Tiny's Faves for 2015

As I was thinking about all the movies I'd seen this year, I realized there were only two films that I really got excited about....  But SO many TV shows.

Time and time again this year, I found myself leaving the movie theater feeling extremely disappointed. (Before I go any further, let me quickly say that I’m not really into fantasy franchises, so I haven’t seen Mad Max or Star Wars. I’m sure they’re great. Just not my genre.) 

There were a few movies that I did enjoy. I liked Trainwreck and I thought Straight Outa Compton was very good, but most of the time, all the movies that Hollywood had to offer felt lazy, predictable and even cringeworthy. So, rather than driving to the movie theater, paying for parking, paying at least $16 for the movie ticket, then paying an insane amount for genetically modified popcorn and fountain soda, it seemed like a much smarter move to get in my comfy jammies, microwave my own popcorn, lie on my couch  and binge watch some amazing TV. 
Here’s what I went nuts for this year:

Making A Murderer (Netflix)

Netflix released the entire series Dec 18th. By Dec 20th I had binge watched all ten episodes and had begun to sink into a deep depression as a result of what I'd just seen. This show is a shocking example of how fucked up and corrupt the US justice system is.. If you haven’t watched it yet, I hope this doesn’t deter you from doing so. Yeah, it’s hard to watch and it weighs on you, but Making A Murderer is a must see. THE PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH, DAMMIT!!!!!

The Jinx (HBO)

If Making a Murderer is a prime example of how poor people in America can get screwed by the justice system, then The Jinx is the perfect example of how you can pretty much get away with anything if you have enough money - *SPOILER ALERT* - including chopping your next door neighbor into pieces and throwing his body parts in a lake! The thing is, The Jinx didn’t make me nearly as mad as Making A Murderer did because there is something fascinating and comical about it's subject, Robert Durst. Dare I say he’s almost likeable. I think his likability comes from the fact that he’s quite self deprecating and will happily draw attention to his flaws – unlike the self righteous, grand standing members of the Manitowac County Sheriff’s department and the special prosecutors that convicted Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in Making A Murderer.
The other thing that The Jinx has going for it - aside from one of the most bizarre real life characters ever on TV - is it’s director Andrew Jarecki. This guy is slick and a master of his craft. Side note: If you haven’t yet seen his 2003 directorial debut; Capturing the Friedmans, please do so immediately.

Getting On (HBO)

I have never seen such three dimensional characters on a sitcom before. Not to mention that these three dimensional characters are female!!! In addition to the great writing, I honestly cannot say enough good things about the three lead actresses playing these roles; Alex Borstein, Laurie Metcalf and Niecy Nash.  These ladies had me feeling ALL the feels. Their comedic timing is on point but they also know how to tug at your heart strings. On several occasions I found myself laughing out loud and choking back tears in the same scene. I’m so sad that the third season of this show will be the last. I only just got hooked! I highly recommend subscribing to HBO streaming, even just for one month, so you can binge watch all three seasons.

Master of None (Netflix)

It took me a little while to get in to this, (and I’m gonna be really mean and say that I found his tall, white friend with the beard insanely annoying and not funny) but I really ended up warming to this show and was so impressed that the creators clearly went out of their way to have as much diversity in the casting as possible. This is what pretty much EVERY show on television should be doing as a matter of responsibility. Nice job, Azis Ansari.

Transparent (Amazon)

I have loved Jill Soloway ever since I saw her debut feature Afternoon Delight when it came out a few years ago. Transparent has her same sensibility and feels very much like an extended indie film. What makes this show so authentic is that it’s inspired by Soloway's actual relationship with her father who transitioned from male to female. You can stream both seasons on Amazon Prime. Also, you should check out Soloway's amazing speech from the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. She is a true champion of women in film.
Click here to read it in full:  Jill's Amazing Speech

Crazy Ex Girlfriend (CW)

This one is just plain silly fun. There’s not much more to say, other than; Rachel Bloom is a brilliant comedic actress and I genuinely laughed out loud a lot while watching this series – Oh also – it’s kind of a musical. But don’t let that stop you. There’s usually only one song per episode and they are always ridiculously hilarious. See “The Sexy Getting Ready Song” below. My only complaint about this show is that there were only 8 episodes. I really hope they renew it for a second season. I needed a good laugh after all the true crime I’d been watching.

