Truly Independent: Demystifying the Indie Film Journey

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Welcome to Season three
of Truly Independent.

I'm Garrett Batty, alongside
my co-host Daren Smith.

Each week we'll go in depth with guests,
industry experts, and we'll even share

our own experiences, all with the goal of
demystifying the independent film process.

This season, it's all about the
script from the first spark of an

idea to a polished final draft,
breaking it down for scheduling,

budgeting, and ultimately shooting.

We'll walk through every step it
takes to get from page to production.

Welcome to Truly Independent.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Daren welcome and listeners.

Welcome to another episode of
Truly Independent, I'm Gary Batty,

with me is co-host Daren Smith.

How are you,

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
I am great.

Excited to be here again and
excited for our conversation today.

We've got a guest this episode.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Indeed, we do.

Someone lurking in the corners there.

Tanner Christians the famous.

fa Are we, do we introduce
you as the famous.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
True.

Nobody knows.

No, this is not.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Okay.

Mr.

Christensen, nice.

Thank you for joining us.

And Tanner, thank you for bringing her.

But no, it is, it's great
to have you on the podcast.

I'm so excited.

To talk about your film and your
project and honestly to reconnect.

'cause Tanner, you and I have interacted
a few times on past projects or just

I guess never the same project, but
on past projects that we've both

been doing, have we ever worked

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
We worked together on a couple

things for the church actually,
if I remember right, there

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: okay.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

Anyway, but that was it.

It's been 15 years maybe,
something like that.

So

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
It's been a minute.

I've always been very impressed
with with you and your ability

to edit is how I first knew you.

But now you've, it seems like you
have your fingers in everything

that, that is good out there.

So I'm excited to talk to you about it.

Thanks for joining us.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Oh, for sure.

Happy to be here.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Awesome.

Awesome.

We're also really excited to hear
about this project that you've been

working on the project's called
Standout, the Ben Care story.

Why don't you walk us through,
like from the very beginning,

let's talk about this project.

It's not out yet if I'm
not mistaken, right.

It's coming out soon.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

Standout is coming to
theaters January 23rd.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Nice.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
it'll be in, in the jello belt

first I, Idaho, Arizona, and Utah.

And then expand out beyond that.

Hopefully if unless we just tank
and then it won't do, it won't

expand at all and that'll be it.

But we're really confident with
it that it, that, uh, audiences

are gonna connect with it and that
we're gonna be able to take it to.

A hopefully the most of the country.

The, but so the standout is a true
story about a guy named Ben Care, who

I actually went to high school with.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Oh wow.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
He was a kid that was born with

a facial difference boy, with
something called Cruise on Syndrome.

It's a super rare, syndrome or cranial
facial anomaly that causes your midface

to grow abnormally and the sutures
in your brain close prematurely.

So it like requires, just
dozens of surgeries to keep.

Keep your brain from suffocating
in your and giving space in there

and trying to alleviate some of the
things happening with the midface

that just doesn't seem to grow.

Anyway the result of that is
you look pretty different and.

Told he was probably not
gonna have a very normal

by all sort of limitations.

As a young boy decided, you know
what, no, it's not I'm gonna do,

I'm gonna do what I wanna do.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
He started playing sports even

though it was against doctors.

They were like, no, you can't play
sports, especially contact sports.

You can't do that.

And he had a supportive family
that, that was like, you know what,

no, we're gonna, we're not gonna
live in fear of what might happen.

We're gonna, we're gonna, let him.

Let him try to live his life.

he ended up becoming a a very
prolific wrestler and goes on

to become a world champion,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
The low contact.

Export of wrestling

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

They never get hit in the face or anything

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: And
it's not, he wasn't just like it out.

He's a, he's very good at it.

Like a champion.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
So he became high school's first

ever three time state champion.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
He then we then went to Utah Valley

University just to they, they
were a new they new university.

They had been a state college
before became their first

All American in any sport.

And then, yeah, and then
just a couple years ago.

