One of the most common challenges I hear about here on Independent Film Blog and over at Film Specific is about packaging talent without financing in place. This of course comes about in the first place because of the old Catch 22 (need talent to get financing, and need financing to get talent) that most filmmakers find themselves in.
Wanting to debunk this Catch 22 myth once and for all, I’m starting a case study series featuring Producers who are out there doing it. Yep it’s not just me who’s having success getting talent attached to my projects without financing in place, many others are succeeding as well!
Ever since launching the $1 Million Blueprint interviews, a group of savvy producers have been out there hustling to get their projects moving. My goal is to feature some of them here and inspire you to take the leap for yourself.
So without further ado, today I’d like to introduce you to Writer/Director Chris Kohout, who is out there kicking a** and taking names on his project Live Rounds.
What is the name and log line of your film?
Live Rounds – When a team of bounty hunters is contracted to bring in a young thief, they soon discover their target is innocent, and they’ve been hired by a ruthless and powerful drug lord who wants the kid dead. Refusing to hand him over, they find themselves on the run from their own employer.
What is the website for your film (if you have one)?
What is the budget (or budget range) of your film?
2M
What is your current financing plan?
60% presale MG, 20% tax credits, 20% private equity
What is the packaging strategy for your film and what have you done so far?
Find that balance between names that distributors love, and what the budget can support. We got interest from Sean Bean and Lucy Liu, but they ultimately wanted more money that we could swing. And, the dreaded ‘first-time director’ phrase was mentioned.
So the retooled plan is go after a larger group of smaller names, and do an ensemble feel with Christian Slater, Jennifer Carpenter, Ving Rhames, James Woods, Peter Coyote and Tricia Helfer.
What are some of the obstacles (if any) that you’ve encountered and how have you overcome them (or not!)?
It’s been easy enough to reach talent, especially after getting an LA casting company on board because they loved the script. Getting talent attached is trickier, of course. I made the first calls myself, and got Peter Coyote attached after he read the script. But that was through his French agent, and I think they’re easier to deal with. I don’t have a huge statistical pool to draw from here, but whenever possible, I called the talent’s European agent/manager, and had a more pleasant conversation than with their LA people.
So far, the biggest challenge is landing the MG deals with distributors. We’re trying for a domestic deal first, which is harder, but should set the stage better for us if we can get it. Even with a good contact who is receptive, people are so busy and see so many deals, it’s hard to command attention. I just keep track of everything in Google docs, and keep coming back politely but persistently.
What have been some of your biggest mistakes or wastes of time/money so far?
I did try a Kickstarter campaign for the graphic novel of my screenplay. I spent a few weeks on the pitch video, it was quite slick. Maybe too much so, since it didn’t have that ‘starving artist’ vibe that seems to do well there. It went nowhere. Deadsville. I pulled the plug after 3 weeks.
I learned later how common that is though. While some campaigns go viral easily, I think most of those are for physical things being built, like the watch made from an iPod nano. Creative projects like books/films need a sustained publicity campaign after launch that pushes it every day. It really is like a full time job, driving traffic to the campaign page. I didn’t do that.
I don’t think the campaign was a mistake, I just didn’t follow through as hard as it required. One nugget of wisdom stood out from the post-mortem: people tend to give money after they’ve had a conversation about your project. Which is a very different experience than just seeing an ad for it. I had ads all over, but I didn’t put in the time to engage people personally.
Another regret: I had a super friendly contact at a distributor, and she was offering me everything I wanted to hear: contact with her well known actor friends, chats with investors, the whole deal. At some point in our back and forth emails, I must have shared too much about my fledgling status and my appreciation for her help. She just up and disappeared, I never heard from her again. I play it a little cooler now.
What resources or tools have you found most helpful during this process?
Your site really is a great resource. I devoured all the interviews, and made a ton of notes from them. In fact, I’d say almost all of the people I think of as most helpful, I met because of FilmSpecific. Either in an interview, mentioned in an interview, or the forums.
I also have no problem calling people and asking to buy them coffee or lunch. And then shutting up and actually listening to them! They know a lot more than I do, so I go into sponge mode. I get a lot of good connections from that.
In terms of screenwriting, I’m a huge fan of Blake Snyder’s books, and almost everything in the Michael Wiese library. I’ve read so many books, good and bad. Then I discovered his catalog, and noticed he mainly had only the best of everything I’d read already.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I’d be able to move a lot faster, just having picked up knowledge so slowly along the way until now. I’m sure negotiating distribution deals will offer plenty of opportunities for regret, but I’m not quite there yet. But when I am, I’ll definitely reach out for help before committing to anything.
What are your next steps from here?
Continuing to push for an MG deal with distributors, collaborating with the casting company on more cast ideas, following up on private money opportunities, polishing the next screenplay I want to direct after this one, getting more familiar with the production company I plan to hire.
I’m also making a short film specifically designed to show I can direct the type of action film I want to make. It even has a few action sequences straight from my feature script.
And thanking my family for putting up with all this.
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Are you out there packing a film in the marketplace and want to tell me about it? Just drop me a line with details and I’ll be happy to feature you in an upcoming post and help raise awareness for your project. (Hey you never know who’s reading this and who might want to get in contact with you to get involved with your project!)
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Oh, one more thing – in 2 weeks I’m holding my *virtual* Business Plan 2.0 Boot Camp where I’ll be working with a small group of filmmakers via phone/email not only to build a proper business plan, but to strategize the packaging and financing of their films. Early Bird Registration ends in just 3 days, so click here for more info and to grab a spot in the class!