How To Get Away With Murder (ABC/Netflix)

Okay I’ll be honest here. This show is basically a soap opera, but damn, it's addictive and Viola Davis is such a badass! Also - THANK YOU to Shonda Rhimes for creating a show where the lead character is a complex woman of color over the age of 40. Also, thank you again Shonda, for hiring an equal amount of female and male directors for this show. It’s people like you that give me hope for the future of the entertainment industry.

There were many more TV shows I loved this year; The Affair, The Fall and Broadchurch just to name a few. But there are still so many shows I have heard great things about that I haven't had a chance to watch yet; Empire, Mr. Robot, Fargo, and Jessica Jones. Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day. And I DO have a life, thank you very much.

OK - now to movies. Like I said before, there were only two I really liked. What were they?

Tangerine

Made for $100K and shot on the iPhone 5, this film is somewhat of a revelation . I’m a huge fan of Sean Baker and loved his previous feature film Starlet. I think Tangerine is almost as good (some would argue even better). Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I am extremely passionate about microbudget filmmaking, and Baker is a perfect example of how one can use a smaller budget to their advantage. Sure $100K may seem like a lot to some of us but by Hollywood standards it’s peanuts. This movie is also a must see for the wonderful comedic performances from first time actresses Mya Taylor and Kitana Kiki Rodrgiuez. You can stream Tangerine currently on Netflix.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Marielle Heller's brilliant debut feature felt like a breath of fresh air among the Hollywood blockbusters this year. Every moment in this film is masterfully crafted and the performances that she gets from her actors are so honest and brave. It also has a kick ass soundtrack. If you missed this one at the cinemas be sure to check it out on VOD. I hope that the industry took notice of this film and that Marielle Heller is rewarded with a long and successful career as a director because I’m dying to see more of her work.

So that's my take on TV and movies for 2015. I hope 2016 has some much better films to show for itself and maybe not so great TV shows. If there are as many good series as there were this year, I'm gonna have to quit my job and spend my life in front of the TV in my pajamas.

Know When To Walk Away. Know When To Run.

I’m really bad at saying “No”.  I’m getting much better at it of late, but it still causes me a fair bit of anxiety when I’m faced with having to disappoint someone. I used to get so anxious about it that I would often just say yes to doing stuff that I reeeeally didn’t want to do, just to avoid the anxiety.

I’m sure I’m not alone here. I’m sure many of you - especially women - have, at some point, said yes to doing something you didn’t want to do, just to avoid hurting a persons feelings. (Apparently we women carry around a lot more guilt than men do).

These feelings of guilt become especially hard to navigate when working in the independent film industry. Like many creative industries, it's an environment where you're constantly working with different teams of people, dealing with big personalities and egos, and you often get asked to do your work for free.

Finding the right creative collaborators is hard! Maybe even harder than finding a life partner or romantic “soul mate”. So.... When should you say yes, dive in and give someone a chance?  When should you say a polite "thanks but no thanks"? And when should you run full speed in the opposite direction?

FULL DISCLOSURE: Of course, as usual, I don’t have all the answers… But these are some general points I try to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to enter into a creative collaboration.

Don’t assume that a great friendship will mean a great creative collaboration. There are some people that I absolutely LOVE hanging out with as friends, but when I’ve tried to work with them creatively, things haven’t gone so smoothly. If you attempt to work creatively with a good buddy and things start getting bitchy, try to identify that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, and go back to being good friends before it’s too late. In my opinion, no project is worth losing a wonderful friend over.

Don’t let people abuse your generosity! Do you have that friend or colleague who constantly asks for your time or expertise but when you ask them to return the favor they come up with a lame excuse? If you answered “yes” then it’s time to draw the line with this person. They need to go on your “SHIT LIST” (see my next point). Likewise, don’t abuse other people’s generosity! If someone does you a creative favor - like working for free on your project - return the favor at some point, sooner rather than later. I also think it’s nice to follow up with a personal thank you note, either an email or card. Some people may find this cheesy but I think it’s always nice to know you are appreciated

Make a “SHIT LIST”.  This is a list of people that you must, under no circumstances, ever allow yourself to be sucked into working with again.  Whether it be because of a bad attitude, a bad temper, abusing your generosity,  flakiness or just generally making terrible work – Put them on your list and then hopefully alarm bells will start ringing next time they want something from you and you’ll run - or you’ll make up an excuse as to why you can’t get involved.

