Is it me or has fall crept up on us? It’s like this – we’re now in September and basically have about 3 ‘usable’ months left in the year (once you take into account the holidays) to get our sh*t together and get our projects off the ground with some semblance of momentum going into 2012. Yikes!
It’s also that time of the year when I start getting lots of emails from filmmakers, consulting inquiries, and forum posts with the most outlandish and unrealistic expectations about their films – people pitching me movies with over-inflated budgets and completed films with grand plans of attracting a theatrical distributor because their film is ‘different’. It’s very strange, is as if the end of the year is making people really desperate and as a result any hint of sanity has gone out the window.
Keep It Real.
It’s time to take a moment and review the fundamentals of the film business.
Like…. if you’re independently financing a film without cast and pre-sales from distributors, don’t think you can raise any money over a few hundred thousand and have a sound Business Plan for investors. I have filmmakers showing me their Business Plans on projects with $3 million budgets and $7 million in P&A that make my jaw drop because I don’t know where they think they’re going to make back a few hundred thousand from, let along $10 million!
And….Just because you had a theatrical screening or two of your film and the audience loved it and you maybe even made a bit of money, don’t think that you can turn that into a theatrical distribution deal with a mini-major. Probably not going to happen! Keep touring with your film and booking theaters and alternative venues yourself, sell your merchandise and DVD’s…that’s where the margins are.
Momentum Is The Thing.
So let’s all get a hold of ourselves here and see things for how they really are, but at the same time, kick things into high gear and make as much headway as possible over the next few months. Momentum is a beautiful thing…. and for me, that’s the one thing I try to sustain on a daily basis with my projects. Because without momentum, we’re just sitting ducks waiting passively to hear back from people.
So let’s all get proactive together, shall we? Tell me what your plans are for the rest of 2011…. what do you hope to achieve, get going, sustain momentum on, accomplish, and push forward while keeping a level head? What do you think about creating an informal ’90 Day Challenge’ on the packaging and financing fronts and see how many of us can get things moving before the holidays?
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We make a movie a year (5 so far, shooting the 6th) and we have a schedule we keep each year: writing in the fall and spring, auditions in May, shooting in August thru October, editing until April/May, premiere in June, and by then we’re already into the next project. It may sound crazy, but we are developing a library of films and a fan base, and the reviewers are starting to notice. So we know exactly what we’re doing next year. In June we’re premiering Spirit Stalkers, and I’m currently writing The Former Occupant, which will shoot in the fall of 2012.
Wow PJ…you’re on a roll! Good for you…keep up the momentum!
My goal throughout the rest of the year is just to get a producing partner with the clout to help me get pas the gatekeepers (agents, managers, etc). It’s ROUGH for a first time writer-producer and when I hear ppl say “You just need to ___________ ” Okay, why haven’t you done it already if it were that simple. So, thank you Stacey for this post. Too many filmmakers are delusional and not really prepared for the struggle it takes to get a film financed, much less distributed. However, I’m also not the least bit discouraged.
Good plan to find a Producing partner if you aren’t making headway with the agents/managers. Totally acceptable thing to do…after all, not everyone has the constitution it takes to package a project so I commend you in realizing your shortcomings and searching for a partner who can take over this aspect for you. Keep us posted!
Thank you Stacey for your support and encouraging blog posts.
I love the 90 day challenge Stacey as you are so good at helping us set benchmarks. I had hoped my writer would be much further along by now so I’m not ready to start.
Thanks Susan….I’ll keep you all posted if we get enough interest in the challenge!
I know, I know, I know…pie in the sky. But if you don’t aim for the highest possibility, how will it ever happen? If it falls back in your face, have a good laugh and lick it off.
Seriously though, my “unrealistic” genre is an animated rock-opera family fantasy. It is a very big project that requires very big bucks. We have the interest of the Moody Blues to score it and am looking to attach other name talent. It will be a movie to uplift the consciousness of humanity.
However, thanks for the reality check. I so appreciate all your input and classes.
Prema – congrats on getting Moody Blues attached to your project. That’s a great start and glad I can give you reality checks
I’ve been reading ur blog for a couple months. Great stuff.I had my project on kickstarter for awhile. Didn’t come close to getting it funded. One of ur blogs helped me figure out how to approach it this time around. I strayed away from my proposal for kickstarter. Now I back to the proposal, joined linkedin, facebook to build my base.so far I have two investor which is a third of my budget. I’m pullong out all stops. Thank you for ur words. Peace
Henry
Thanks for the compliments on the blog Henry! Yeah, I agree that we usually hear mostly about the big SUCCESSES with crowd funding, but there are far more that fail at funding their campaigns. The important thing is that you realized what you did wrong or could do better and try and again next time once you have an audience base. Keep us posted!
I hope to start and wrap principal photography in December. Crew and gear typically don’t work as much during that month and I’m finding vendors willing drop their rates a bit which makes my producer very happy.
Love the blog. Love the site. Love the reality checks.
Thanks Michael! And good idea to take advantage of Dec down time…smart!
After six frustrating months of trying to get French mega-star Catherine Frot to take an interest in the second lead in our indie thriller FATHERS DAY, I decided to attend a play in which she is starring. The theatre is in Nice (France) and the performance is this coming December. I will politely introduce myself and hand her a copy of the 30sec video greeting I shot in LA last month with our lead actor John Billingsley (True Blood, CSI, 2012) . In the video, John tells Ms. Frot that he is looking forward to working with her. With Ms. Frot on-board, my above-the-line is complete and I can take the project to a sales agent to see what kind of return I can expect in this current climate.
Hey James,
That’s great to hear. I’m thinking of doing something similar in a few months. I’m a emerging writer/producer from NYC and would love to keep in contact b/c I just filmed a pitch video in hopes of sending to my lead actress of choice. Would love to keep in contact with you to see how things turned out.
kbarbee@elmhurstent.com
Hello Stacy and Forum,
Just recently subscribed to the forum. I’m in a unique situation. I’m an independent filmmaker working on a US $2.5 million budget feature film. I have really good script, have letters of intent from some pretty solid A-list actors, have a business plan down, script budget, etc. But I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by doing all this by myself. I recently moved out to LA and things are moving pretty smoothly. The problem is that I’ve sold everyone on the script and my talent but I need to get financing. I’m sure you’ve covered this before, but I need some guidance.
Thanks
Antonio
HI Antonio,
Have you checked out my training site yet http://www.FilmSpecific.com? You will find all the info you’re looking for at the stage you’re in over there… check it out and let me know what you think!
Stacey
Okay, will do. Thanks.