{"id":103476,"date":"2018-07-12T06:00:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T11:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=103476"},"modified":"2018-07-10T14:38:13","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T19:38:13","slug":"interview-producer-toby-halbrooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/interview-producer-toby-halbrooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Producer Toby Halbrooks Shares Indie Film Insights"},"content":{"rendered":"

In which we chat with filmmaker and producer Toby Halbrooks about producing A Ghost Story<\/em>, Never Goin\u2019 Back,<\/em> and The Old Man & the Gun<\/em>.<\/h2>\n

Cover image of Toby Halbrooks<\/a> on the set of <\/em>The Old Man & the Gun<\/a> (via Eric Zachanowich<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n

At a recent packed-house screening of Never Goin\u2019 Back<\/em><\/a> at the Oak Cliff Film Festival<\/a> in Dallas, Texas, Toby Halbrooks looked at home darting\u00a0across the stage to introduce the film to a bristling audience. The film, directed by Augustine Frizzell<\/a>, represented another successful indie hit for Halbrooks and his producing team at Sailor Bear<\/a> with fellow producers Liz Cardenas<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0James M. Johnson<\/a> and longtime collaborator David Lowery<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Along with Never Goin\u2019 Back<\/em> (which has recently been picked up by A24 for release in August 2018), Halbrooks has had a busy calendar lately, producing both A Ghost Story<\/em><\/a> and The Old Man & the Gun<\/em> with director David Lowery (the latter of which is set to come out in September 2018), as well as co-writing Pete\u2019s Dragon<\/em><\/a> and the upcoming Peter Pan<\/em><\/a> reboot for Disney.<\/p>\n

We caught up with Halbrooks after his stop at the OCFF to chat about his work on the aforementioned projects and solicit advice on how to make a career as a filmmaker and producer.<\/p>\n

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Work with People You Like Working with<\/h3>\n
\"Producer<\/a>

Image of Toby Halbrooks with James Johnson, Augustine Frizzell, and David Lowery (via\u00a0IMDB<\/a><\/em>).<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

David and I met on working on a mutual friend’s indie feature. David was operating 2nd camera and doing some 2nd unit directing, and I just showed up to help out however I could. A few weeks later we met up again on a commercial gig. A few weeks after that we were hanging out all the time and started writing together.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Halbrooks\u2019s career is a great example of why you should work with friends on projects that seem fun. Originally a musician, Halbrooks found himself working on commercial film sets from time to time where he befriended another film creative \u2014 David Lowery. The two became fast friends and are now longtime collaborators\u00a0with shared creative energies. Halbrooks was best man\u00a0when Lowery married his creative partner Augustine Frizzell, and the three of them, along with the rest of their Sailor Bear collective, have become one of the most dynamic forces on the indie film scene.<\/p>\n

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A\u00a0Director’s Mindset<\/h3>\n
\"Producer<\/a>

Image from the set of Dig<\/em> (via Toby Halbrooks).<\/p><\/div>\n

It can be quite challenging to step between various positions on a film set. When I directed my short I found myself often worrying about production things that shouldn’t have been on my mind. You’ve really got to trust the team you’ve built. When I’m producing, I try to allow each department the space to do their best job. I want the director worried about what’s going on screen, not anything else.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After working as a producer on early projects with Lowery like St. Nick<\/em><\/a> and Ain’t Them Bodies Saints<\/em><\/a>, Halbrooks wrote and directed his own short film, Dig<\/em><\/a>,<\/i> which premiered at SXSW in 2014. (Watch it in full below.)<\/p>\n