Chalk Hill Books

Robert Latham Brown has worked as a producer, line producer, and production manager in feature films for the past 30 years. Among his credits are Return of the Jedi, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, S.W.A.T., The Parent Trap (1998), The Blues Brothers, Spaceballs, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Child's Play 1-3, and Starship Troopers. However, not all of his projects were big studio films. He co-produced and production-managed Local Color, released in 2009, and in 2001, he produced The Anarchist Cookbook. A comprehensive list of credits and biographical information can be found on Wikipedia.

It was his work on The Anarchist Cookbook and the class that he teaches at USC's School of Cinematic Arts that prompted him to write Planning the Low-Budget Film. It takes the reader from the basics on how to breakdown a script through discussing each account in the Anarchist budget. In between, it covers all aspects of planning a low-budget feature production, from how to arrive at a shooting schedule, hiring the crew, picking locations, dealing with unions, and more. He says that his intent was to make the book informative and entertaining.

Using stories from his 30 years in film production, Mr. Brown illuminates the principals of film planning from a unique perspective. From the missing swamp to dealing with polar bears, this book will entertain as well as instruct. He show you how to break a script down into its basic components, and he takes you through every line of a film budget, explaining how to squeeze the most value out of your funds.