For his first film as a feature director, seasoned movie producer Brent Ryan Green chose The Veil, a sci-fi movie starring William Levy as a warrior betrayed and left for dead by his own people.
Was there ever a moment when you considered taking The Veil to one of the big studios or did you always intend on doing it independently?
The Veil was something we always intended on doing ourselves independently. I would love to make a film within the studios system but as a first time director I just needed to go through the process of making a feature. So that’s what we did.
What are the benefits of doing it independently?
Just being able to keep control and not waiting for someone else to tell you yes. The bigger the budget the more the risk.  If your movie is 5, 10 or even 20 million dollars. Thats a lot of money and your probably going to need multiple investors and a studio to make that happen.  Which is fine but if you’re just starting out or even made a couple of movie its not an easy thing to put together. You’re better off working on a smaller project that you can not only control but make happen.
Do you find the budget provides hurdles though? Are you constantly having to lose things from the script because you just don’t have the money to do it?
With this project even more then normal. The script was so ambitious and we really were under funded trying to pull this story off. Its one of the lesson we learned on this film.
Had you directed before this?
This is my feature film directorial debut. Before this I directed 3 short films in Tokyo, South Africa and Oklahoma. Those shorts put together are about an hour and half. So that is what prepared me the most to direct this film.
Where do you think your strengths as a filmmaker lie?
I just love visual story telling. Bringing all the departments together and creating a team of creative people is what excites me. I love being on set with the cast and crew. The process of filming the movie is the best part by far.
Will you work with the same cast and crew on the next movie?
If it worked out for everyone, of course. Making a film is so challenging its good to have some familiar faces around that you can trust whether cast or crew.
The Veil opens in theaters and on VOD August 18.