Dani Abraham – Cops, Camels & a $7,300 Movie

Producer and co-director Dani Abraham sits down with James and BJ for a conversation that covers a police standoff on a Burbank set, a Birthright trip to Israel fueled by cheap tequila, and how a possessed board game shot in Dani's own apartment for $7,300 became Stupid Games — a PG-13 indie horror that landed on the CW, racked up Letterboxd reviews, and proved that $7,000 is basically the same as $0 when it gets your movie made.

Key Topics

• The 6:45 a.m. gun situation — four cop cars, a swapped license plate, and a first AD who still wrapped an hour early
• Birthright Israel origin story — how James and Dani met, camel rides, hangover hikes up Masada, and bottle service that cost less than the tip back home
• Making Stupid Games — a $7,300 budget, Dani's own apartment as the set, a Jumanji-meets-Game-of-Life concept with a demon, and co-director Nicholas Wendell's vision that got him a million-dollar budget next
• From Knowing Aaron to Meeting Marsha — Dani's unreleased 18-year-old Young Filmmakers Club feature found on an old hard drive, and her upcoming Meeting Marsha premiering at San Diego Out Festival
• Stupid Games one-year screening — still available on Tubi, CW app, and Amazon Prime
• Eric Roberts on everything — Jean-Claude Van Damme fanboying over him on the Darkness of Man set, Q-card mastery on Scissors, three movies in one day, and why he's the lifeblood of indie film
• Forget About It — James, BJ, and Dani in pre-production on Gordon Ressick's script, now reimagined as a puppet film
• Dani joins the slate — live on air, Dani agrees to help James pick next year's 12 filmmakers; DM @daniabe with your logline
• Advice for aspiring producers — make your movie; the stakes are only high in your head