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Great stuff – congrats on your success, Chris!
Quick question for Stacy (or anyone):
Do you typically have to make a CASH OFFER (aka full compensation package including salary, points, credit, etc.) to talent before “attaching” them to your film? Or is it possible to just get a tentative commitment from them that just says they are interested in the role (pending details about schedule and compensation), and perhaps get a letter of intent from them?
I’m looking to attach actors to a low-budget drama (that probably doesn’t have much hope for presales), but don’t want to scare actors off with low numbers or anything. Thanks for any insight.
Hey Derrick,
I’ve gotten a letter of intent from an agent after agreeing to compensation, location and number of days needed, without getting into details of points, credit, perks, etc. I’d think those can wait until the contract.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is an “MG deal” with distributors?
Hi John,
MG stands for Minimum Guarantee and is the ‘advance’ that distributors pay you when you make a deal.
Hope this helps!
Stacey
An MG is not an ‘advance’ that distributors pay you when you make a deal. An MG is the money that the distributor guarantees he or she will pay you ONCE you deliver the completed film to the distributor. It’s a pre-sale term. A producer then uses that ‘guarantee’ as collateral to get a loan from a bank which will be discounted depending on the stature of the distributor and/or the sales agent who made the pre-sale deal.
I’m a little confused. Have any names actually attached to this project, or are the talent referenced above (Slater, Carpenter, Rhames, et al) on the “wishlist”? If they’ve actually attached, was that done before you’d finalized a pre-sales arrangement, or did they come aboard after completing the pre-sales aspect?
Some of both. Peter Coyote is attached, and my casting company thinks we’ll be good on Slater and Carpenter. All of which is before a pre-sale, as that’s still ongoing.
Well, break legs! I enjoyed reading this – it’s very similar to what I’m doing with my comedy, “Three Houses”.
Please keep up posted on your progress.
I have successfully attached Casey Dubois (Snakes on a Plane, The Final Cut and Are We There Yet?) and up and coming actress Jessica DiGiovanni (starring in the Off Broadway play Close Up Space opposite David Hyde Pierce, The sitter and a small role in Boardwalk Empire) and a 2,500 pound buffalo named Wildthing to my project “Summer of ’76″. All without financing in place. I thought I’d share my experiences thus far. Sorry for the book version:)
Background:
My lead characters are three 19 year old boys. My goal is to attach the best 18-21 year old actors that I can find, afford and that fit the roles within my $2.9M budget. I’m also trying to attach a few other known and marketable names for supporting and cameo roles. Also in the mix is a couple of 1970′s era TV/Film icons and Rock Stars and like James Darren, Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne whom I’ve already contacted. I have a list of 70′s icons to work through till I land someone.
My Process:
I started by researching every available source i.e. IMDBPro, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap etc etc to find some experienced and up and coming young actors. I made a wish list for the three roles and sought out movies and online video clips to view of my actor choices. IMDBPro, Netflix and YouTube are really really good sources for this. I started emailing the managers and agents of my targets with a short note tailored to that specific actor saying “I really like him in XYZ movie and think he is a good fit for this particular role. I also included a synopsis and the link to the project promotional website.
Another source that helped me land Jessica DiGiovanni was the Show Biz Expo in NYC last fall. I signed up for a roundtable group session that brought directors, producers and talent together for networking and casting purposes. I was able to speak face to face with a lot very talented people and received a lot of business cards and head shots/bios without having to deal with their agents. I also belong to the local Philadelphia Entertainment Network which hosts bi monthly networking sessions. You never know who you will meet that can help your project. Network, Network, Network.
My Findings:
I’ve received responses from both managers and agents. I found USA agents to be definitely less cooperative than their Canadian counterparts. Better to contact their USA manager (if they have one) than the agent. The USA agents that wrote back wanted an offer and schedule even before they would accept a script for their client. A couple of Canadian agents were happy to review the script on their clients behalf and send it through after they reviewed it. So you may have to target a lot of possible candidates and keep firing those emails.
Luckily for me my #1 target, 18 year old Casey Dubois, has a super nice Canadian agent to work with. He liked the promo site and requested the script. He read it, liked it, and said he wanted to get the script to Casey asap while the role was still available. Casey read it and sent me a message through his agent that he “absolutely loved” the script and was very interested (knock on wood). I was upfront with his agent about the financing strategy of pre-sales, tax incentives, gap, equity and would make Casey a very competitive offer contingent upon getting the project financed. He told me “fair enough” and to “consider Casey on board” and gave me permission to promote him as necessary. Casey said that he really related to the script and I think that was is a big part of the process. I have not discussed any financials at this point…
Be confident, persistent and proactive! Certainly some luck plays into attaching cast, but combined with a lot of due diligence it will happen… The right script and the right role for the right person at the right time. Hopefully you will find the people who will love your project and be excited to be part of it…
And based on the feedback that I have been getting from industry people it is essential to have a good promotional website representing your project. IMHO this can be a make or break proposition. The website is where the first impression of your project is being made. I think this is a very important detail to get right and will lead to a higher success rate of attaching name cast members. Show them you know what you are doing through your website…
I’m just going to keep plugging along till I get my top roles filled with the best people that are willing to attach. Again sorry for the long winded post. I hope this may be of some help to someone.