We were lucky to catch up with Kris McMenamin recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kris, thanks for joining us today. Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

Filmmaking is a big process with a ton of steps before you ever get in-front of a camera. It all started with an idea that over the course of 6 months blossomed into a script, while working with some of the team on another project I had started to write and develop the script for Misfits. Through the process of draft, revision, rewrite, and again revision a great script was created with heart, humor, drama, and real characters. We got feedback from others in the industry and people who will be the audience one day as moved to solidified the majority of the script. It’s never really done till the filming part is done if I am being honest.

The next part becomes a whirlwind, we started putting up our casting notices, reviewing audition tapes, scouting locations, and finding partners both financially as well as strategically to bring this script to reality. We found amazing crew and cast members to form the Misfits team who are bringing their passion, talents, also their equipment that are vital to a successful project. We looked for ways to bring in the the most talented cast and crew with the tools both physical and talents that we could to make a film that has the quality of a million dollar production that is ready to be shown on streaming giants for a tenth of that in real budget. Finding those cost savings in free locations, people willing to make this their passion project, and all those million little things that make something great is a lot of work, but a amazing culmination that is really that old age about the sum of it’s parts.

We had to get all of those details like insurance, schedules, social media, call sheets, administration, brand agreements and all the other items in order. With those things in place, casting calls done, everyone on board, we did a giant table read with over a 60 cast and crew in attendance to amazing laughter, tears, and overall success.

Then the real fun began we have been filming, currently scheduled for day 9 of a 22 day schedule that is taking place over the course of 6 months or so. We have been working as this unit of people coming together. It is the most amazing thing when your dream becomes the dream of your team.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My (Kris) love for movies started when my Dad brought home mountains of VHS tapes recorded at his third-shift security job at his HBO substation, he brought home and I found so much joy in “Gremlins”, “Ghostbusters” and other classics. In addition to that I spent countless hours in the projection booth at the movie theater my Dad had as a second job being an usher.

As I my kids got older, and with the support of my amazing wife, I started getting involved in more creative pursuits working with other local creative people in shorts, films, and other things. I always loved to write, and the things that always hit me the hardest were those dramatic moments in films that were also funny. So I wrote a few things, and then I wrote Misfits, the first mini table read with friends and partners in this film we laughed so hard and teared up just mere moments apart, and I knew we had something that could effect others both in laughter and in the drama.

I am so proud of my team, and what we are in the process of creating and what we want to share with the world, a film about characters that are real people working through the challenges of life, grief, and leaning and fighting with that found family that we accumulate along life’s journey. To show the hard part of life in both a heartfelt but humorous way is something that is powerful and I am proud of my team to be bringing that into reality. This team is absolutely amazing, everyone on my crew is a rock star, and make coming to film just fantastic and that translates into what’s shaping up to be a awesome film.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish we had been able to have a more simplistic and easy way to use grants and tax credits for film. We ended up not being able to use them because the process is so challenging and complex, and often times seems to be setup for the big guys not the underdogs like us. We are learning about them, and hoping to use them in our next film, but its complicated, and if you haven’t done it before much of it feels like it requires hiring specialists just to really make use or be effective in that utilization. With the hopeful success of this project we are looking to those additional areas to help bring more to the screen.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

Even with the cost reductions we have found through partnerships and amazing people, to bring down or get locations, props, and other items without costing film’s quality. However, even with those cost saving initiatives it still is very expensive. With smaller productions you need to be resourceful and open minded.

We have multiple streams of revenue and cost reduction such as brand placements to get free products to be used in the film, having a logo in the film to film at a location that is giving us access to film for free, and other ways to reduce cost in those principal cost. Then we also work to find investors, donations, and contributions to help fund from anyone and everyone to create our budget through the love and passion of people in and out of the film industry. Even with all of that we definitely needed to have revenue streams that go straight to the film budget, we have a clothing and merchandise store that we sell amazing designs created by our cast and crew of clothes that people want to wear even not related to the film that helps.

Our team is amazing at finding the ability to make it work, at a especially high level so that we can create a Hollywood quality movie without being part of the Hollywood circle.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/misfitsthefilm/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misfitsthefilm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61559932117276
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-mcmenamin-51191533/
• Other: Store: https://misfitsthefilm-shop.fourthwall.com/
  IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32605857/?ref_=ra_sb_ln