World champion in Greco in
he still out there doing.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Wow.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: See
the, to me, that's what's so amazing.

And Tanner you seem to find these
stories that are just so incredible

that y you'd make a movie about
regardless of any sort of, his

facial, would you say abnormalities.

Are one thing, but the story of him
as a wrestler is already movie worthy.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah it's incredible.

What was your approach in as far as
like how to first tackle this story?

'cause it's so big.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, it it.

It was a challenge because it
is it's a story that spans like,

basically his whole life, right?

So it's I don't know.

There's it was a story that seemed
man, you could get, you could

make a few wrong turns and end
up with a not a very good movie.

It started out with a phone call to him to
even see if he would be willing to do it.

I I was not good friends with him.

We knew of each other.

We did go to the same high school, but
I was a couple years older than him.

I knew his older brother.

And I called him

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Did you wrestle?

you wrestle in high school?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Me?

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

Okay.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I am not, no, I, nothing not even close.

I don't know anything about wrestling.

I, no, I would've gotten
absolutely destroyed

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: I just.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah, I could barely walk down the hall.

I'm not, I can't, yeah,
I was not gonna wrestle.

Would've been good for
me probably, but no.

But so he, he was actually hiking
Mount Kilimanjaro when I called, and

I left him a voicemail and it was
like the most terrible voicemail.

I don't know I have not, this is
my first time directing, my first

time doing really any of this, and
I was, my pitch to him was terrible.

It sounded like I was like trying
to get him join an m know Hey, I.

luckily.

Anyway, we had some conversations about
it, about, what our, what we thought

it would be, what then learned more
from him about what his story was.

And he signed up and it has then
from then been a three and a half

year process to get it to release.

It'll be, yeah, three and a half
years on January 23rd from when we

signed up Ben to tell his story.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Wow.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Tanner, and forgive me because I

have not seen the trailer, is it
did you do narrative or documentary?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
it is, so this is a documentary,

however, we do not it that way,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Okay.

Okay.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
or, and not because we're ashamed

of it being a documentary,
just because I think that.

A lot of people have like a
misconception about what a documentary

can be and what it what it is.

They think it's gonna be boring.

They think it's gonna be maybe just
a bunch of facts shoved at you,

or, there's just like those kinds
of things that viewers typically

take into, a doc from a doc.

And this is not that at all.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
A film that has as many twists and turns

and drama and con and, lighthearted
moments instead it's as entertaining

as any other feature out there.

So we, anyway we're, we focus
on it just being a, that it's a

feature film, but yes, it is a doc.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Gotcha.

Gotcha.

Yeah, I, and I think that you're
probably wise in that approach, but.

My goodness, some of the
best documentaries out there.

I have been ones that I've taken my family
to in the theater and just absolutely

they loved them and they're well made.

And a story is a story, like a
good story is a good story and

you know how to tell a good story.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Yeah.

So walk us through a little bit like
the three and a half year process.

Like how much of that was
development or fundraising, how

much of it was production, and
how much was editing in post?

'cause I think that informs a little
bit that it's a documentary and not a, a

typical, you know, narrative feed film.

'cause the editing and the production
process can be so much more spread out.

But maybe walk us through a little
bit of like, what was that timeline?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I'll tell you what I wish

for my pocketbook sake.

I wish that it was not such a strung
out process because man, it has

been a, in that sense, it's been
a rough three and a half years.

It's.

That it hasn't been a it's been a very
consuming process, so I haven't really

been able to do many other jobs and

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: So
was it self-finance then, or was it,

did you bring in investors for it?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, no it is just, we have just a

small group of, just a couple investors
that that put up money for it and

and when I say put up money, like I,
I don't wanna share the exact amount

'cause it's like actually probably
embarrassing the amount that like we've.

Spent on this embarrassing in
whatever you think the budget

was, it was probably 10% of that.

If that, like it is, we did
this for like hardly anything.

The reason we were able to do
that is because my producer on it

is TC Christensen, who's my dad.

So nepotism wins again.

