Reality on screen: Producing a documentary film

Just like fictional films, documentary films are created to tell a remarkable story of a real person or a group of people. Documentaries often feature the stories of those who have gone through a difficult struggle, usually a matter of life and death, and managed to survive.

Edward Bass  Image credit: veracityfilms.com

In choosing a story to tell, filmmakers, like Edward Bass, agree that it should be something that the producer, director, and all those who will be closely involved in the production are passionate about. This is because documentary filmmaking requires a lot of patience and commitment. It greatly differs from fictional film production because producing a documentary entails a long period of researching, filming, interviewing, and editing, among many others.

Edward Bass  Image Credit: tecca.com

Research plays a crucial role in the production process, especially in documentary films. Before the filmmakers can record the stories of their subjects, they must first conduct extensive research on the topic and possible sources of information, and make sure that they have the right subjects and have found the right filming locations.

Aside from choosing a story and subject, another crucial process in documentary filmmaking is creating a budget. This can be determined by the number of shooting days, the members of the crew, and the type of equipment to be used.

Edward Bass  Image Credit: wordandfilm.com

After the film has been made, filmmakers are advised to submit their work on local film festivals. Though submitting a film to a local film festival doesn’t guarantee a movie deal, what it can give filmmakers is exposure, especially if the documentary deals with a timely issue and presents a thought-provoking subject.

Visit www.edwardbassfilms.com for more on film production.

Alfred Hitchcock, horror legend

Known as the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock is certainly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. His legacy lives on through the countless classics that film directors and producers, like Edward Bass, take inspiration from when making a film under the horror genre.

Edward Bass Image Credit: fameball.com

Raised by strict Catholic parents, Hitchcock described his childhood as sheltered and lonely. His parents would often resort to extreme punishment, such as sending him to the local police or letting him stand on the foot of the bed. As a result, themes of harsh treatment or wrongful accusations would appear on his films.

Edward Bass Image Credit: indiewire.com

Before becoming a filmmaker, Hitchcock was submitting short stories for The Henley Telegraph, gaining attention for writing twisted endings and disturbed characters. A few decades later, he moved to Hollywood and made films under various genres, including comedy and romance. It wasn’t until the 1950s when he started making a name for himself as a horror legend, producing classics such as Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and Vertigo (1958). His most famous film, Psycho, which solidified him as the Master of Suspense, was released in 1960.

Edward Bass Image Credit: telegraph.co.uk

Alfred Hitchcock developed many film styles that are still used today. He popularized the MacGuffin, a plot device wherein a detail greatly influences the plot or the character’s actions but is seemingly unimportant to the audience.

Hitchcock’s legacy inspired the film Hitchcock (2012) which stars acclaimed actors Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren, and tells the story behind the making of Psycho.

Learn more about film production on this website.

Edward Bass: Where to take the femme fatale next

Film pundits would argue that no one has quite replaced Belle Gunness as the original femme fatale, despite countless Hollywood vixens who give off the vibe. Edward Bass, producer of the life movie of Belle Gunness, would even be hard-pressed to audition new players into this role.

Edward Bass Image Credit: theapricity.com

Some screenplays are written for stars, and some stars are meant to own a screenplay. It’s either there is a dearth of actresses to get the quills of screenwriters moving or the formula for the new femme fatale has not been discovered yet. After all, femininity is moving, and Belle Gunness’ serial killer mode in the early 1900s could pale in comparison with the utter wickedness of female misdeeds that followed.

Edward Bass Image Credit: bellethefilm.com

How Hollywood is shaping its new notion of the femme fatale is, of course, dependent on its market. This time around, female moviegoers are not easily shocked, but they are also easily bored. Producers like Edward Bass would want an upgrade and a modernization on Belle Gunness. The femme fatale is no longer bent on swallowing men whole, she is also working her way up the corporate ladder, conniving to take out the enemy, and sniffing down mediocrity.

Edward Bass Image Credit: Doug Olsen

In the millennial setting, she doesn’t even work underground. She rules from the surface of solid earth, as planted to her roots as the men who have tilled the ground she walks on with their dominance. She doesn’t even have to kill anyone to succeed.

Edward Bass is most recognized as the producer of the Golden Globe-nominated film Bobby (2006). To see his filmography, visit www.edwardbassfilms.com

Defanged: Edward Bass and today’s less frightening movie beasts

Edward Bass Image Credit: 4.bp.blogspot.com


Edward Bass is a producer who has mastered the technique for inspiring fear among his audience. His movies often play on a person’s deepest insecurities—fear of pain, of death, or of being placed in a precarious position. The fear of the unknown is also one of these fears, and he is not the only producer, director, or writer who incorporates this fear in the art of camerawork.


