Minh Collins Discuses His Life, Filmmaking, and Future in Hollywood

“Let’s see where to begin? Ok, I’m a product of the Vietnam war”, says Minh Collins. “Our family moved to the US when I was 10, Minh continues. They settled in a quiet little town north of LA in Ventura. Minh Collins father was an accountant and his mother worked building stuff for Boeing and NASA. We were a pretty normal average family, says Minh Collins.

Minh Collins says, “I really loved playing sports, but my hobbies were photography and painting. I moved to LA for college and got a degree in the medical field. Then I discovered a deep passion for the film industry.  The first time I stepped on a movie set, I knew my calling was to be a filmmaker”.

indieactivity: Why did you get into filmmaking and screenwriting?
Minh Collins (MC): Well, filmmaking is the perfect cross over medium for photography and painting. I never liked writing as a child, but I excelled in sports and mathematics. Now, I do find writing to be a pleasurable endeavor. Most of the time, I’ve always played script doctor for other writers, and found that I’m better off writing my own materials.

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How does an indie filmmaker distribute his/her film?
Minh Collins (MC): That’s the million-dollar question. All films would like a good distribution avenue. If a film doesn’t get distribution, then it’s just an expensive home video, that sits on the shelf. The best way to get distribution is to work with a sales rep before making your film. That way, your movie is already on their radar and best if they will partially finance the project. Then, they have skin in the game and will want to sell it to get their money back. When writing a script, I always keep in mind the commercial aspect of a project.

At what period in the filmmaking process, does an indie filmmaker need to start planning for distribution?
Minh Collins (MC): Planning for distribution should be at the beginning of the process. When thinking of writing or optioning a script, that’s when a filmmaker needs to look at the commercial aspect of the film. Does it have international appeal for a wide spectrum of audience? Genre is very important. Comedy movies in the indie world are tough to sell internationally. What’s funny here may not be funny abroad. Action and horror normally will do well worldwide because everyone understands a shootout or someone running from a zombie. Lol!

How do I get my film in theatres with an independent film budget?
Minh Collins (MC): Everything comes down to content. If the content is amazing, then the audience will come. It’s really tough to make a film at a lower budget and have it end up in the theatres. Just to complete a low-budget/zero-budget movie is short of a miracle.

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Minh Collins (MC): this is a placeholder text, that indicates that the content for this template must be placed between this block, to allow the article to hold a firm structure and also kill time for the writer or editor.

How can filmmakers finance their projects?
MC: Financing!!!  Haha! Oh Boy! I can tell stories of what we had to do to get the financing on my last movie “Circus Road”! If I wrote a book about it, people would think I’ve embellished it to make it interesting. It’s stuff that you can’t make up. So hard to talk about this subject because there’re so many ways a film can be funded. I would spend days telling about my experiences. 

What films have you written?
MC:  Rocking The Couch (2018) and Circus Road (2019)

What are the films that you have made?
MC: I made Hit List (2009), documentary Rocking The Couch (2018), and Circus Road (2019). I’m currently in pre-production of a family adventure film Blackjack Mountain to be filmed this summer.

Talk to us about your concept on collaboration?
MC: Collaboration is crucial in any creative endeavor. I get so many new ideas and I have to process everything to see if it fits into the project and my vision. If something from the script doesn’t work during filming then we make the changes on the fly.

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How do you find the process of filmmaking as an indie filmmaker?
MC: The process is fantastic once we have the greenlight. There’s not much of a difference in how we go about making the film as with the big studios. They just have more money to go along with their bells and whistles.

Describe your recent work, or film, take us through pre-production production and post production. Marketing too?
MC: It’s quite routine actually. This is the abridged version of my horror film Circus Road. Pre-prod:  Completed the script and sent it along to a sales rep. Got the approval and then acquired the funding.  Started the casting process and locked cast, crew and locations. Prod: Principle filming on location for 15 days. Post: Editing and presales. It’s not too complicated, just a lot of work.

What are your future goals?
MC: My goals are to keep doing what I love. Once it becomes too much like a job then I’ll move on to something that will keep my interest. Life is too short to not do what I love.

Tell us about what you think indie filmmaker need in today’s world of filmmaking?
MC: I find that working with a great team is so important. I hear stories of big directors always wanting to work with the same people. It’s no different in the indie world, you hang on to the good ones. Making a film is very difficult, so I will always try to work with people I like.

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Briefly write about your career?
MC: I’ve had an interesting career so far.  There are so many wonderful talents that have crossed my path and I’m looking forward to working with many more in the future. Several talents I’ve had the pleasure of directing are making the leap to the next level and I’m happy to see their career taking off.

My proudest moment was when an actor told me after a premiere “you made me look great and thank you for that!”  He’s very talented but just on that day he couldn’t deliver his lines to save his life. Through the magic of filmmaking, I knew how to make him not miss a beat!  You can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

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