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How to steal as a filmmaker / artist

This will be controversial. Yup. This will be controversial to the inane filmmakers who don’t understand the difference between stealing ethically, and stealing without attribution. BUT that’s good news for you. While others see the world in their black and white ideologies, there are others that know that the greys

Making a living as a screenwriter / director

Recently I hosted a show called The Circuit, which was about the future of indie filmmaking. Left to right: Michele Alosinac (City of Toronto), Carolle Brabant (Telefilm), Piers Handling (Toronto International Film Festival), Bern Euler (Canadian Film Fest). Someone in the audience asked a question about why

This Is 10x Thinking

This is about ambition. Sometimes the pain of failure is so disquieting that you lie to yourself, put the blame on others for not “getting you,” and delay MASSIVE action with the justification that it’s okay ’cause you’ll accomplish your goals “someday.” I call BS.

Fundraising for indie films (a new tactic)

I know what you’re thinking. “Curt, how do you keep unstintingly putting out so much content and giving SO much value? And how do you stay so handsome? And what’s your number?” Well, I love you too. And I have no intention of being meretricious —

How I remember nearly everything I read / watch

You’re looking particularly resplendently marvelous today! I just got back from Rome (it was my birthday last week) and I can’t wait to let you know the lessons I gleaned that you can apply to filmmaking. In case you missed it, here’s my podcast on getting money

Getting into Hollywood as an indie filmmaker

I’ll get straight to it. Just finished up a podcast with Phil Cooke, an international award winning filmmaker from Hollywood who’s filmed in 60+ countries. We were planning on releasing it a few weeks from now but the content was SO actionable that we decided to

Here’s my podcast with the CEO of TIFF

I just finished interviewing the CEO of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and I thought you’d wanna see it… [media_video teatime_video_unique_id=”65f4b376fc373538d5f422fa1e4112aa” teatime_video_url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v‹´›a08ciDCQ1Y4″ teatime_video_size=”{‹²›video_size‹²›:‹²›size_fluid‹²›,‹²›size_fixed‹²›:{‹²›width‹²›:‹²›640‹²›,‹²›height‹²›:‹²›320‹²›}}” __fw_editor_shortcodes_id=”04b9ba282f11e087eea46f3c4ba45ea8″ _array_keys=”{‹²›teatime_video_size‹²›:‹²›teatime_video_size‹²›}” _fw_coder=”aggressive”][/media_video]The full list of timestamps are in the YouTube description but here are just a few of things we cover: 10:22 –

The Problem With The Film Industry

Okay, You know this industry is flawed. I know this industry is flawed. Why is it so hard to find funding and make a living with your art?! The obvious answer is that people don’t value creative endeavours unless you have the right combination of marketing / charisma. But that’s

Filmmakers and depression (my confession video)

People ask “Curt, you must get sad SOMETIMES. C’mon!” The truth is, I don’t. Not anymore. I work on my psychology everyday, because it matters. 80% of success in film — and life — is psychology. It really matters. But years ago, I was in a very dark place <<