Ghosts and entities of the paranormal and of legend are often effective tools of bringing across a message laced with fear. The most popular characters include vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and witches. For producers like Edward Bass, these are film characters full of potential.




Edward Bass Image Credit: collider.com


However, recent years have seen a change in these concepts. Vampires have evolved to portray beings with a human-like conscience. Werewolves have also become kinder and in control, far from their established characters as violent, beastly creatures.


Genre often has a lot to do with it. Vampires and werewolves were often featured in adventure and horror films. They used to be frightening even in comedies. However, today’s creatures of the dark are no longer as terrifying.




Edward Bass Image Credit: wired.com


Count Dracula returns to his native Transylvania in Disney’s Hotel Transylvania, this time with a teenage daughter named Mavis. Mavis is being pursued by a teenage human boy named Jonathan—but far from plunging a stake through her undead heart, the pursuit falls on the romantic side. In Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, Barnabas Collins is portrayed as an imprisoned vampire who returns to straighten out his dysfunctional family.


Vampires being portrayed as fathers or patriarchs is indeed strange, detached from their original image of being soulless bloodsuckers who take lives without much ado.




Edward Bass Image Credit: pluggedin.com  


Read more about Edward Bass and his movies at www.edwardbassfilms.com.

Completing the circle: Edward Bass on fame, fortune, and disability

Some time ago, Edward Bass went beyond his role as a producer and set up Born Warriors, a network of talents for the handi-capable. Its stable of talents grew to include directors, writers, and filmmakers of every sort.

Edward Bass Image Credit: Bornwarriors.org

The organization had the purpose of eliminating the challenges posed by a highly mobile industry on talents of every sort. Over the course of Born Warriors’ existence, the organization has arranged collaborations between its members and the behemoths of the film industry, including Universal Pictures and Disney.

If there is anything that Born Warriors has set out to—and succeeded in—proving is that disability should never trump talent. Edward Bass has set up a system based on mutual interest instead of charity, and it has been more empowering than any philanthropic effort.

Edward Bass Image credit: Ralphmag.org

Born Warriors’ point has been proven by years of experience. Some of the world’s greatest leaders have been plagued by mental and emotional disorders, which are, in a way, more crippling than a lost limb. Abraham Lincoln was diagnosed of melancholia, a condition now known as depression.

In Hollywood, icons have had conditions that would have otherwise impaired their ability to thrive in the industry. Multi-awarded actors Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss are among the artists said to have been afflicted with various forms of depression.

Like Walt Disney, actors Tom Cruise and George Burns were diagnosed with dyslexia, the condition associated with learning disabilities. Despite their conditions, they have emerged as talented thespians, producers, and filmmakers.

Edward Bass Image credit: Edwardbassfilms.com

For more information about Edward Bass, log on to EdwardBassFilms.com.

Edward Bass: Going beyond the Ponzi scheme

Edward Bass image credit: thebestthingieverdid.com

Before Bernard Madoff, there was Charles Ponzi, the proponent of the infamous get-rich-fast scheme that has become one of the world’s greatest financial scams. However, acclaimed filmmaker Edward Bass has chosen not to delve exclusively into the genius of the Ponzi scheme. He has opted to offer a character study of one of the most notorious con-men of all time.

Edward Bass image credit: geektyrant.com

Unlike what happened in Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar that has left an ambiguous impression of FBI’s powerful head, Ponzi will tackle Charles’ secret life outside the carefully orchestrated financial chicanery in order to paint a picture of a delusional, yet likable man who doesn’t appear 100% evil.

Legend tells that Charles boarded the gravy train when he was still young. He told his first victim to lend him $20 and that he would return $30 in 90 days. Succeeding in this intriguing offer, Charles went off to victimize another and the Ponzi scheme came into fruition.

Producer Edward Bass says, “It's amazing to me, that today, 9 out of 10 people know what a Ponzi scheme is, but don't realize there was Charles Ponzi. And furthermore, people have fallen for these same cons over and over."

The film can be dubbed as a significant literature unraveling the true character of a man with a propensity to fabricate facts about his life. Some of the issues that the film would explore are Charles’ motivation behind the fraudulent act, his family, and how he felt about his success story gone wrong.

