The Filmmaker’s Podcast #413: ‘Sing Sing’ Writer, Director & Producer

Here’s the latest episode of The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the 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, Dom Lenoir, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk about 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 filmmaking experiences from directors, writers, producers and screenwriters, to actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmaker’s Podcast #413: ‘Sing Sing’ Director Greg Kwedar, Producer Monique Walton and Writer Clint Bentley

This week we are joined by the team behind the superb prison drama Sing Sing! Dom Lenoir sits and chats with Producer Monique Walton and Writer Clint Bentley and also Director Greg Kwedar about how they made their movie starring Coleman Domingo, the difficulties of making an indie film in a prison with many non actors. They talk about:

• Working with and adapting real stories and peoples experiences into narrative.
• The process of writing, rewriting and rebuilding a script to find the purest version.
• Attaching a top actor early on a project and allowing them to help form and collaborate the story.
• Working on an indie budget and schedule in a small window of time between Colman’s other films.
• Pitching to producer Monique and others and what materials to have in place.
• Working around the penitentiary system and finding alternatives to filming in challenging working prison environments.
• Having to cut scenes due to cast availability restrictions and how to turn that into a benefit.
• The importance of collaboration and letting people into the process.

Sing Sing is out now.

Follow The Filmmakers Podcast on Twitter: @filmmakerspod | @gilesalderson and the official website