Very experienced with he's been working
in this industry for a million years now.

It really did feel like having kind of
a cheat code for my first film here,

where it was like we, he just knows ways.

He's very good at figuring
out ways to stretch a budget.

far as it can possibly go, I feel
like that's like his superpower.

And so anyway, it was, it really for
most of the three and a half years, it

would be me and him, maybe we would.

able to find a, an intern or somebody
to come and help us as we would go

and shoot interviews and go shoot,
and it was pro for the first year

or so it was mostly that, it was
mostly, shooting interviews and trying

to understand what the story was.

We ended up doing probably
about 50, 55 interviews, not.

No, not all end up in the film.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
It was still extremely valuable to

like, be able to understand because
up until that point, I had only heard

the story really from Ben himself.

I wanted, I thought, there's
gotta be, there's gotta be more

to it than just the one side.

And there.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Okay, so you're do the amount

of research is just fascinating
to me because it's the same.

It's very similar to doing a narrative
feature, or based on a true story

at least, I probably have upwards of
50 interviews for faith of angels.

And then you're sitting there and
telling the story and the, probably the

difference is my interviews are audio.

I'm trying to write the script.

now have 55 times an hour long hours
worth of interviews, probably probably

shot absolutely beautifully because.

TCS shooting, you're shooting.

And you could probably release
all 55 hours and we'd show

up and just drool over it.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657: Oh

that.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
But you didn't you now then spent

what, the next two years and
whittling and making it really,

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, so and the other thing I

just, my, my style, I've worked on
a few doc styles as an editor a few

doc features a few doc series, and
my styles as an editor with docs.

I don't like to hang on interviews.

All I want to try to tell it as
visually as I can even though it's a

doc, and I mean that, I don't know.

I just, that, I just, I, that's how I
like it, what was really cool for me was

because there was not a lot of pressure
of we have to get this done by a certain

day because there's, some studio out
there that need that set or something.

I could take my time in the edit room
and not just try to whittle down the

story to what I thought it should
be, but then also Try to figure

out, visualize, what could I do?

What could we do to tell
this story visually?

That would be just more interesting,
more fun, more entertaining than

watching a talking head for,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
for.

Hour and a half.

And so started out with I'm just putting
title cards up for the, for, the first

cut of the film is like you see a talking
head for just a couple seconds and then

title cards of what's gonna be there.

And I can't I made my family
watch it and I'm sure they

were just like bored to tears.

But, it helped me to figure out what it
was we needed to go then shoot and go.

Go get what archival we needed to get
all that stuff it was able to shape it

before, before we went and shot it, and
that ended up saving a lot on budget too.

'cause then we're we know
we know what we need before.

A lot of times with a doc, you're just
going out and shooting and hoping you

get something good, and hopefully that's
gonna be something that we can use.

We didn't have to do that with this.

It was all like, we know
what we're gonna get

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
go, we're gonna grab those exact

things and be in and out and keep
our budget as, as small as it can.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Were you doing recreations?

Like dramatizations or just cover,
like B-roll coverage of things?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
We did do some re, we did do recreations.

The main issue with that
was there let me back up.

family was incredible at shooting.

like documenting their family.

They have more home movies than I
think any family in the country.

It was unbeliev, especially
for a family in the nineties.

Like you carrying around a
giant VHS camera recorder.

They did that.

Not just oh, these sporting event,
like they did to, to everything.

Like it was, so we had an unbelievable
amount of footage to, something like.

206 hour tapes or something.

It just is an insane amount

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: ep.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, exactly.

Yeah.

They were in EP mode all the way
all the time, like it was nuts.

And so there, that was a really.

Amazing blessing though, because it
was like we had so many good moments we

could pull from that were like, you can
see exactly what Ben is going through

in this thing that he's talking about.

Because they filmed it, like they, it was
there, but there were a few moments where

that were cr like just absolutely crucial.

And they, they, there wasn't a video
camera there and it was like we

need something to tell it visually.

We were trying to think of how to do it.