If you’re working for free or cheap, only jump on board a project if you truly believe in the work.  This seems obvious, but I make this mistake a lot. It’s easy to get blinded by someone else's enthusiasm. Some people are very good at selling themselves. The problem is that when I commit to these projects and I don’t actually believe in them, I ALWAYS end up resenting them, and sometimes talking shit about them after the fact – which is just bad karma, and not very nice. ***SIDE NOTE*** The only times this rule shouldn’t apply is if you're just starting out in your career and really need experience OR if you are returning a favor. If someone has been nice enough to help you out in the past, you shouldn’t worry about whether or not you think they're talented. Just show up and return the favor.

When you find “your people” nurture those relationships!!! If you are lucky enough to find your creative soul mates, treat them well and don’t take them for granted. These people are SO hard to come by.

The Honeymoon is OVER!

It happened. I fell out of love with my movie.

It all started with a cut…..

I was on such a high when we finished shooting the feature. It had seemed like such an impossible task, and between you and me, I felt like kind of bad ass for orchestrating the whole thing pretty much on my own. But because I had to dive back in to my day jobs immediately after we wrapped filming, I didn’t have a lot of time up my sleeve to edit the movie myself. I also had a lot of people asking me “When will the movie be done? When do we get to see the movie???” And I was afraid that if I tried to edit it myself it would never get done.

Someone who'd worked on the production suggested sending it to an editor they knew who would do a full rough cut for 700 bucks. I thought this sounded like a great price and a great way to see someone elses perspective of the film. This editor also had a lot of free time on his hands so he could work on the cut immediately. GREAT! I was excited to get the ball rolling.

A few months later he returned the cut of the movie. I watched it nervously on my laptop, alone in my room.... And when it was done, I cried. 

Not tears of joy over what I had achieved… Quite the opposite in fact - Tears of disgust and humiliation. Ugly, UGLY thoughts started rushing through my mind; 

I've created a steaming pile of shit! I’m a terrible director! Why did I ever think I could do this? I’m a total amateur!… 

I hate this scene. Why did I not get coverage of that scene? Why didn’t I shoot more B-roll? Why didn’t I organize more background actors? This dialogue is terrible, and so is the title. What a shitty lame title. These jokes aren’t funny. I’m not funny. I’m a delusional loser who just spent a year putting together the worst movie of all time. FUCK! 

- I should add in a side note that none of these feelings had anything to do with the actors performances. There are some truly fantastic performances in the movie and I love my entire cast. I just hate myself – that’s all.

After I'd cried for a good amount of time I tried hard to console myself and think more calming thoughts;  

It would be ok if I threw the movie out. Quentin Tarantino threw his first movie out. He shot the whole thing and realized in editing that it wasn’t good enough so he abandoned it – and look where he ended up! 

The Duplass brothers also threw out their first feature. Maybe I could just quietly pretend this never happened. Or tell everyone that all the footage had been burned in a fire…. Hmmmm. Maybe I should actually burn it in a fire…..

I shared my dark thoughts with a few people I trusted and they asked to see the cut. They agreed it wasn’t working but also sat with me and looked through my uncut footage. They tried to tell me that I had a lot of great stuff to work with and I shouldn’t just abandon it.

I decided to take an entire month off from thinking about the movie. I immersed myself in other projects, and honestly it was a relief to not think about it.

Then a couple of weeks ago I felt like I was ready to look at the footage again. I started going through scene by scene, take by take and looking at what I had. There was a lot of good stuff. I started playing around with cutting some scenes on my own. I’m a slow editor, but I do enjoy the process and I think it makes me a better director because I am forced to confront whatever mistakes I made on set head on rather than have someone try to cover them up for me, with me none the wiser to what I could have done better.

I’m now falling back in love with my movie. I like the scenes I'm cutting. And I’ve taken some of the pressure off myself. I haven’t given myself a hard deadline to finish it, or even decided what I want to do with it when it’s done. Maybe I’ll enter it in festivals, maybe I’ll just show it to friends and family and then let it be. It’s not going to be perfect. But there will be enough good scenes to make it an interesting movie. And the most important thing is that any feelings of regret that I had from making it are gone. I’m so glad that I made it. The best way to learn is by making mistakes and I made a LOT of mistakes on this film… But I also did quite a bit of stuff right too. So there’s that.

