If you're a fan of horror films or low-budget filmmaking, you've probably heard about "Paranormal Activity." The movie follows a young couple after they move into a new house and strange disturbances keep them up at night. The writer and director of "Paranormal Activity," Oren Peli, got the story idea after moving into a new house with his then girlfriend. “It was the first time I’d ever lived in a house; I’d only ever rented small apartments,” says Peli. “In quiet suburbia, I quickly learned that you become conscious of every little noise, especially at night." Peli thought it would be interesting to set up a camera to catch what was going bump in the night. He quickly came up with a script and ran with the idea.

After sitting on various shelves for the past couple years, the movie has finally been introduced in limited release. It's been getting a lot of Internet buzz and great reviews. Bobby MIller, the Host and Executive producer of The Reel Good Show on Indy Mogul, had this to say, "In the screening I was in, everyone was jumping and screaming along to a movie that was made for $11,000.  In the age of mindless CGI, it's nice to know that someone can deliver scares the old fashion way.  It's a testament for low budget filmmakers everywhere."

Indy Mogul's Erik Beck recently spoke with Oren Peli to talk about how he made the movie on such a small budget and Peli's advice for young filmmakers.  You can listen to the interview or read the transciption below.

Let us know what you think of the movie and the interview.  Leave your comment below! 

Erik Beck: Hey Oren!

Oren Peli: Hi Erik!

EB: Thank you so much for talking with us.

OP: No problem, no problem.

EB: For the part of the audience that don’t know, you’re the writer/director of  “Paranormal Activity” that’s getting a ton of buzz right now, and my first question is, is it true that you made this for less than $15,000?

OP: Yes my original budget that I set up for myself was going to be $10,000 but it ended up closer to 15.

EB: Wow, that’s amazing.

OP: Yeah I’m still pinching myself.

EB: You finished the film actually a couple years ago, did you have any idea that it was going to have the sort of the life-cycle that it has?

OP: Well I didn’t really know what to anticipate but after the first screening at Screamfest, when I saw the audience’s reaction, and with all the good press that we got, I started thinking that maybe it could play well in theaters. I didn’t exactly anticipate the kind of buzz we’re getting now, but I was definitely hoping that someone would give it a chance and let the fans spread the word of mouth and let it kind of pick up its own momentum.

EB: How was it seeing it in the theaters for the first time with an audience, can you describe watching other people watching your film?

OP: It was very very cool, I mean I was nervous as hell and when we saw that the audience was getting into it, laughing at the jokes at the beginning and obviously reacting to the scares it was really, really great.

EB: I read that originally they were talking about remaking it, did you do anything special to convince the studio to keep the film as it is and not remake it?

OP: Really the only thing we had to do was make the Dreamworks executive set up a test screening so that they could see the movie with an audience and that was the last time we heard anyone say anything about a remake.

EB: Wow. So I was wondering if you had any advice for our audience of aspiring filmmakers?

OP: Yeah there are three things that I would probably advise, but the most important one is casting. If you don’t have good actors that do a convincing job then it doesn’t matter what your budget is, it’s just not going to work. If it wasn’t for Katie and Micah being as good as they were we wouldn’t even be talking now because the movie wouldn’t have been going anywhere. The other thing is the issue of perseverance, it’s not easy to make a movie and you just need to keep going and be extremely stubborn and not get discouraged when things don’t go well. And I would encourage people to pick up a videocamera and just start shooting and no matter how well it turns out you’re always going to learn and gain a little experience.

EB: Can you give us any sneak peek details on your new project?

OP: No we’re trying to keep everything secret for now.

EB: Got it. Too top secret, I totally understand.

OP: Thankfully.

EB: Well thank you so much for talking with me, we advocate pretty much the exact same thing. It’s really inspirational to see someone that works like us make it and get a deal and get in theaters, it’s awesome.

OP: Thank you, thank you so much, that means a lot.

EB: So thank you again and good luck with the new project, and good luck with the movie in theaters.

OP: Thank you, thank you good luck to you guys.