"Bank Roll" cost "$721.31, to the penny," director Doug Maguire said with a laugh.
Maguire and friend Johnny Scalco are the two creative forces behind the film. They were involved with every aspect of production.
"I am producer, actor, creator with Doug Maguire," said Scalco.
Maguire said he did the camera, lighting and directing. Despite its microscopic budget, "Bank Roll" is on a roll. It has won six small film festival awards and one even bigger prize.
"We just picked up a distribution deal," said Scalco. "It's amazing what you can do when you just put your mind to it and just say, 'Let's do it.'"
Maguire and Scalco unsuccessfully tried getting a movie made in the late 1990s, then lost contact with each other.
"When Doug and I reconnected after 15 years, we said, 'You know what? If we're going to do something, we've got to create our own opportunity,' so that's what we did," Scalco said.
"Bank Roll" was shot mostly in Toluca Lake with a handheld camera and a dream to make a good movie.
"We didn't go to film school, so we don't follow the rules," Maguire said. "We don't have too many weird moments, but there's enough interesting stuff in there to kind of get someone saying, 'Hey, I think that they did something different. Maybe they're on to something.'"
Maguire and Scalco are currently in production on their next film. "Bank Roll" will be on DVD in October.
