It takes a village to boost a film from the bottom up. Filmmaking might be painfully costly, and even “low-budget” productions is usually a chore to finance. These celebs took issues into their very own palms, playing their very own cash to get their tasks made.
1.
Insecure star Issa Rae put herself $10,000 within the gap to fund her 2011 net collection The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. Though she maxed out all her bank cards in her endeavors, the present garnered a loyal viewers that raised cash to fund its first season. Rae was debt-free by Season 2.
2.
Vin Diesel risked all of it — even homelessness — for 2013’s Riddick. Without the monetary backing of a serious studio, the crew confronted numerous obstacles brought on by a decent price range. Diesel leveraged his home and used the cash to complete the movie, which was (fortunately for him) a box-office success.
3.
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now) has self-funded a number of tasks, however his most bold is but to come back. He’s providing up a whopping $120 million to totally notice what may probably be his most epic movie but, Megalopolis.
4.
Star Wars has exploded into one of many greatest franchises in cinematic historical past, making it onerous to think about its humble beginnings. Despite being owned by Disney immediately, George Lucas initially gambled his personal cash to make the 1977 movie.
5.
Kevin Costner has no qualms about throwing down money to get movies made. For instance, he helped fund Dances With Wolves with $2.5 million of his $3 million wage. He dropped $750,000 on Open Range. He additionally put cash on the road for Swing Vote and his upcoming Horizon undertaking, amongst others.
6.
Ava DuVernay has been shattering glass ceilings left and proper. On prime of her many accolades, she was additionally the primary African American girl to direct a movie with a price range of over $100 million. However, she by no means let cash deter her ambitions. DuVernay claims that, earlier than engaged on big-budget tasks, she would self-finance her movies “on two pennies in a paper clip.”
7.
Kevin Smith made quite a few sacrifices to finance his 1994 film Clerks. He offered his comedian e-book assortment and borrowed cash from family and friends. On prime of that, he maxed out some ten bank cards within the course of.
8.
Despite being a profitable playwright on the time, Tyler Perry had a tough time convincing studios to take his now-iconic Madea character to the massive display. He finally struck a cope with Lionsgate’s CEO: Perry would pay for half of the manufacturing value of Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
9.
John Travolta spent hundreds of thousands out of pocket to fund one of many worst movies of all time — and he does not remorse it. The Scientology-based sci-fi film, Battlefield Earth, was a large flop, each critically and commercially. It returned a mere $29 million with a $73 million price range.
10.
Zach Braff stirred controversy when he used Kickstarter to boost cash for his 2014 film, Wish I Was Here. However, the film wasn’t totally funded by followers. He clarified that he used a few of his personal money and overseas pre-sales to finish the movie.
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Spike Lee additionally landed in sizzling water whereas utilizing Kickstarter to fund movies like Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. However, he is been candid about self-financing lots of his works, together with tasks like Malcolm X and She’s Gotta Have It.
12.
Contrary to fashionable perception, not all celebs have hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to spend on ardour tasks. Lake Bell threw down $30,000 of her personal cash to shoot the Sundance brief movie, Worst Enemy. However, she resorted to crowd-funding to pay for post-production.
13.
Whoopi Goldberg is yet one more well-known title that raised eyebrows for utilizing Kickstarter. She requested $65,000 to complete producing her directorial debut, I Got Somethin’ To Tell You. Despite initially self-funding the documentary, she could not full it with out exterior contributions.
14.
The Room (2003) is now a cult basic “so terrible that it’s good” movie, and it was funded totally by Tommy Wiseau and his mysterious revenue. He wrote, directed, and starred within the undertaking, spending $6 million solely to earn $1,800 on the field workplace on opening weekend. Renewed curiosity in The Room after 2017’s The Disaster Artist has since helped the film flip a revenue.
15.
Nicole Kidman self-financed the indie drama Rabbit Hole for the sake of inventive liberty. While she did not write or direct the undertaking, she performed an lively function in its growth because the lead, noting that it is simpler to meet a inventive imaginative and prescient with out studio interference.
16.
Harvey Keitel used his personal money to assist Quentin Tarantino convey his 1992 basic, Reservoir Dogs, to life. Keitel and Tarantino each starred within the movie, with the previous throwing down cash to safe a roster of gifted costars.
17.
M. Night Shyamalan’s profession has been rocky, to say the least. The basic public hasn’t at all times obtained his tasks with open arms (keep in mind The Last Airbender?), however the director continues to press ahead. Shyamalan’s been secretly funding his personal movies, together with Split, Glass, and The Visit.
18.
Mel Gibson used hundreds of thousands of his personal {dollars} to make The Passion of the Christ. After corporations like twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. refused to distribute the controversial movie, Gibson paired with the impartial Newmarket Films. Despite its delicate material, the film was a field workplace smash.
19.
Film icon John Wayne invested over $1.5 million (an extravagant sum of money on the time) and took out second mortgages on his properties to fund his 1960 struggle movie, The Alamo. The ardour undertaking was comparatively profitable and was nominated for seven Oscars (profitable the Sound class).
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