By Lee Kolinsky
The rage against the Hollywood machine, independent filmmaker Fred Carpenter has been punching, clawing and attempting to pry open the steel barrier that has kept out his Hollywood arrival for over a decade. With the independent market flooded by anyone that has a few hundred dollars and a camera, to big name actors appearing in their own low budget productions, the competition has forced Carpenter to push harder than ever."I'd like to say independent filmmaking means my own creative independence, but that's bullshit! It's about raising money to make a movie, because Hollywood isn't giving me a dime," Carpenter says.
In order for Carpenter to pursue his dream, he and his production partner Leonard Weintraub estimate how much money they can obtain before even looking at a script. Once that is established, they think about a concept that they know will sell."That means we want to entertain the butcher, baker and the candlestick maker. You have to make a film a distributor can sell," Carpenter explains. "They don't give a shit how artsy it is, they ask themselves if they can sell it."
Carpenter adds that when a studio makes a movie and they find a script that is under $50 million, they are already in the black and won't lose. "Ya' think about this shit. I gotta' be nuts," he says. "I'm making a car in my backyard with my friends and I think I'm gonna' compete with General Motors."
To make things more difficult for himself, Carpenter punches the keys on a typewriter when designing a screenplay and has to run down to the library if he wants to see his new web site. The director has yet to enter the world of telecommunication. He does not e-mail, carries no palm pilot, beeper or cell phone.
"I'm an independent filmmaker, who the fuck wants to call me, he says. "And when they do, I feel like I'm that blonde with big tits that some guy wants to make out with. One person told me that they admire my work and compared me to Speilberg, I'm thinking, who? Joey Speilberg.
Never the less Carpenter claims that he is "truly" in the top 10 percent of Indy filmmakers, though he can not compare to the burst of name actors starring in or producing what he calls a "Hollywood Independent." For example Carpenter is an avid viewer of The Actors Studio, hosted by Dean Lipton. As Carpenter watched an interview with Gwenyth Paltrow discussing Shakespeare in Love, a multi-million dollar film produced by the Wienstein Brothers, he discovered that his chosen industry has changed.
"An independent film is budget zero to a few hundred thousand," he explains. "The average low budget Hollywood independent is $10 million. How tough is it to work under those confines? I have to tell you, using that independent label is a great marketing tool."
Carpenter adds that independent filmmaking is Ed Wood (his idol) meets Living In Oblivion. Two references about creating a motion picture and "all the bullshit they have two go through," to get it done.
"I hear these independent filmmakers talking about who influences them," Carpenter rants. "Scorsese, Speilberg, French guys who I can't even pronounce their name. I'd love to be on the set when they start shooting. They won't admit it, but to get that production done, they are Ed Wood."
The director and his production partner have produced 12 independent films including Small Kill with Gary Burghoff (M*A*S*H*), Murdered Innocence with Jason Miller (The Exorcist,) The Inside Man, Act of Contrition and Marie. All of which have earned them both moderate successes, as well as a best director award for Marie at the Long Island International Film Expo.
The Weintraub/Carpenter team recently completed their 13th feature; The Blue Lizard, which Carpenter believes, will bash that Hollywood barrier wide open. "I wanted to make a film that could sell tickets at the box office if some company gives it a chance," Carpenter says. "I'm thinking the Sopranos with dance and a kick ass soundtrack."
The Blue Lizard's story unfolds when Nick, a mob-owned hand is sent to the current hot spot where five million dollars has been stolen. Unfortunately his ex-lover Ariana is running the club. As Nick investigates the crime, he can't control his urge to rekindle his old relationship with Ariana. The Blue Lizard is a lounge that features dancers, fire-eaters and exotic décor. According to Carpenter films such as the Lizard can be compared to Flash Dance and Saturday Night Fever with a mix of Casablanca. All films which made a dent at the box office.
"I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't made more of those types of films," he says. "I really believe [the Blue Lizard] will sell tickets at the box office."
Adding to the confident nature of the filmmaker are the people he surrounds himself with. "Leonard and I have met a lot of legends in their own mind," Carpenter says. "I mean this is the one business people love stroking their own ego. But when you get into the war zone, I have a lot of respect for those helping me."
Besides producing and directing, the single mid-forties film obsessed Carpenter acts, writes, edits and supervises over every aspect of his creation. He has a passion for any movie made in the 1970's and emphasizes it with his 2001 film Marie, about a pissed off ex-cop who hunts down some drug dealers the Charles Bronson way.
"I have made thirteen films and have sacrificed a lot. I will never see grandchildren," Carpenter says. "My mother says to me, you want to make me proud? Get married and let me die with a smile on my face. I tell her that's why I'm not married, to keep her alive."Then sometimes, with all the bullshit you have to go through to make a film and when your parents see that, they say what do you need it for? Get a simple job. Well I say, it could have been drugs or alcohol, so I'm doing the third worst thing, I'm making movies."
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