Today we present an exclusive and very interesting interview with actor and producer Michael Wayne Brown, President and CEO of Acting Legally Productions, LLC, a small and emerging production company specializing in development of low-budget movies. Michael Wayne Brown recently starred in the funny comedy Dumbfellas directed by Lance Polland.
Welcome on BmovieFilms. Do you mind introducing yourself to our readers?
Thank you so much. It’s a pleasure to be here with you. My name is Michael Wayne Brown and I am President and Chief Executive Officer of Acting Legally Productions, LLC and focus on producing low budget/micro budget films in various genres as well as a some-time actor.
Can you tell us how you started your career?
Most of my life, my career has been as an attorney practicing law in California and have had a few clients in the entertainment business. As a professional actor it started less than 10 years ago and by chance when I was speaking with a friend of mine, Jim “Poorman” Trenton, a very popular LA DJ and in our discussion, he mentioned that he was filming a movie. That sparked my interest, as I was always fascinated by the entertainment industry, and he told me how he obtained an agent but then began utilizing on-line casting services, such as Actor’s Access and LA Casting. Intrigued, I signed up for one, and added my “lawyer” picture and started to submit. Within days, I was cast as a newscaster and that’s, how you might stay, it all got started. There’s an old adage that says, ministers, lawyers, and politician are all just frustrated actors, and I believe to a great extent, that might be true.
As for producing, that came a few years after I started acting. While on set, I would talk to the crew, and director (if he/she would let me) and ask about what their job was, how they did it, what made it good or bad. So, I became more interested in how the film was made not just saying lines in front of a camera. In addition, I became friends with Jim Wynorski (one of the best B Movie directors) and we were seeing if there was a good project for me to invest in. Unfortunately, we could not find the right project, so I began contacting others that I had met and was recommended to speak to Lance Polland of Bad Amigo Pictures. We meet and he shared a script for “Mafia Reloaded” which was later renamed “Dumbfellas” and so that is how I became a producer.
What has been your favorite project, until now, and why?
I would have to say “Dumbfellas” by far because it was my first, it was all new to me. It was a small group of individuals and we all worked together and wore different “hats” to get the film done. We had several challenges, actors quitting, rewrites, location obstacles, etc. which taught me how to be innovative in this business – and of course, the chance to work with Christine Nguyen.
What is the most difficult thing about being an actor and a producer at the same time?
Balance. As an actor you want to explore different options and express a variety of creative alternatives for your character. But as a producer, you need to keep in mind, budget, timing, commercial viability, and other business factors that may impair exploring creative expression.
What is the biggest challenge for a small production company? Besides money, of course.
Commitment. You are generally working with a small crew that are making very little money or are volunteering for experience and as such there are scheduling issues around other jobs, dealing with flakes who change their mind halfway through the project, etc. But if you have a committed crew, you will be able to complete the movie on time and on budget. But you need to have alternative solutions for most scenes, because you never know what might happen.
What genre does Acting Legally prefer to produce the most? Comedy, horror, thriller?
All. We have a comedy (“Dumbfellas” and “American Bigfoot”), a horror (“Bring Me A Skin For Dancing In”), sci-fi (“Another Plan from Outer Space 2: The Doomed”). In production, we have a crime drama (“A Made Woman”), rom-com (“Cloak & Lipstick”), and a children’s movie (“King Arthur In Yankee, Connecticut”). That being said, the most fun and enjoyable (and difficult) to make is a comedy. It always boils down to “is it a good story.”
Can you describe in detail how a movie project born? What is the production process of a small company?
It all starts with the story. Once you have the story (a decent script), then you can create your budget. Once you have the budget, you can create a business plan, then you can do your fund raising. Finally, you select the crew and cast and schedule the shoot. After the shoot, the real work begins with post-production editing, marketing and working with a distributor to get your movie out. It sounds simple, and it is, it is just not easy to do.
The pro and cons to be a b-movie/low budget actor?
Great question. For a company, I’d say the pros are that it’s much easier to manage and get things done or changed and if you fall financially short for some reason, the extra amount is generally not that difficult to raise. The con would be the limited resources that are available to you such as CGI, talent, quality equipment, ability to do reshoots, etc. due to budget constraints. As an actor, the quality of the material, sets, costumes, etc. is not as exciting as being on a major production, but you have more input in character development and improv. I was a Ford executive in Ford v Ferrare and the big studios do it right for the actors.
Recently, you starred in Dumbfellas, a funny comedy about two mobsters and shared your scenes with actress Christine Nguyen, well known to our readers. What can you say about her and there’s the hope to see her in the future in a new movie produced by Acting Legally?
Ahh, Christine, what a jewel, she is a wonderful combination of beauty, talent, and intelligence. She was a constant professional on set, on time, knows her craft and had wonderful improvisation for the scenes. Trust me, it’s not always easy to do a nude scene with the crew members all around you watching every move, but she was superb, and we finished the shooting that scene in less than half a day. And yes, she is that beautiful in person. I do look forward to working with Christine again if she is interested and in fact currently have a project that I believe she’d be perfect for. As soon as the script is finalized and we’ve secured the funding, an offer will be extended.
Next projects? I see you have a lot of interesting stuff in production now. Can you tell us about it in detail?
Yes, you always have to have projects in the pipeline. Downtime is not healthy for a production company. Two of our projects are in the process of refining the script to make them great stories, which will attract interested investors. We have one in post-production as well. We are also looking for an international distributor for Dumbfellas, which I think will be a hit internationally, especially in Asia.
A Dumbfellas sequel is possible?
Not only possible, but probably. I’m currently working with the original script writer on a concept and we’ll see where it takes the two boys and their consigliere next – It would be my guess, that they will run into Christine again. Thank you so much for the opportunity to discuss Acting Legally Productions. If your audience would like to more information on the company or me, they can check out the IMDb page for Acting Legally Productions, my personal IMDb page under “Michael Wayne Brown” or go to Acting Legally Productions’ website.
Email: ActingLegallyProductions@gmail.com
Web: https://actinglegallyproductions.godaddysites.com/
IMDb Pro: https://pro.imdb.com/company/co0906001/?ref_=nm_cc_nm_1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/82825655/admin/feed/posts/
Great interview, Chuck! So happy to read Christine could be back in the Dumbfellas sequel. In that movie there was a great, great chemistry between Mr. Brown and Christine Nguyen. But this time I hope to see her in a more prominent role and in a “Bada-Boom Bada-Bim!” scene more large. The second time is always the better!
I agree. They acted together in this movie for the first time, but they were both incredible. Great chemistry. I really hope to see them in the same film together again. And I hope that Acting Legally can become a new “home” for Christine’s acting career, as Retromedia was for her for so many years.