The Struggling Artist

I don’t have any children, but if I ever do, I hope to God that they don’t want to pursue a career in the entertainment industry when they grow up…. Because if I have kids I’ll want them to have the best possible chance at happiness.

Ok yeah, that was a pretty depressing way to start this post. Sorry. I’ll lighten it up in a few paragraphs. I actually hadn’t even planned to write this post. My next post was supposed to be about how I chose my film crew. But last week I had dinner with a dear friend. An actor who is struggling, and despite his best efforts to stay positive it’s getting him down. I know this feeling all too well. I think depression is something that a lot of artists go through but we don’t often talk about it because it’s kind of embarrassing to have to admit that you’re not doing so great.

But the reality is that this industry is brutal. A very small percentage of people will find long term financial success and widespread recognition for their work. Most won’t. It’s one of the only industries where no matter how hard you work, how many hours you put in, how much you train or study, you can still end up getting nowhere. I can’t think of any other industry like this, where so much of who gets ahead can come down to luck; Being at the right place at the right time, meeting a powerful person who will give you a leg up, being born with great genes and growing up to be insanely good looking. This stuff isn’t happening to most of the people struggling to “make it”. In fact, only a tiny percentage of Screen Actors Guild members make more than $5000 per year from their art. This is definitely not enough to live on. And I don’t think the odds are much better for other artists. Often we have to work menial jobs not just to survive but also to help fund our artistic endeavours. Whether it’s funding our own films or paying for headshots, acting classes, art supplies, studio time to record an album – most artists have to spend a lot more money on their craft than they actually make from doing it.

When I was 20 I could never understand how someone that wanted to be an artist could just decide to quit when they got older. Now that I’m almost 30, I can absolutely understand why. Priorities change. When I was 18 and got my first bartending job, I loved it. But now the thought of bartending til 3am on a weekend is my nightmare. When I was 20 I didn’t care if I lived in a shitty share house with 3 other girls and one bathroom. Now I care. Five years ago I wasn’t thinking about having a family any time soon. Now I'm starting to think that if I ever wanna have a kid I should probably start saving now, because kids are fucking expensive!

So why the hell am I still pursuing a career in the arts? Well, that’s a good question. Like many other artists, I just can’t help myself. I wish I could give up and find another career and be happy. But I can’t. Despite all the depression this career causes me, I know I'd probably be more depressed if I gave it up completely.

So look, it’s not like I’m some expert on the matter – I still suffer from many bouts of depression directly related to my career – but as I get a bit older I think I’ve stumbled across some ways to keep the depression at bay much better than I used to. I’m not saying these bits of advice will work for everyone but they have worked for me. Feel free to try some of these on for size if you wanna avoid being the cliché of the depressed, struggling artist:

#1 Spend Time With Regular People

If all your friends are in this crazy business it’s very easy to lose perspective and fall into the trap of thinking that the industry is all that matters. It’s not. Make sure you have good people in your life who couldn’t give a rats ass about the industry or what your IMDB starmeter is. This can be hard in LA, but do your best.

#2 Never, ever EVER Compare Yourself To Others In This Business

I used to do this all the time – sometimes I still do – but I’m getting a lot better at catching myself doing it and telling myself to stop because it’s toxic.

These days, because of social media, it’s way too easy to find out what everyone around you is doing. You can be in a great mood and scrolling through your Facebook feed when suddenly you see a status posted by one of your peers:

“My film just got into Sundance!!! #blessed”

“Just booked the lead in a network Pilot! OMG! #actorlyfe”

“Flying to Hawaii to shoot a feature for 2 months! #livingthedream”

And within seconds you can go from feeling fab to hopelessly wondering “Why the fuck are they going to Hawaii and I’m waiting tables for 8 bucks an hour?”

Who knows why? But remember, it has nothing to do with you. This sounds cheesy, but everyone has their own journey. Some people have it way easier than others and it’s not fair, but life isn’t fair. You can sit around and sulk about it and spend the rest of the day cyberstalking everyone you know on IMDB to see who’s got more going on than you have, or you can go out and do something constructive.

