Filmmaker Spotlight: Morgan Evans (Micro Budget)
September 9, 2025
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Every year, the Charlotte Film Festival brings bold voices to the screen—but some voices echo off-screen too. In this spotlight, we’re getting to know Morgan Evans, whose work caught our eye and stuck with us.
What led you to creating Micro Budget?
My lead and co-writer, Patrick North, called me while he was still living in New York to chat about screenwriting. I was sort of half-giving advice, sort of spitballing when I said “You know, I’ve written a few things for studios now and it’s become so frustrating. If I were to write a movie right now it would be something we could just go shoot
tomorrow for like, zero dollars”. We started riffing on what that would look like and quickly decided one of the cheapest ways to make a movie might be to make a fake documentary ABOUT a movie so that we could shoot entirely handheld, and crucially, not worry about moving any equipment since it would just appear like set dressing. We both come from the same improvisational theater company in New York– so there was never a question about whether to make it a comedy or not. We just knew it would have to be funny, and we knew the lead character would have to be a complete moron. Within a month we had a draft. About five months after that we were shooting Micro Budget.
What were some inspirations going into the creative process?
Obviously Christopher Guest films, “Spinal Tap”, Albert Brooks’ “Real Life”. A ton of television– namely “The Larry Sanders Show” and “The Office”. But also just my fond memories of a time when I could go to a movie theater and see a laugh-a-minute comedy. I grew up on Judd Apatow movies, Adam McKay films, Farrelly Brothers, etc. There’s also a bit of the 2003 documentary “Overnight” in this, which is a film about a guy who basically had the world handed to him and then tanked his career in a magnificent fashion.
Tell us what you hope the audience gets from Micro Budget?
Above all I just hope this is a fun time in a movie theater. It’s a film that is absolutely best seen with a crowd, so you can all laugh together and enjoy the deeply unsettling cringe-y moments as a group. I think everyone in the world has at one point, met someone like Terry (our main character). Hopefully there’s a bit of shared catharsis watching someone like this fumble their way through life.
Why is a story like this important to tell?
I’ve always been interested in the “exceptional man” theory, especially as it relates to Hollywood success. After working in the business for many years I had witnessed my fair share of guys “failing upwards” and started to think that maybe this industry likes to reward our worst behaviors and most shameful base impulses. If it wasn’t so tragic it might be hilarious. The movie is above all, just supposed to make you laugh (and cringe) but I also hope there’s a bit of medicine doled out with the
sugar. Who are we rewarding? Why? What do they have to offer?
What do you want your legacy to be as a filmmaker?
I love how George Miller did both Mad Max AND Happy Feet. I’d love if at some point in my career people took a look at my IMDB and went “Woah he made this AND that!? That’s crazy!”. I’d like to do everything. As long as it’s a good story.
