Raising $400K, Casting Without Names, and Writing the Iron-Core Story with Mick Lexington

In this episode filmmaker and novelist Mick Lexington joins me to unpack the development phase for his debut feature Mr. Jack - an existential New York drama adapted from his own novel.

Through the interview we dig into the process of raising a ~$400K production budget, why he brought on a dedicated fundraising lead, and how his “agile filmmaking” approach allows him to start elements of production ahead of principle photography. We also dive deep on writing craft - outlining, “killing your darlings,” beating procrastination with consistent routines and much more.

Topics include:

• Working with a fundraising specialist to raise a target budget of $400K
• “Agile filmmaking”: building momentum by shooting key exteriors ahead of produciton
• Casting strategy without star names and avoiding audience-misleading cameos
• Turning New York City into a story engine: LES & Williamsburg as living backdrop
• Writing cadence & anti-procrastination: consistent daily blocks vs. bursts
• Why the final rewrite is the edit - and planning for pickups and pivots

Links from the show:

Mr. Jack - Website

Mick Lexington - Website

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