MovieChat Forums > American Movie (2000) Discussion > Mark Borchardt: Inspiring!

Mark Borchardt: Inspiring!

posted 18 years ago by MelCooley2
6 replies | jump to latest

A lot of people have a much different reaction to Mark than I did. A popular summation of Mark is "What a loser" and "Doesn't he see how this movie makes him appear?" No, I would not say Mark is a talented filmmaker (well, maybe he's become one since 1999, but I haven't heard anything about "Coven 2"), but Mark has an abundance of drive that I only wish I had. Mark plows forward in spite of countless obstacles (lack of experience and money, for example). He seems absolutely unable to quit! How many projects, dreams, goals, etc. have I just discarded and given up on because I lost the motivation to stick with it. Hey, my hat goes off to the guy. Call him what you want, but if I had a fraction of Mark Borchardt's determination, I'd be President of Mars by now. You go, Mark!

[–] Birdee186 18 years ago

I definately agree. Mark is my hero. I want an update on him and mike sooo bad.....i love mike's guitar throughout the movie.

[–] Newski_the_Hippie 18 years ago

I'm a fan of Mark Borchardt. He played a part in my decision to become a filmmaker, him and Lloyd Kaufman.

Recently, I saw American Movie (after already having seen and loved Coven) and thought to myself: This is me.

I tried to make my big movie. I got no money.

I moved on to a cheaper horror project.

Struggling to pull things together.

Then I realized that this is pretty much every independent filmmaker. Trying to make a movie, little support, little financing. Most people give up.

To quote the catchphrase for the movie I want to make, about a different filmmaker, "He wanted to make a movie. And he did." That's why Mark Borchardt is not somebody to be pitied, but somebody to be envied.

Coven was a damn good short, that would have worked perfectly as a Twilight Zone Episode and clearly showed just how much George Romero influenced his work.

[–] kosk11348 18 years ago

Actually, when I watched the documentary and all the shots that were going wrong I thought "wow, what a piece of crap this movie is going to turn out to be." And then when they showed a clip of the finished film, there was a scene of him being dragged through the mud or something (I don't quite remember), but I thought, "hey, you know it didn't turn out half bad." The visuals seemed quite striking. Now, whether any of the acting in his movie turned out good I have no idea, but that falls more on the talent of the actors than the director.

"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true."

[–] tuxedomaskdawg 17 years ago

Mark actually acts pretty good in Coven, but some of the other actors arent too good. Coven does have really good visuals, but the story is pretty hard to follow. its not a bad movie, a lot better than i expected to be honest, but its not great either.

but yeah i definitely think the point of this movie was to show mark as someone with a lot of drive and who wont give up on his goals, not as a loser in some hick town. this movie is great, I bought it like 3 days after i rented cuz i know im gonna watch this over and over again

[–] wildpeckinpah 17 years ago

Agree. Mark's raw determination is admirable. But not only is he determined, he seems a genuinely kind and considerate human being. Exhibit A: bathing Uncle Bill. There's no way I could do that task with as much cheer as Mark displayed!

[–] warrior1967 17 years ago

Agreed. Mark's drive to become a filmmaker inspires the hell out of me.