Fast, Cheap & Under Control

Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time

“We never put out an actual textbook for the Corman School of Filmmaking, but if we did, it would be Fast, Cheap, and Under Control.”

Roger Corman  Producer, New Horizons

“This book proves again and again the best lesson that Orson Welles taught me: ‘The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.’”

Henry Jaglom

“This book is as good as film school, and a lot less expensive.  It is required reading in Tromaville!”

Lloyd Kaufman  President of Troma Entertainment & creator of The Toxic Avenger

“There's something to be learned from every film in here -- even those you might hate -- and that’s no small feat. By turns illuminating, hilarious, insightful, instructive and, oh yes, a little bit terrifying, Fast Cheap and Under Control should be must reading for anyone who is serious about making the best sort of film -- a picture driven not by money but by passion, ingenuity and an original idea.”

Mark Gill  President, Warner Independent Pictures

“Just when you thought the low-budget film topic had been strip-mined to death, John Gaspard, and his merry crew of subjects, hit a whole new mother lode.  His book spans the years, but in an intelligently structured way, and avoids whitewashing.”

John Pierson  Author, Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema, and star of Reel Paradise

“If this book doesn’t get you making movies enthusiastically, on your own terms with your own low-budget inventions, nothing will!”  

Rick Schmidt  Filmmaker/author of Feature Filmmaking at Used-Car Prices, Extreme DV, and MovieMaker columnist Extreme Indie

“I wish I’d read this book before I made Re-Animator.” 

Stuart Gordon  Director, Re-Animator