Paramount just bought my film for $1,000,000!!!!

[mcflytrap]

Just kidding. I figured that would get you in this thread, though.

I am curious about something. How many of you have actually been able to get your film(s) distributed at all? I see Matt Pacini got "Lost Tribes" sold...anyone else?

-mcfly-

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[Matt Pacini]

Hey Scott, were you invovled in the dealmaking in any way on these?
Just wondering from someone more experienced than me, how the best way to go about all that stuff is, since my film was self financed.

Matt Pacini

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[Scott Spears]

My involvement with the dealmaking process on these projects varies from none to being officer in the corporation.

On the first two features I shot, which were produced as student projects through a college film department, we formed Chapter-S Corporations and sold shares to fund the film. Starting a corporation can run you as cheap as $700 and up $2000. A lot depends on attorney fees. We had a good and inexpensive lawyer who wanted to help out film students. The benefits of a corporation are many, it creates the air of legitimitacy and protects you from losing your house, your car and everything you own if something goes wrong, the film doesn't get done and the investors sue. They can only get the assets of the company which is the unfinished film. (So don't buy gear through the corporation for the project because it can be seized.)
There are different types of corporations, like Chapter S, it limits the number of investors you can have, so be careful getting small investors because you'll end up with a lot of $1000 investors and end up needing a $10,000 investment for the post on your film. The advantage of a Chapter-S is it's cheaper and easier to form. Then there's a full corporation which allows a unlimited investors, but it's very complicated and expensive to form. The new hot corporation is an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). As per it's name it limits liability. I've never been involved in an LLC, so I can't tell you much about them.
Another option is a Limited Partnership. It's easy to form, but has certain limitions. A Limited Partnership is as the name implies limited. The investors liability is limited to the money they invest. If something goes wrong, all they can lose is their money. You as the general partner, have all the liability. If you kill somebody in making your opus, then you go down for it, not the investors. You are limited to the amount of people you may approach to invest, usually 25-50. If you raise half the money and reach the number of folks you can approach, you have to give back all the money and start over again. Basically, be careful at the number of people you approach and how you talk to them. Hand out proposals (see next paragraph) to only serious investors.

With all of these companies you have to come up with a Proposal. This lays out the form of company you have (corporation or limited partnership,) type of film your making, the budget (don't got detailed here, just breakdown the cost of each dept, total cost of cast, crew, gear cost, film cost, supplies) and most important how you plan to get all the money your film makes, if any, back to the investors. You should include information about the kind of money films like yours can make. Do some research and talk about the money made from films like "El Mariachi", "Pi", "In the Company of Men", "Night of the Living Dead" and other low budget indie films. Talk about the home video market being an over a billion dollar industry. Talk about pay-per-view sales, Cable TV sales and broadcast TV sales. The biggest thing you must say, and put this in big letters on the first page and several times throughout your proposal is, INVESTING IN FILMS IS A RISKY VENTURE AND ALL OF YOUR INVESTMENT IS AT RISK. YOU COULD LOSE ALL OR PART OF YOUR INVESTMENT. THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES...but many well made indie films have turned profits and sometimes huge profits.
Basically, you have to sell the glamour side of investing in "the movie biz". Round up some wealthy dentist and network them to raise money.
The proposal should include a two page synopsis of the film. Don't go longer. Investors don't like to read. Include pictures of past productions you've worked on. Do a fake movie poster for your project. Include members of your cast in costumes in mock up scenes from your film if you have cast them. Or you can get stand-ins, but say they are not the final cast. If you have an action film, have a shot of your lead actors or get just create some generic scenes of with stand-ins with guns looking menacing. Use lots of pictures you working in a visual medium.
You may want to include a video tape of clips from past production, but only if they look professional. If you the bucks, shoot a trailer for your film. This can be a teaser trailer with little clips of action and shots of actors saying snipets of dialog. Keep the whole thing short. Under 10 minutes.

Be and look professional. Don't show up in shorts and t-shirt to meet investors. Maybe you can throw a party and invite investors to a screening of some past project or show them the trailer.

The distribution end is tough. Check out the trades, Variety and the Hollywood Reporter and see who's distributing films like yours. Contact them and most will say they will look at your finished film. Never send a screener with out superimposing your company name on the lower part of the screen throughout the movie or at least popping up every five minutes or so. I've heard of scum bucket distributors taking VHS screeners, dubbing them to Beta and then selling the film over seas.

Ok, that's enough of the biz of filmmaking for now. You can send your checks to me for sharing this info with you.

Scott

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[Scott Spears]

Several films I've shot and written have gotten distributions. "Reflex Action", which I mentioned on this board, is available at Hollywood Video as we speak. "Unseen Evil" should be out in March. I shot and wrote it.

"Beyond Dream's Door", my first feature which I shot in school, got distribution.
"A Letter from Death Row", "With Criminal Intent" and "Witchcraft 11" (yes 11. Hey, it was a job.) All of which I shot.

A DV feature, "Public Enemy" which I shot some of it and wrote got out there.

That's just to name some.

Scott

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[Matt Pacini]

Scott, thanks for the info.
That really helps, because I didn't finance my film the "right" way.
I had a little investment money from a few people, and made up my own contract to cover my ass.

Have you and your cohorts raised all the money for your films this way, and did you raise the entire budget before starting on the production?

I've heard about deals with distributors, where under certain situations (like you have a star attached) will partially finance a film upfront, for partial or complete distribution rights.
Did you get into that kind of situation, or did you always finance privately, from investors outside of the industry?

Thanks,
Matt

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[Scott Spears]

Only the first two features I did were financed through S-Corporations. It's a great way to go to raise $20,000-$200,000 for a low budget movie. With budgets bigger than that, I think you'd have to go with a full corporation unless you have a few investors with deep pockets.

I don't know the ins and out of the funding for the other films I've shot. Some were funded through limited partnerships, some were funded through family, friends and credit cards, one the distributor was making a sequel and funded it out of his pocket, another starred Rock Star who paid for it out his record sales and a couple were funded through telemarketers who got retired people all over the country to invest.

Yes, there are occassions where distributors will advance money based on your star power. Sometimes that can be the whole budget, sometimes it will be the money to pay for just the star, sometimes they'll cover post because at that point you have the film in the can and they can see that you have a finished film or not.

It's almost always different depending on many factors.

Regarding stars, I've heard of stories where one fairly big name, Michael Madsen, worked on a film for $20,000 in cash in a briefcase. That way the Feds any taxes.

Scott

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[Matt Pacini]

That's funny about Madsen, especially since I've seen in in an interview raging on, about liberal issues and praising the Clintons, etc.,
Basically, sounding like a quasi-socialist.
Not surprisingly in my opinion of many of these big-bucks entertainers, they mean YOU AND I are supposed to foot the bill.
They are happy to skip out on their responsibility (taxes) by doing things like this, or buying their ranches in Vermont, so they can appear to be farmers to the IRS, etc.
Pretty funny.
I'll bet you could get Woody Harleson to do your film for a briefcase full of pot!

Matt Pacini

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