The modern film industry operates under a microscope. By the time a film reaches day one of principal photography, the trades have dissected the casting, the budget is locked, and the studio executives are hovering. Following his massive, $65 million commitment to Disney’s Pete’s Dragon, David Lowery understood that true experimental freedom requires absolute silence. So, he built a feature film in secret.
The Freedom to Fail
A Ghost Story was financed entirely by Lowery and his producing partners for a mere $100,000. Why self-finance when the industry was throwing money at him? Because if his deeply experimental “ghost under a sheet” concept failed, he wanted the absolute freedom to bury the footage and pretend it never happened. You cannot do that if you have taken studio money. The anonymity was protected so fiercely that even the agents for stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara were kept in the dark until right before cameras rolled.
Production Hacks
To maintain this severe micro-budget, Lowery relied on aggressive location scouting. The vast majority of the film was shot inside a single suburban Texas house. The genius, however, was that this house was actively slated for demolition. The production secured the location for free, with the understanding that they could literally tear the walls down during the shoot.
Furthermore, the very nature of the ghost costume—a simple sheet with eye-holes—became an accidental production hack. Lowery was able to shoot extensive pickups and B-roll long after Affleck had wrapped. For many frames in the final film, it is not an A-list actor under the sheet, but the film’s art director, David Pink. A Ghost Story is a masterclass in using constraints not just to save money, but to generate a profound, melancholic aesthetic.
Insights regarding David Lowery’s post-Disney burnout, the secret financing structure, and the logistical advantages of the ghost costume were synthesized from interviews in The Guardian and the LA Times.