The Reality of Low-Budget Filmmaking: Making "A Gangster's Life" with Tony Cook & Zak Fenning

In this special episode, host (and Executive Producer!) Giles Alderson sits down with actor/producer Tony Cook (Dune: Part Two) and director Zak Fenning to break down the making of their new British crime-comedy, A Gangster's Life. Joined by fellow filmmakers Dom Lenoir the team reveals exactly how they pulled off a low-budget feature film that spans two countries (London and Greece) without breaking the bank. They discuss the "hustle" behind casting rising stars like Jonny Weldon (One Day, House of the Dragon) and Rina Lipa (in her feature debut), and the challenges of self-distributing a genre film in 2026. We discuss: The "Two-Country" Shoot: Logistics of moving a low-budget crew from London to Greece. Casting Coups: How to attach big names (Rina Lipa, Jonny Weldon) to an indie project. Actor to Producer: Tony Cook on taking lessons from the set of Dune: Part Two into indie producing. Visual Style: How Zak used his background as a DoP to give the film a "high budget" look. The Reality of Release: Navigating the UK digital market and finding an audience. A Gangster's Life is out now on Digital Platforms. Links FOOD FOR THOUGHT documentary out NOW | Watch it FREE HERE. A documentary exploring the rapid growth and uptake of the veganlifestyle around the world. – And if you enjoyed the film, please take amoment to share & rate it on your favourite platforms. Every review& every comment helps us share the film’s important message withmore people. Your support makes a difference! Help us out and

You can listen to The Reality of Low-Budget Filmmaking: Making "A Gangster's Life" with Tony Cook & Zak Fenning online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Reality of Low-Budget Filmmaking: Making "A Gangster's Life" with Tony Cook & Zak Fenning is an episode from The Filmmakers Podcast by Giles Alderson.

This episode is 77:43 long.

This episode was published on Jan 23, 2026.

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