Edward Bass image credit: edwardbassfilms.com

Edward Bass’ upcoming film is produced in cooperation with Victorino Noval Productions. For more details, visit www.edwardbassfilms.com.

Critics' choice: Edward Bass receives praise for "Come Early Morning"

Photo Credit: Edward Bass

Edward Bass is an acclaimed producer, director, and writer. He has years of experience working with heavyweights in the film industry, such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Guillermo del Toro, Stanley Kramer, Kevin Spacey, and Emilio Estevez (who directed the groundbreaking, Bass-produced indie film “Bobby”). He also worked with director Joey Lauren Adams for the film “Come Early Morning,” which was released in 2006. The film got rave reviews among film critics.

Photo Credit: impawards.com

The plot of “Come Early Morning” revolves around a Southern beauty, Lucy, (played by the exquisite Ashley Judd), who has the “norm” of waking up in other people’s beds, always with a hangover. The Edward Bass-produced film tells the story of a small town thirty-something lady who has succumbed to the effects of alcohol-fueled sprees and reckless one night stands. In order to overcome her self-destructive ways, regain her composure, and redeem herself, Lucy had to trace her roots and know more about her family history to determine the factors that paved the dark path she now treads.

“Come Early Morning” received a lot of accolades and made Ashley Judd a film critic darling. Owen Glieberman of Entertainment Weekly calls Lucy’s journey an “awakening of the soul,” while Frank Swietek of One Guy’s Opinion says the film “gives Judd a chance to shine as a real actress again.”

Lisa Rosae of Newark Star-Ledger adds, “In a way, the movie itself is an example of philosophy put into practice. Adams clearly did a lot of soul-searching as she wrote the story. Her introspective script provides another actress with a great role and a new start.”

Photo Credit: Edward Bass

More about Edward Bass and his works may be found on his Facebook page.

Behind the headlines: Producer Edward Bass and Bobby

From director and writer Emilio Esteves and producer Edward Bass, Bobby is a narrative following the last few hours of Senator Robert F. Kennedy on the day of his assassination through the eyes of people who were there with him.

Edward Bass Photo Credit: About.com

While the story concludes with the death of Bobby Kennedy, it establishes the socio-political scenario of the late 1960s through the narrative lives of the people in the hotel, whose hopes hinged on the New York senator’s election into office. The lives of the people within the hotel play out behind that of Senator Kennedy while the echoes of his speech resonate through their lives with his calls for change.




To maintain verisimilitude, the filmmakers had utilized actual stock footage of Bobby Kennedy throughout the film alongside actor Dave Fraunces who plays Kennedy in the film.

Edward Bass Photo Credit: Supamov.net

Producer Edward Bass has received many accolades in his work, which he has taken much pride in. In Bobby, he had worked with both an all-star cast that includes Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Laurence Fishbourne, and Elijah Wood, and with Emilio Esteves, who spent over six years writing the script alone. Bobby—an artistic labor of love—was a nominee for best picture in the 2006 Golden Globe Awards.

From Producer Edward Bass - Edward Bass' Blog

More information on Bobby can be accessed online at the Internet Movie Database.




To learn more about the movie’s producer, Edward Bass, visit www.edwardbassfilms.com.

Edward Bass: All the world’s a stage

Hollywood maverick Edward Bass takes a cue from revered writer William Shakespeare when it comes to using his life as inspiration for his work. “All the world’s a stage” is the saying that begins a monologue from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” and Bass has taken that to heart.

From Blogger Pictures

His independent films, all of which have been highly acclaimed, have at some point or another been influenced by Bass’ experiences in life. His childhood pains and the myriad of challenges, experiences, and even trials he has gone through in life have all given him an edge in all three aspects of his Hollywood career. After all, he is a director, producer, and writer in one package.

Edward Bass Photo Credit: Alephbet.com

Edward Bass is known for being driven and frank, and for standing up for his beliefs. These are some of the many reasons why he has earned the respect of his peers in the film industry. Early in his childhood, he learned firsthand from behind-the-scenes encounters with Hollywood personas such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, Hinton Battle, the Nicholas Brothers, Milton Berle, and Toni Tennille.

Edward Bass Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Prior to concentrating on filmmaking, and releasing works such as the heart-wrencher “Bobby,” he was also a manager whose talent roster was so diverse that it included performers such as ballerinas and athletes such as boxers.




For more information on Edward Bass, visit www.edwardbassfilms.com.