The the main thing I was worried
about with doing recreations was

if we have to get an actor, how
are we gonna get somebody that

looks like this guy looks like this
kid with this facial abnormality.

We I'm not gonna do where
we gotta do makeup on

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Interesting.

Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I just didn't think that

wouldn't feel authentic.

I didn't wanna have to do.

It's oh, are we just gonna have to
hide his face and all these things

that's gonna feel, I don't, I

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

We're gonna see through that.

Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah.

and we looked for three or four
months to try to find a guy.

We looked everywhere, like
with organizations that like.

databases of all these kids that have
this and trying to find somebody, a little

blonde kid that's about the right age.

And we like, seriously, we
just came up with nothing.

It was, we did not know
what we were gonna do.

And about a month or so before we were
scheduled to shoot Ben got a phone

call from a family saying, Hey, we
just, we've signed on social media and

we just wanna invite you to dinner.

Can you come meet dinner at our house?

They live 20 minutes away from him.

Ben shows up.

in and there is this kid, Colton
Fielding, who looks exactly like

he did when he was five years old.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Wow.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
is like uncanny.

He acts like him, his same energy.

Like it was just like,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Wow.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
cow, this is our kid.

But then it was like, will they do it

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
one, he's not an actor.

Two, what parent of a kid
with this kind of thing.

Most parents would be like,
I don't wanna put him.

in front of you're gonna put him on movie
screens and, no, I don't wanna do that.

Would've been absolutely
justified in that.

But they, they were amazing.

They signed him right up

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Is that right?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
our guy.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
so great.

what a cool story.

What a It's always nice when
those those moments happen.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
That's cool.

Tanner to take two years to edit a doc.

I would imagine that if you're,
imagine you're doing other things

to keep yourself, keep your bills
paid, if you're doing a low budget

doc, how do you find the time and
the balance and what are you doing?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

That was the, that was the problem was I.

I had worked myself into the last few
years into cutting more movies, more TV or

whatever where it was like the jobs that
I was getting were it was like, you need

to commit to nine months or something.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Ah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
to, and, just before we started this

project, I had finished a Netflix doc
series about the American Gladiators.

and it went really well.

It was a super fun experience and as
stuff happens when an experience like

that goes well, you get phone calls
then from, those people you worked with.

Hey, let's do the next one.

Let's do that.

We'll see how this goes.

This may be one of the biggest
regrets in my life, but I ended down.

Netflix series

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Ah,

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
that I could do this and I don't

think they'll ever call me again.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
dunno that, I think that bridge has

been burned now, so it was sacrifice.

Honestly, these, the last couple years,
I am a starving artist at this point.

We the, I had a few little.

Commercials and stuff
that helped us get by.

But for the most, yeah, for the most part
it's been like all the stuff that you'd

probably tell most independent filmmakers
to not do don't go, you're gonna live off

savings for the next three years or so.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Just like the, I don't know,

all the things that are probably
dumbest dumb decisions for most and

probably for me too, but I just.

I felt like it was my shot.

I had to take my shot,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: It is.

That was a, the question comes from
me being in that exact same situation

where this movie's gonna take a long
time to do, how am I gonna pay my bills?

And honestly the decision has oftentimes
been the same that you've made.

It's like just gotta do it.

You just have to buckle down and do it.

I feel your pain and I'm sure that
the fruits of your labors will show.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
We'll see, man.

We hope.

I hope so.

This is like this is the scariest
time I think of the whole process.

Where it's like we're just a couple a
month away or so from it coming out and.

I don't know.

Yeah, it's, uh, we've had really positive
feedback with a lot of the things that

we've done, like festivals and some pre
screenings and stuff like that, but,

we'll, can you actually get, puts in the
seats is like a, that's just a scary thing

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Scary thing.

It's hard to do.

And it seems like you, that you are,
you, are you working with and his usual

suspects as far as doing marketing?

What are you doing for marketing?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, we are.

So we're actually we're, it's a
little bit of a unique situation.

So we went to angel studios with this.

