Armenian Filmmakers Hit Jackpot
Copyright © 2005 Frank Zeytouni
Machiavelli Hangman
http://www.hangmanmovie.com



There was a big wave of fans waiting to get autographs from the
self-made celebrity filmmakers of Machiavelli Hangman, the first
ever community-financed motion picture to hit the Hollywood
market.

The idea was ingenious. How did a few filmmakers raise enough
money to produce a mainstream Hollywood film? The answer is
simpler than it really is, just like every magic trick that is
revealed. The filmmakers reached out to the Glendale, California
community of 200,000 to contribute a single dollar in order to
complete the project.

The motto is "One dollar, one cause!"
"Shervin Youssefian,
the writer-director on the film originally came up with this
crazy notion that if we could fund a big hit feature film with
one-dollar contributions. The craziest part of this though was
that he really thought that people would contribute!" says an
amazed Artin Nazarian, the producer of
Machiavelli Hangman.

To date, the website has been up and running since May and it has
received up to 85,000 dollars in contributions. Machiavelli
Hangman is said to be the film of 2006 that will revolutionize
the way the industry is run. It will open the doors to other
filmmakers who cannot afford to shoot on 16mm or standard 35. It
will mark the birth of digital filmmaking and expand the range of
creativity that will flood the market.

"These days, we all see the same thing come out into the
theatres. All they change is the title. If you think about it
Batman Begins wasn't so much more different than Spiderman. War
of the Worlds was just like Armageddon, Deep Impact or even Men
in Black. Harry Potter films are often confused with the Lord of
the Ring series and the new Peter Jackson King Kong will be
compared to Mighty Joe Young. This independent film wave will
either completely throw studios out of the loop or it will give
them such a forceful jolt, that they will go back to the Golden
Age of Hollywood when filmmakers took time and care in their craft
and stories.

On Saturday July 16th, the filmmakers received journalists to
answer questions about the production of the film and when they
expected to raise enough the intended budget to begin production.
"It's not about the money anymore, we can get the money. We just
have to make sure that we get all the right people on the team
and deliver the goods. After so much support and encouragement,
our goal is to show everyone that a little unity can go a long
way," said Julia Strumfeld, one of the producers on the project.



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Frank Zeytouni is a movie reviewer.
His current review is of the upcoming
movie, "Machiavelli Hangman".
http://www.hangmanmovie.com