There are few things more exciting to avid cinephiles than discovering a great low budget independent film starring their favorite actor or actors. Fortunately, examples abound of famous movie stars appearing in micro-budget productions.
In some cases, these are films they starred in before becoming famous. In others, they were already established stars and took pay cuts in order to lend their celebrity status to a project they were uniquely passionate about. These independent films were produced on a shoe-string budget and feature some of the biggest Hollywood stars in cinema.
Brick
Joseph Gordon-Levitt got his start as a child actor, starring in the 1994 remake of Angels in the Outfield, and then cementing his status as a celebrity on the hit series 3rd Rock From the Sun. He lent his star power to this nifty little neo-noir mystery about a high school student who infiltrates a dangerous underworld while seeking an explanation for the death of his ex-girlfriend.
This was the debut feature by director Rian Johnson, who went on to direct major studio films like Looper and Knives Out.
Return
2011’s Return is a micro-budget indie starring not just one, but three huge names: Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon, and John Slattery. It tells the simple, somber, and poignant story of a female soldier returning home from combat and struggling to adjust to everyday life as a normal citizen.
It premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight, and while it never got a wide theatrical release, enjoys a very impressive 83% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reservoir Dogs
Director Quentin Tarantino’s game-changing debut film was made for just $1.2 million but boasts an impressive ensemble cast of Hollywood heavyweights including Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Lawrence Tierney.
The story of how Tarantino got the film made is as interesting as the movie itself. His producing partner Lawrence Bender gave the script to his acting teacher, who liked it enough to pass it along to Harvey Keitel. Keitel was so impressed, he agreed not only to star in the movie but to sign on as a producing partner.
Halloween
John Carpenter’s 1978 indelible slasher film Halloween was produced for just $325,000. The movie is a classic in its own right but was bolstered by the performance of Jamie Lee Curtis in the lead role.
Curtis had achieved some notoriety in the previous year as a co-star of the short-lived TV comedy Operation Petticoat, but her work as Laurie in Halloween would become her big break. She starred in the sequel which was released in 1981, and then reprised her role in 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
Saw
Another low budget horror film to spawn a massive franchise is 2004’s Saw. Director James Wan made the film for just $1.2 million, which went on to gross over $100 million worldwide. Cary Elwes, most famous for his leading role in The Princess Bride, stars alongside the film’s screenwriter, Leigh Whannell.
The film also boasts supporting performances from Hollywood stars Danny Glover and Monica Potter. Its strong ensemble cast, gritty direction, and clever twist ending helped put it on the map, and birth a billion-dollar multi-sequel series.
Looking For Kitty
Actor-director Edward Burns made his mark on independent film with 1995’s The Brothers McMullen. Nine years later, after becoming a Hollywood star with acting credits in major motion pictures like 15 Minutes and Saving Private Ryan, he returned to his indie roots with the charming and heartwarming Looking For Kitty. He wrote, directed, and starred in the film himself, alongside The Santa Clause‘s David Krumholtz and Saturday Night Live alumni Rachel Dratch and Chris Parnell.
The budget was so low, that, as Burns explains in the DVD’s audio commentary track, he shot much of it guerrilla-style. He also wrote into the script that his character liked to eat outside so that he wouldn’t need to secure location permits for restaurant scenes.
Take Shelter
2011’s Take Shelter was the second of four collaborations between director Jeff Nichols and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon. Their first was 2007’s Shotgun Stories, which is also a low-budget indie great, but Take Shelter struck a chord with critics and audiences immediately upon its release and became a minor cult classic.
Shannon is great, as always, as a family man who’s haunted by visions of an apocalyptic storm. His brilliant performance, as well as the mind-bending final scene, make Take Shelter one of the most beloved independent films of the past decade.
Mad Max
Watching George Miller’s iconic post-apocalyptic adventure thriller, complete with sophisticated action sequences and intricately choreographed car chases, it’s hard to believe how it was produced on such a low budget, about 400,ooo Australian dollars. The title role, of course, was played by Mel Gibson, whose salary was a mere 10,000 Australian dollars.
The film launched Gibson’s career, and after reprising his role in two successful sequels, he starred alongside Danny Glover in the smash hit Lethal Weapon series.
Down To The Bone
Premiering at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Down to the Bone stars Vera Farmiga as an upstate New York woman struggling to balance her family commitments with her secret battle with drug addiction. The film was directed by Debra Granik, who would go on to direct the acclaimed Winter’s Bone, and later, Leave No Trace.
Farmiga was an established working actress at the time she starred in Down to the Bone, but it wasn’t until her role in Martin Scorsese’s The Departed two years later that she would be catapulted to the Hollywood A-list.
Wendy And Lucy
Wendy and Lucy is a beautiful film by director Kelly Reichardt. Produced for a mere $300,000, it stars the great Michelle Williams, already a household name by the film’s 2008 release. She plays Wendy, a lonely young woman who’s fallen on hard times.
Lucy is her dog and her only friend. It’s a slice of life drama that received widespread critical acclaim and remains a minor classic to this day. Williams and Reichardt would reunite years later for Meek’s Cutoff, another well-reviewed indie effort.