We went through their
process with the Guild.

I don't know if you guys like if that's
been discussed here on this podcast

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
Yeah, a little bit.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
A little bit, but you put your film

up and it a score or the, their, they
give it to some of their audience.

They give it a score.

If it's a high enough score,
they'll consider distributing it.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
We did really well on it.

We got like a 95 out of a hundred
or something, it was a great score.

We all were feeling good.

We went and talked to, and
they they, excited about it.

They wanted to sign up for
it, but they also were like,

look, we don't do docs anymore.

We don't put docs.

We just don't

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I put 'em in theaters.

Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Theatrically.

of course, take it streaming, of course.

Do all those other, but they don't.

They're just like, ah, it
just is, it's so risky.

Doesn't seem like a smart decision for us.

and so we, we actually were
like, you know what if we.

if we had our distributor that
we've worked with before with

Susan Tuckett, who I think is, you
guys are familiar with, you guys

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
She's been on the show.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I think.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
been on the show.

I love Susan.

She's, yeah, one of the greats.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
We were like, Hey, what if we have Susan

handle the theatrical, but you guys
assist, you guys help us out in just some

key ways that you know, where you don't
have to take on the risk, but you can.

You can set us up to then
have some success before we

go to streaming with you guys.

And anyway, so they're, it's a new thing.

They've never done this before.

We've never done this before.

We're a hybrid approach with them.

We're, where we're, we have some
of their backing but we're still

like starting regionally and then.

to, is not what they do.

They typically three for two weeks.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah,

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I love it.

It sounds it sounds independent.

And I absolutely love

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: It.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: it's so

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
and Susan is fantastic.

We worked with Angel and have gone
through the Guild and, did ironically

we did something very similar with Faith
of Angels where it went through Guild.

We then did the theatrical on our
own and released streaming with them.

And have the deal's been very
good for both parties, hopefully.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

I'm, I love to hear that.

It is good, because it's what mean
were this and I, they've been great.

I have no, it's all yeah, they it's
just man, could our film perform?

Like I, that's the scary thing,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Nice.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
yeah.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: So
what's the platform release look like?

Is it 20 to 50 theaters?

Is it 200?

What's, where are you starting at?

And then is the hope to expand
based on demand or is it.

We'll see what happens.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

The for sure the, for sure the pie
in the sky hopes is like that we, we

come out and crush opening weekend
in the small amount of theaters

we're in, and that then we expand.

We actually, like with cinema for
instance, they're like, we'll give

you just a handful of theaters.

Because we wanna see how it goes before
we, and if it goes well, push it out

to, I don't even know how many they
had a big old list that they were

willing to do as long as we could
like, prove ourselves that first week.

And, anyway, so it's, it is, right
now, I think we're opening and it's

probably somewhere between 20 to 50
theaters in the first, the first week.

And then we'll see how it goes after that.

We have a, I feel like a lot of good
things going for us, but it's also, the

truth it is a featured doc trying to.

And that's just that's tough business.

We're, and doing everything we can to try
to get be a success that first weekend.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Tanner.

One of the things we breezed over, and
I don't know if this was because it we

don't wanna like uncover scar tissue
or anything, but at what point did you

feel like, okay, this is the story.

You've done all of these interviews and
then you've gone and shot additional.

Recreations B-roll, you found Colton.

And when you shoot and shoot and shoot
and edit and whittle and at what point

do you go, okay, this is the story
I wanna tell, like it's working now.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
So I had a pretty good idea from the

beginning what I thought the story
was gonna be, for the most part

it has stayed true to that, other
than just some of the details were.

How,

Kind of a wreck until we had the
very, like v one of our rough cut.

And it, not that it was good, it
wasn't like, oh, because it was

so good, it was way too long.

It was like two and a half hours.

No one's gonna sit through that except
maybe my mom and dad, which they did.

And like they, but it.

Like the feeling after watching
that was though, like the

all of the pieces are here.

They're in this two and
a half hours right now.

