If you’ve checked the MFM Facebook page over the last six months, you’ve doubtless run into embeds of a new show I ran across earlier this year called AMC Movie Talk. Although it focuses squarely on Hollywood films and is funded by AMC Theatres, the show is run by an Indie-minded guy named John Campea. Campea’s a movie reviewer that’s also been an Indie filmmaker and he agreed to helm their movie news YouTube show if he was permitted to be very up front about how he did things with the viewers. (For example, he very publicly states that he and his writers will tell you very quickly if they adore a movie, but will wait a few weeks after a film they hate has been in theaters to publicly diss it. Its simplicity is very clever, because it doesn’t discourage people from going to see new films, regardless of what they are, but regular viewers know that silence from the hosts about a new film SPEAKS volumes.)
His honest and straightforward approach has made AMC Movie Talk the only Hollywood film show that I watch. The fact that it’s helmed by a bunch of geeky film nerds who love the original Star Wars, abhor the prequels, and just enjoy the art of filmmaking makes it a really fun and encouraging watch for any filmmmaker–and its focus allows many to see the bigger picture behind the Hollywood industry, which can easily get lost by most film goers. (And, truthfully, many of us in the microbudget world can get a bit pretentious in our belief that certain Hollywood films suck “only” because they were made by “Hollywood-types” and not us! This show does a good job of separating the hipster-ish sentiments from the facts behind the filmmaking industry, which makes it one of the best shows I’ve run across for getting straightforward info about how the studios actually make movies, how they formulate movies’ profitability, and a slew of other elements.)
Featuring Amirose Eisenbach as well as other recognized personalities from AMC movie talk, AMC Indie Spotlight is a great move forward!
After Campea and team have proved they could consistently make an amazing show for over 18 months with their general release AMC Movie Talk, Campea’s second in command, Amirose Eisenbach, has now been put in charge of the new show, AMC Indie Spotlight, which is now the lead content on the AMCi (AMC independent) YouTube channel. AMCindependent has been a passion project for Campea, Eisenbach, and others at AMC Theatres, which sets aside 60 locations nationwide to show Independent films. (Yes, these are Indiewood budget films, but, by providing a larger, non-arthouse network of film screens, this helps encourage more people to be exposed to non-mainstream filmmaking in general.)
Similar to AMC Movie News‘ four person lineup, AMC Indie Spotlight has a rotating panel of four Indie critics, journalists, and filmmakers. Their core mission is aimed at helping people be aware of new Indie films that are coming out, talk about new trailers as they drop, showcase what makes non-mainstream films so cool, and help viewers figure out where anticipated films are showing near them. Plus–a feature I personally find very exciting–the panelists have an “Indie Picks” section where they choose Indie films they’ve recently watched and adored, as well as films from the past that they would highly recommend you track down and find yourself.
Debuting on August 27th as a weekly show (as opposed to the daily shows that AMC Movie Talk are), AMC Indie Spotlight is still finding its feet, but is a really exciting development for all Indie filmmakers! If you haven’t seen it yet, check out the playlist below! New shows debut each Tuesday!
Jeremy T. Hanke
The director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded MicroFilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make better films. The second edition of his well-received book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) is being released by MWP in fall 2016. He's curently working on the sci-fi collaborative community, World of Depleted, and directed the debut action short in this series, Depleted: Day 419 .