New Hollywood

There is a new wave hitting our famous movie streets. If anything, we have gone in to a backwards age of making movies. Is it independent or mainstream hollywood? The reality is I don't think its ether in fact I think hollywood is a hybrid modal now a day.  All the studios are now used as nothing more then a facade. Its mostly a wizard of oz illusion in the game of who makes a movie and who does not.


So what are the new rules. After spending time in hollywood trying to make some major pictures with no luck but plenty of star attachments and high concept scripts, I have come to find a few things out both as an individual and as a prospective filmmaker. First thing is if you want to make any movie you are going to need one of two resource options.

ether you need the actual hard money or you need a LOI from the bank aka a bank letter of intrest.

Don't ever spend money to get money. Its a scam no matter how good it looks. I have seen too many of these things. Don't ever sign a non disclosure agreement unless you have a lawyer look at it or you have them sign your ndnc. there are too many people out there that know how to scam the artist. Artest are the easiest target if your money people like your story then this should not be a big issue.   You don't even need star attachment to impress them just a fantastic story.  if they can't see the story as something they aren't worth investing in then its a waist of yours and there time.  the bank LOI or hard money will solve the star attachment part of the puzzle.

Without hard money or a bank LOI there is no agent in hollywood that is willing to take the time to look at your project because it is the hollywood runaround of saying who is attached to whom and what script is just talk aka hot air.   people can filter that kinda talk out like its a bad allergy.  Its all about the money. you want the Brad Pit or Angelina your going to have to have an investor or broker who can provide you with proof that the money exist.

Without the bank LOI there is no negotiation and all it is is hollywood hot talk. another words its the "show me the money" concept. I guarantee this will work. some agents are willing to listen while others are real you know whats.  

To make a movie bankbal you have to have a star celebrity regardless if the script is good or not. but before you get your star celebrity you need an A list director because they will be your cornerstone to getting the movie packaged the right way.   many a list directors are very connected in hollywood and if they are smart enough they will help you package the film threw there agency.  after all they want to get payed too.  The goal is to try to package a film with one agency if you can because the more money an agency can get off of one movie the better the deal they can give you down the road and maybe a few freebies but don't hold your breath on that one. 

I am sure there is a lot here I am not expressing, like where to get the money ect. but that is the beauty. honestly there is money in a lot of places but the reality is you can't get any money unless you don't have a high concept script to show the investor or broker.

here is the tricky part you can go look up films and there box office gross and find the average of all the films and the average gross of all the stars you think will work in your film including the director.

with out an Alist director you have no connection to the inside unless you are brian singer. so if you want to direct your self or have joe somebody direct it because he has a hard on for his own script then you can honestly say it is not going to make it in the main stream.

there are so many elements I am skipping here but I wanted to make the point that hollywood is nothing more then a name.

One of the biggest frustrations in getting any investor or broker to invest is "distribution." They all want some studio backing it saying they will distribute it because in there mind it guarantees money and distribution.

There is some truth to this in that when a studio does get a hold of a film it will work to distribute it under the fashion of how it was made. So if its a 4 quadrant film blockbuster they will advertise the hell out of it and push it every where. If its a smaller budget film they are more likely to add it to there advertising stream with the rest of there films. Most studios will produce a 4 quadrant film to put there brand on the map but its the smaller films that really keep them afloat.

This all sounds good right? Not!! studios are a biz not a charity. Any time there is a movie idea they look to see how they can own every aspect of it. So what this means for the investor and you is studios will see this as an all or nothing deal at the beginning. typically the financial split is 5050 between the money and the group producing the film so the studio will want to own the film rather then get a small percentage of what they work to get out the film.  Shopping the film after its made is the best chance any movie will get of proper distribution under a reasonable biz deal.  like say 15 or 20 percent of the profits.    never do a deal where the studio owns the film or partial film owner ship if you can avoid it.  look at napoleon dynamite for inspiration.    

The puzzle gets increasingly complicated from here.

The best thing to do is make the film then look to distribute it or at least bring it to festivals for distribution. Movies and making money on movies is a science and studios know and understand that very well. There are always filmmakers that will change that hollywood mold but the reality is the only way any movie is going to be distributed in the mainstream hollywood market place is if they buy the artest out or they buy the right to distribute the film once it has already been made.  Some studios will down right buy out the artest's script or idea and hold a monopoly on it so no one else can make it. studios do this to prevent there competition from making money on the idea or story.  

All studios will not agree to distributing a film before it has ever been made because if they did they would be held financially liable and this is what the money people must understand.

The only thing that guarantees the financial wellbeing of a movie is star power. If the story sucks and all the effects fail at the end of the day your stars will or should help keep the movie from going to a financial disaster. even bad b movies with big stars help bring in revenue just to cover the budget.

This is not to say that some storys like Napoleon Dynamite could turn out to be a sleeper hit or paranormal activity or say open water.

These are all movies that can be explored separately. But if you want to make big movies using the system then these are some of the rules. and "some of the rules" is an understatement.

So if the money ask you can you provide them with a distributer just honestly and bluntly tell them there is no way to get a named distributor before the film is made because no studio can be held financially liable with that clame regardless of who is attached or what script is in hand. The only way any studio will ever guarantee distribution is if they own the whole film and all the rights.

and I am sure that the money people and you the artest would not want that.

I know there are allot of you filmmakers that are out there wanting the dream of becoming that rock star director and admittedly I would love to direct too.  But honestly, we all have to start somewhere.  And as the old saying goes "we all have to pay our own dues" or "everything in life has its price."  If you love directing then go and direct.  don't let big money stop you there but if you want to direct big movies then you have to develop your fame and prestige in the festival circuit.    

Some of us has have the benefit of being born in to the right family others know the right people at the right time.    The concepts I described are for the wanna be filmmaker who just wants to make a main stream movie.  But be warned once you enter the shark infested waters of this world getting bit or the forth comings of getting bit will be inevitable.  Why? because those whom you choose to buddy up with will want the same thing you want and may not want you to have your dream because they already have there own agenda.   

So are you ready to play the game?  

by 

Robert Sawin