Life spectacle: Edward Bass and his filmmaking pursuits

From Edward Bass

Edward Bass developed his strong sense of attachment to the movie industry at a young age. When going to New York for ski trips or Las Vegas for theatrical shows, his family would arrange for backstage visits for artists like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, and Milton Berle, whom he later managed when he ventured into talent handling. Brushing shoulders with these legends has always been an honor for Bass. This proximity to show business led him to pursue his dream of becoming a seasoned filmmaker.




During his years at Beverly High School, Bass’ home would usually serve as an impromptu get-together venue for friends and for events like private concerts. Today, he has already established his own film school and produced high-quality motion pictures from his own production efforts.

From Edward Bass

Edward Bass enjoys countless accolades for his projects, having been credited as a high-caliber filmmaker who has the knack for making films that make it to major film festivals.



Bass' challenging life served as the catalyst that helped him enjoy and excel in the film industry. His full-length feature films, documentaries, and plays have all been as complex and diversified as his real life. He has also been called a determined producer, creating film projects that are both demanding and artistic.

From Edward Bass

More information about Edward Bass can be accessed at www.edwardbassfilms.com.

The Vision of Edward Bass: Producer of an Assassination Fictionalized in an Ensemble Plot

Edward Bass, Producer of the Year in the Vision Awards 2007, follows Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s broken road to the White House in the film “Bobby.” Here, the moments trailing towards his assassination is interwoven in the bits and pieces of the lives of 22 others. Each vignette was carefully crafted to convey the tension of the time: a veteran hotel doorman plays chess with an old-time pal to pass time; a young lady rescues his friend from deployment in Vietnam by marrying him; a singer sinks deeper in alcoholism at the death of her career; a man cheats on his wife; a racist gets fired; and more sketches of daily lives intertwined with that fateful day, albeit fictionally.

From Producer Edward Bass - Edward Bass' Blog

Edward Bass, producer of premier status in the Indie filmmaking scene, also depicts the fires of optimism raging inside the Ambassador Hotel, RFK’s campaign headquarters, and the convergence point of 23 otherwise unconnected lives, as the US Secretary-General and JFK’s brother bids for the seat at the West Wing, sending up flares of hope to the air for the American society in general to witness.

From Producer Edward Bass - Edward Bass' Blog

In the end, each story reflects loopholes in the social order that RFK’s victory could have managed to salvage. It speaks of the twilight (chess players) of a nearing bygone era (racism), the anti-war stance of the entire nation (a marriage plan to permit a man’s re-assignment to a German military base camp), and the future of the United States in RFK’s hands (a singer’s anxiety over her professional future). But there will be bloodshed in the story, and the hero dies.

“Bobby” is the fruit of the labor of love of Edward Bass, producer extraordinaire, and has been critically acclaimed for its ensemble cast, including Anthony Hopkins, Lindsay Lohan, Ashton Kutcher, and Demi Moore, among others. In 2007, it has been nominated for two Golden Globes, for Motion Picture–Drama and for Original Song. Edward Bass’ collaborator was Emilio Estevez, who has been nominated for Outstanding Director at the ALMA Award.

From Producer Edward Bass - Edward Bass' Blog

More information about Edward Bass can be found at www.edwardbassfilms.com.

Hollywood Maverick Producer Edward Bass on a Directorial Debut with “Belle”

Belle is the first film Producer Edward Bass directs and writes in his entire stint at Tinseltown. But what challenge could he not handle? The Golden Globe nominee is often quoted saying, “It is too easy not to be in production.”

The Hollywood Maverick has been setting records in show business for years. Emilio Esteves’ directorial debut, Bobby , which starred an ensemble cast including Anthony Hopkins, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen, Helent and Lindsay Lohan, was one of his most critically-acclaimed productions. The feat of producing five independent films in the span of two years belongs almost only to him. The Beverly High School alumnus, known to his acquaintances, friends, and peers back in the day as the life of the party, has been strengthened by his life exploits. The insights, drive, and creativity Producer Edward Bass has, he draws from his challenging experiences.

Director Edward Bass is drawn to Belle because of the dark character that dominates the film. Belle is a psychopath drama he co-wrote with Eva Mayer, buyer-owner of the farmhouse where Belle Gunness, from whom the lead character is based, butchered boyfriends and husbands, fed their flesh to her pigs, and still managed to cook a mean pot roast after killing men in cold blood.

The highly acclaimed producer is definitely serving fresh meat in a world where the convention shows women cooking up something for men. To fully depict Belle Gunness is to stray from such conventions and never look back.

More information about Producer Edward Bass can be accessed at www.edwardbassfilms.com.