“Lights. Camera. Asshole.” truly is the perfect tagline for this movie.
"Yeah, it’s more stressful than I thought it would be. But that’s normal, right? Like, it’s not the process that anybody likes. It’s the awards, the premieres, the parties. It’s not the present. It’s the future. The future’s gonna be the good stuff."
Written by Mariane Tremblay
Micro Budget is a mockumentary about a behind-the-scenes documentary about an untitled meteor movie. Confused? Don't worry, everyone in this movie is!
When Terry (Patrick Noth) discovers he's about to be a father, he does what any other sane person would do. He moves himself and his nine-month-pregnant wife (Emilea Wilson) from Iowa to Los Angeles to shoot a micro-budget indie movie and sell it to a streamer for a “fuck-ton of money.” Because if it worked for the Paranormal Activity guy, it’ll work for him too, right? He’ll sell his movie for like a bajillion dollars, right?
Documented by his cousin Devin (Morgan Evans) and his behind-the-scenes camera crew, Terry suddenly finds that his beliefs about diversity, the #MeToo movement, and what technically qualifies as a properly financed film production put him at odds with, well, every single person who meets him. Micro Budget follows Terry’s disastrous attempts to make a disaster movie and his inability to serve a decent lunch.
Believe it or not, this movie made me miss sets even more. There’s nothing like working from sunrise to sunset for days and running around like headless chickens. The adrenaline rush that comes with it is incomparable. There’s nothing glamorous; it’s a lot of stress, and yet, I would go back any day. And I know it sounds crazy, and I do believe you have to be slightly crazy to do this, but when you’re passionate about cinema or television, it is just the best. But if you’re hoping to do this job and make a “fuck-ton of money,” I have news for you—this job surely isn’t about the money, or at least at the beginning.
The thing is, to make movies, you have to be passionate about movies. You can’t just do that solely to make money, because unless you hit the jackpot on your directorial debut, you might struggle for a while, and that’s normal. Lots of people have gone through it, and many will go through it too. You can't expect to earn millions of dollars immediately, to get the fame, the parties, the awards right from the start, and I would say even less if you are unknown in this industry. If you do, congratulations, you've found a glitch in the Matrix!
Production can be extremely difficult and isolating. You might not always know what you’re doing, but if you love what you do, everything will be fine. You may make some mistakes, you will work hard, you will probably do the work of several people, you will try to find your style, what you want to do, and what you want to say, but you cannot do it solely for the money. You have to do it for the love of it. Otherwise, it shows. And what will you come across as? Terry.
But don't get me wrong, it’s okay to try to make a movie even though you don’t really have any knowledge, but you must have this thirst for learning, and you can’t act like you know everything when you clearly don’t. Acting like you understand the references and like you know everything about the industry will only make things worse. Even disastrous.
Watching Micro Budget is so funny because if you’ve ever worked on a set, it automatically brings you there, but also because of its performances and its sharp line deliveries. The performances are so good across the board that you’ll actually feel you’re a part of the team and might end up despising Terry as much as they all do.
All in all, just remember that making a movie for money will only make you appear like an asshole. Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be like Terry. But watch this movie, out on VOD on March 10.
Photo and synopsis from Micro Budget
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