#3 Do Volunteer Work

When I was going through probably the worst depression of my life, not long after I permanently moved to LA in 2013, I used to drive across town to South LA once a week and do volunteer work with an organization that helps underprivelaged middle school kids learn how to read. I’m not telling you this to make myself sound like some amazing, kind hearted person – because I mostly did it for selfish reasons. It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself when your career is at a standstill, but spending time with these kids who had the bare minimum was a quick reality check. Made me realize how lucky I actually was. And it felt good to be able to help in some small way. It was the one thing I could look forward to each week during that really shitty time in my life.

#4 Go To Therapy

If you’re a struggling artist you’re probably also broke, so obviously don't go out and book an appointment with the best shrink in town who will charge you anywhere from $100 - $500 per hour. But if you are depressed you should be talking to a professional. Find a cheap one. Even in expensive cities like LA it’s possible for low income earners to find a therapist for as little as $15 an hour. If you don’t like the first therapist you try, keep looking til you find one that you like. And get on meds if you have to. I resisted getting on anti-depressants for years because I thought it would kill my creativity and I wouldn't be able to create interesting art. In fact, when I finally did get on Prozac, I created a lot more art, because I was able to get out of bed in the morning! I became much more focused and proactive. The idea that meds kill your creativity is a myth.

#5 Don’t Binge on Drugs/Alcohol

Yes, I know this is easier said than done, especially when you’re depressed. There’s nothing like putting a bandaid on some low self esteem with a nice bottle of red wine, followed by a shot of tequila, followed by a few lines of cocaine. You’ll feel GREAT while you’re on it, but the following day you’ll want to die (and sometimes you'll wanna die for the entire week). But we all know this. There’s a reason why these substances are called “depressants”, so stay away unless you’re really happy with who you are as a person when you’re sober.

#6 Be Careful of Dating

If you have a long term partner this doesn’t concern you, but if you’re single, beware of dating when you’re depressed about your career. We artists often feel like we have very little control over our careers. This can lead to feelings of desperation.... And when you have all this desperation inside you and not much to do with it, it’s verrrrry easy to transfer those feelings over to your love life. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of times I humiliated myself by being way too desperate on the dating scene the first couple of years I was in LA. Nothing good came from hunting for love when I was terribly unhappy. When potential love interests brushed me off because I was too needy, I just felt way worse. So if you’re feeling creatively unfulfilled, like there’s a big gaping hole inside you, don’t fill that hole up with dick. Just go paint a picture or take a platonic friend to a movie or work on your next screenplay/song/novel/scarf/etc.

#7 Instead of a Plan B find a Plan A-

My mother used to caution me that if I was gonna pursue a career in entertainment, I should really have a Plan B. In other words, a career to fall back on if things didn’t work out. I always dismissed this idea and told her:

“If you have a Plan B to fall back on, you’ll fall back on it. If you give yourself no other option, you’ll be forced to succeed!” 

Ahhhhh. So young, so naïve. But I do think there is something to this philosophy. You don’t necessarily need to find another “career”. You definitely won’t have time to work on your art if you enroll in Law or Medical school. But you should find a steady way to make money that you don’t hate. Let’s call it a 'Plan A-'. Be realistic and know that your chances of making full time income from your art are very slim. So what can you do to pay the bills? 

As I mentioned before, the hospitality industry wasn’t for me. But I do enjoy working with kids, so I work part time as a nanny. I also do some freelancing on the periphery of the filmmaking industry, as an assistant film publicist and I do a few film festival related gigs each year, but honestly, these industry jobs don’t pay anywhere near as much as the nannying does, and they often require lots of unpaid overtime. With nannying I can go to work, do a good job while I’m there, get paid and then go home and not worry about it. I also find it more fulfilling because I feel like I’m a positive influence on the kids lives, and I know they appreciate me way more than my industry bosses do. I’m now also looking to study part time to get some new skills, preferably in youth work or social work so that I can start branching out and exploring other employment options while I continue to make films.

It's tough, but if you can try to remember that your career is not a sprint, it's a marathon, and set yourself up for the long term, you'll be much less likely to quit!

Location, Location, Location!

As most Los Angelinos know, filming in LA can be a nightmare when it comes to getting locations. This town is very savvy to the film industry that it revolves around, so most business owners will charge you an arm and a leg to film at their joint. And the cops are on the lookout for renegade film crews. The LAPD apparently has their own department dedicated to busting film crews without permits. (Not sure if this is actually true, but still, it sounds scary).