There's stuff that needs to go,
there's stuff that, but it, that

was like the first moment of feeling
like we've wrapped our arms around

this, we actually there there's
enough here to actually make movie.

And that was probably
a year and a half into.

The process, process.

And there was still so
much more left to go.

We hadn't shot any kind of B
roll or recreations or anything.

And I mean was, it was just an, a roll
cut really of these interviews and

but you could just feel like that.

man, if we actually can find all this
footage and we can shoot the stuff we need

to some like really killer stuff in this.

This is gonna be good, it
could, this could be good.

So that was the first time that we felt
like we had some, we really had it.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: What's
been typically on a movie, there's one

or two moments that kind of stand out in
the memory of making it that either were

kind of miraculous or we didn't know how
we were gonna figure this out, but we did.

I'm curious for you what.

What comes to mind in the process of
getting to this point with this project?

That stands out as like something cool.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Sure.

So that, that, finding our
lead actor guy was one of

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
course.

I had so many moments like that
going through this home, these home

movies of theirs where it was like,
it we have 40 terabytes of media that

we've, for this film that we've either
shot or ingested or, acquired or

whatever that, that we used to then.

Create this hour and a half film.

it was like looking at that, there, there
would be, it happened so many times where

it was like, I would come to a moment
the story where it was like, oh my gosh,

it would be amazing if we had archival
of this, of if it just was somewhere

and like, where, but I'll never find it.

I like, how would I ever and start
going through stuff and it was like

the first video I clicked on randomly.

And

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
There it is.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
it is.

Like that is it.

Like that happens so many times
that it honestly felt like it was

like I was being guided with it.

Not not that I was doing it or
something, like it, it just, I don't

know if that's you, God, or the
creative process or whatever, but like

where it feels like it's like flowing
through rather than I'm actually

doing, I don't know that I could do it.

I couldn't sit down here.

Do it again.

I don't think like it happened
once and it was amazing.

But the, that was felt like a
genuine miracle to me that it

happened over and over again,
finding needles in, in the haystack.

that all that ended up in the film
and our, like we're truly like I

think amazing moments from Ben's life.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
That's awesome.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah definitely acknowledge

those moments as well, Tanner.

Yeah, I think and I, you mentioned earlier
a little bit about and things like that,

and I just want to counter that as well,
because I think that, that might get

you I don't know, get you in the door
or at least get your name recognized.

But my goodness, you have to deliver
and you've delivered over and over.

do that.

'cause the first time you step up
and you go, oh you're TCS kid and you

don't deliver, then that's the end of

And

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I hope so.

I hope it's not still that like after
every job my dad's calling people and.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Good.

A.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
That's funny.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Oh

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: so the
plan is you are releasing January 21st.

23rd,

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: nice.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: 3 in
theaters across Utah, Idaho, Arizona.

It does well, and then it expands.

What's your, and in my experience, you can
never ever do enough to market a movie.

What are you, and Susan
knows that Susan's amazing.

I'm surprised she's just pulling
all the stops to get this out there.

What can people do now
or where can we go to?

To help or to find out.

I know I've signed up for the the premier,

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: which.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah, no, that's, that

is a great question.

And that's another thing, like
we another part of us trying to

keep our budget as low as we can.

I don't we don't market it.

We don't have the same marketing
budget that most people go

even in, in independent films.

I think we're typically just like on
the low end of that in an attempt to.

Give us a chance to make our money back.

But it's also at the cost of like,
man, are we, are we shooting ourselves?

Are shoot, shooting ourselves in the foot
by not giving enough of a push behind it.

right now like things Susan is great
at stretching every dollar and finding

out, everything that every little.

Cost saving.

She can, and still try to be effective.

We are doing a lot more
on social media than for,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Yeah.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
these films.

I don't like he just, I they certainly
do social media, they do ads and

stuff, but they've never tried to.

I really build a following and
build a, just the amount of it

that we're doing is different.

mostly because I think I've had
a lot of background in on other

people's social media campaigns.

