Nerdly » The Filmmakers Podcast #192: ‘Borat 2’ Writer & Producer Dan Mazer

30th Nov2020

The Filmmakers Podcast #192: ‘Borat 2’ Writer & Producer Dan Mazer

by Phil Wheat

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar, with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #192: Borat 2 Writer and Producer Dan Mazer in our AFM Talk on Screenwriting, Producing and Directing

Listen to our full talk at the American Film Market for earlier this month with regular hosts Giles Alderson and Ian Sharp joined by writer, director and producer Dan Mazer to discuss filmmaking on both an indie and studio level. Dan talks about his start in the world of film through his writing for television with Sacha Baron Cohen on Da Ali G Show, how from there he got involved with writing and producing the features Ali G Indahouse, Borat and Bruno. Whilst continuing to write further features Bridget Jones’s Baby and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, Dan has also directed I Give It a Year, Dirty Grandpa and the upcoming Home Alone – the latter of which was filmed during the current pandemic.

Ian and Giles compare their experience on the indie side with Dan’s studio work, discussing how they’ve each managed to get their respective projects off the ground, dealing with financiers and maintaining good relationships with studios, as well as fellow producers and directors. Finally, Dan discusses the strategy of releasing Borat Subsequent Moviefilm on Amazon for on-demand viewing, why the decision was taken and how they used the timing of the global pandemic and the US election to their advantage.