Naked, poor, forked, radish. There aren’t any celebrations. Ours, the scientists keep telling us, is a universe which is disposable. You know it might be just this one anonymous glory, of all things, this rich stone forest, this epic chant, this gaiety, this grand choiring shout of affirmation, which we choose when all our cities are dust, to stand intact, to mark where we have been, to testify to what we had it in us, to accomplish. Our works in stone, in paint, in print are spared, some of them for a few decades, or a millennium or two, but everything must finally fall in war or wear away into the ultimate and universal ash. The triumphs and the frauds, the treasures and the fakes. A fact of life. We’re going to die. “Be of good heart,” cry the dead artists out of the living past. Our songs will all be silenced – but what of it? Go on singing. Maybe a man’s name doesn’t matter all that much." - Orson Welles, F FOR FAKE

I love this quote because it came towards the end of Welles’ life, and is delivered almost as if it’s as much a revelation to him as it is his audience.  It’s also a lament that speaks volumes, and still resonates as a concern for artists working today.

 What is your opinion on movie remakes and sequels?

Neither bother me.  I tend to be more receptive to sequels, unless a remake is really called for or is really original in approach.

I think sequels can afford storytellers a lot of great opportunities.  Obviously, when the filmmakers can’t see beyond the monetary aspirations their executives are going after, you’re usually going to get something pretty shameless and uneven; but, I’m not of the school that views sequels as inherently evil.  It’s really up to the filmmakers, what respect they have for their work and what their money men allow them to do.

What is your opinion on book to movie adaptions?

I’m fine with them.  Whatever inspires the filmmaker and provides a good story.  Just be aware that the film and the book are different interpretations of a shared story, and the mediums aren’t inherently comparable.  I think the phrase “the book was better” is perhaps the dumbest criticism of any film I’ve ever heard.