by Iain Blair

Talk about survival of the fittest! I have been chatting with Emmy-winning writer/director Todd Robinson, whose credits include 07’s Lonely Hearts (with Travolta and Gandolfini), Law & Order and Mermaids. He says the Writers Strike was a “real wake up call. I’ve been so frustrated with the movie biz, as it’s so unforgiving, and you’re always begging people for money.” So when Todd came across hot young singer Amy Cook, he suddenly thought, “Why don’t I forget financing, use all the new technology and make my own film as an experiment?” Todd promptly rented four Panasonic HVX 200s, hit the road with the singer and a minimal crew, and is now editing the result: a documentary called, When Nobody’s Listening: On the Road with Amy Cook. “When I shot my first short film back in ‘90, it cost $120,000 ─ and this will barely cost me $40,000 for a full-length film.” Todd says he’s editing at home in Malibu. “I went out and bought a Final Cut Pro suite for just $6,000 and I have two guys who work with Robert Rodriguez at his Troublemaker Studios, doing all the post here. It’s just amazing what you can do now.” Todd also predicts “a tidal wave” of content, thanks to cheap technology. “All these movie conglomerates should be very nervous! People will deal directly with YouTube and Google ─ now that’s the future.”

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.