I've never done it myself,
but it's like I'm the cheapest

guy in the room right now.

I can, I'll work, I'm working for
free, so I'll spit out as much

social media stuff as we can.

And, we're trying that, and so anyway
we're, we've had some good success

with it so far, at least for us
as these little independent guys.

We could always use more.

So yeah, if people could go to, uh.

our socials you can find
them all on standout film.com

and they can share the trailer.

That's probably the best thing
is trying to get that in front

of as many people as we can.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Nice.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
that is, that is, that's the script

of an independent filmmaker, right?

Is Hey, we're the
cheapest way to market it.

You're gonna beat that drum
over and over for the next month

saying, please go to our website.

Please buy tickets.

And as audience and audiences know
the routine, they know that, Hey,

any, we even see, really bigger budget
Hollywood movies saying that now you

need to go see this movie in theaters.

If you want, you get James Cameron says,
if you want avatar four and five, you

have to go see avatar three in IMAX 3D.

High frame

So is this in IMAX 3D for high familiar?

I imex for, I guess that's what I to.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That was where most of
the budget went to was,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
No, but yeah, but go support it.

Don't wait.

Go support it opening weekend.

And equally as important,
tell people about it.

Bring your family, bring somebody
to it and tell people about it.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
There we go.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
That's great, man.

I cannot wait for it.

I'm so excited it.

And for your, for you, because I've
watched you just do be so supportive

of everybody else's projects.

so long and to be able to see your
work up there, front and center.

It's about time.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Oh, man.

Thank you.

It's I, honestly, it's one of those things
it seemed like the best decision I could

make back three and a half years ago.

And right now I'm like, I might need
to like, see if I can figure out how to

make a blizzard at Dairy Queen, because
that may be my job in the future.

I don't know.

It's, that is.

But I No regrets though.

I

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
That's good.

Well look, angel and Susan Tuckett don't
put out bad movies and so you know, you

can at least take some comfort in that.

And Angel knows how to
get an audience out there.

Susan's great at putting
movies in theaters.

We've seen her time and time again.

Just kind of like the leverage or the.

The amount that she does as a one
or two person crew is crazy to me.

So I'm, look, I'm looking forward
to seeing it, but I, I think

you can have a little bit more
hope that it's gonna do well,

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657: Oh

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: it's

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Sorry.

That's my pessimistic
nature showing through.

But yes I, it's I don't mean to be
such a with all this, but that's, yeah.

That's just how I am.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
also part of the script of an indie

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
that street.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
this stage, Tanner, it's

everything is working against you.

And so I, that's very relatable.

Very cool.

I hope that the, that the
listener, whoever, whichever the

listener is listening to this
episode get, gets a feel for that.

I love that.

For me, this takeaway is you had an idea
that, and you reached out to this guy,

had no idea what you were gonna say or
what really what even the pitch was.

that was three and a half years ago.

And now here we're talking about
your movie is gonna open up on

film screens in three different
states here in three weeks.

Like that to me is the,
that's the whole spirit of an

And I absolutely love that.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Amazing.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

Thanks.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Okay, man.

Appreciate you coming on,
appreciate you talking about it

and we can't wait to support you.

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
I appreciate it guys.

You guys are the best.

Thanks for having me on.

It's been fun.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658: Awesome.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657: Okay.

We'll talk Daren, are we good?

We do we need to do a recap or

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
I think we're good.

We're just gonna,

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
to hang up with Dan and

then to clarify everything?

tanner-christensen_1_12-30-2025_103657:
Yeah.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
we're gonna just end by saying

go see this film in theaters.

garrett-batty_1_12-30-2025_103657:
That's the recap.

Okay.

Go see.

Stand out.

daren-smith_1_12-30-2025_103658:
Stand out film.com.

We'll see you there.

Thanks for joining us.

If you are enjoying truly independent.

Please share and subscribe so you
don't miss the rest of the journey.

Today's episode was edited by
Michael Bradford and produced

by Three Coin Productions.

This season of Truly Independent is
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