The company in charge of permits, FilmLA, is a privately owned company and is insanely expensive (you’re looking at about $700 minimum for a basic permit) So – if you are trying to shoot on a tiny budget there is no way you are gonna be able to afford permits. So, shoot somewhere other than LA or….. FUCK PERMITS!!!

BUT you need to be clear with everyone who comes on board your crew that you are not going to use permits. There are some people who like to do things very much by the book, and it’s not cool to mislead them into thinking you are using permits if you’re not. AND you must, must, MUST make sure you have a good AD or producer or SOMEONE reliable on your crew that is looking out for everyone’s safety. And really this comes down to common sense. Don’t go doing dangerous shit in dangerous locations. The tragedy that happened on the set of Midnight Rider last year obviously could have been avoided with or without a permit. Just don’t put peoples lives in danger under any circumstances!!!!!

I had 17 locations in my film, and I didn’t get a single permit and we were fine.

Really, if you are making a microbudget film and have hardly any money, you should be thinking about locations from the moment you conceive your idea and start writing your screenplay. This was a something I did NOT do, and just figured that once I'd raised $75,000 through my successful crowd funding campaign this would be no problem. When I only raised about $9000, finding locations turned out to be the hardest part of pre-production and I had to do many re-writes of the script to cut locations.

But enough about me – back to you. What locations do YOU already have access to? Can you film in your own house or apartment without pissing off your neighbors? If you’re shooting a scene where the charatcers are screaming at each other the entire time, maybe not. But otherwise, you should be golden. Can you shoot in your friends houses? Do you have any close friends who work in bars, restaurants, nightclubs, cafés, offices, gyms, etc. that might be able to hook you up at their place of business after hours when they are closed and you won’t be annoying anyone? I’m still relatively new to LA and didn’t have any hook ups in terms of businesses (although a few of my cast and crew kindly let me film at their houses) – so when I needed to find such things as; a dive bar, a restaurant, a café and a mini golf course, what did I do??????

Here’s what I did – I went on Yelp.com and called business after business after business until I found places that I could afford. Yes, it was boring and tedious. Yes, it was discouraging at times when I was constantly told it would cost between $2000 - $6000 per day to shoot in a dive bar. But when I finally found that business owner who let me shoot in their bar for $150 per day, all that hard work was so worth it.

And this goes without saying but, BE NICE TO PEOPLE. When you talk to the owners on the phone or go in and speak to them in person, be polite and friendly and grateful. It helps.

And if you can’t find enough apartments/houses amongst your friends and family in the area that you are filming, try using AirBnB. That’s what I did for 2 of my locations and it worked out great. Just make sure you tell the host that you want to film there. Some hosts are not ok with that, but many are!

Now, if you have exterior locations….. it’s time to go ninja style. If you have little money you probably have a skeleton crew anyway, but if you’re lucky enough to have a ton of volunteers and crew working on your film for free, figure out the minimum amount that you actually need that day and then leave the rest at home. DO NOT bring a tripod and lights and a ton of equipment. Use available light and go hand held and you’ll be fine. If your sound guy/gal is able to use lav mic’s on your actors and ditch the boom, that’s even better. And then just use common sense. If you want to shoot a scene where your actors are walking down the street, don’t go to a busy street with lots of people around. Go to a quiet street, where people won’t give a shit. If you need to shoot in a park, go to one without a park ranger. And if you are unlucky enough to get stopped by someone, just try using the excuse that you are tourists shooting home movies of your vacation, and then quickly get out of there.

Here's a pic of me and my co-star Mike Gray after a successful day of filming like total sneaky ninjas down backstreets and parks in North Hollywood. See how happy we look because of all the money we saved! ;-)

And finally if you’re really struggling to get a specific location, ask yourself if the scene that it's set in can take place somewhere else. Rewrite the scene if you have to. In my film, I had a scene that required a huge mansion with a fancy pool party and a ton of upscale partygoer background actors. I soon realized there was no way I'd be able to pull that off with the money I had. So we looked at the scene and what it was about. At its core, the scene was about a girl feeling insecure about how rich and successful her new boyfriend is. We completely rewrote the scene to a conversation between them in her bedroom. And in my opinion it was a much better and more realistic scene. So, think outside the box and it might work in your favor!