How Not to Make a Movie: An Independent Filmmaker in Hollywood Hell

Part memoir, part primer, part cautionary tale, this book takes the reader along on a filmmaker’s 12-year journey through Hollywood Hell, culminating in the movie Angels In Stardust (2016), starring Alicia Silverstone, AJ Michalka and Billy Burke. Describing meetings with producers, agents, managers, hustlers, wannabes and famous celebrities, and how he overcame the host of problems encountered while trying to produce a movie, William Robert Carey’s humorous and confessional narrative illustrates why it takes a minor miracle, a cabinet of liquor and plenty of Pepto-Bismol to complete a film. Copies of his option agreement, script sales contract and director’s contract, crafted by LA entertainment attorneys, are included as a valuable guide for aspiring filmmakers.

William Robert Carey, a member SAG, AFTRA, DGA, AEA, & the WGA, is an actor, writer, director and producer. He has won numerous awards for writing and directing commercials; played Danny in the Chicago premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea; wrote and directed the Angels In Stardust; and won the 2019 Scribe Playwriting Competition Marsha A. Croyle Award for Achievement in Playwriting.