Yesterday I went into some of the factors determining how the Model for IndieFilmFinanceV2011.1 may be set. If you were taking notes you probably recognized that these are the factors, but I thought it was worth jotting them down for our cheat sheets: [...]
Today marks my last post here on “Truly Free Film” at HopeForFilm.com. Starting tomorrow you can find both my rants and ravings, and all of those of our contributors, over at IndieWire. My hope is that we can all use this opportunity to expand our community and goals in the year ahead. We can truly bring about some change if we work together to build it better.
I started this blog for many reasons, but chief among them was [...]
Three months ago, Vimeo reached out to me & Brian Newman, inviting us to have a conversation offering our perspectives on the state of the film business. Brian is a smart and engaging guy. Me, on the other hand…. Well, if you have an hour come join us here. If you just have ten minutes, you can check out Vimeo’s view of the highlights below:
Making it Happen (Highlights) from Vimeo Festival on Vimeo.
This was once going to be a single post. Today is part three. There will be at least two more to come. I started it here. And then yesterday we tried to determine the factors for accessing foreign value. Today, let’s look stateside.
Until the double whammy of Toronto 2010 & Sundance 2011, it looked like the US acquistion market for feature content had fully collapsed. No reasonable P&L would have shown more than a modest six figures for US acquisitions. Hybrid & DIY models have not been developed yet to consistently deliver returns in excess of this amount (or even at these figures). Perhaps this is now changing, but it would still be foolish for any filmmaker or investor to expect this and we can’t budget for such expectation.
How many of the 7500 films produce in the US annually return 20% of their negative cost from US licenses? Although it puts emerging filmmakers at a great disadvantage, I think the surest determining factor for predicting US acquisition potential is [...]
Today’s guest post is from filmmaker Matthew Porterfield. Matt’s contributed before, and his feature PUTTY HILL opens tomorrow. We had the good fortune to screen it recently at our screening series and had a packed house that all stayed for the Q&A. Matt blends a variety of techniques, from documentary and observational camera, to the more experimental. A portrait of a small town but through a Nan Goldin-ish eye, it is not one to miss.
It’s been a long and winding road, but this week PUTTY HILL opens theatrically in New York City.
PUTTY HILL spent the last year touring festivals and was picked up along the way by Cinema Guild, who will handle all U.S. rights, beginning with a theatrical rollout on February 18th at Cinema Village. We’re very happy to be in such strong hands and feel confident that our timing is right: if Sundance is a barometer for the state of indie film, audiences are embracing stories about America outside the mainstream.
That said, it’s hard for a little film to get noticed without substantial buzz. I remember back five years, when my first feature, HAMILTON (2006), opened at Anthology Film Archives the same day HALF NELSON hit theatres. I went around the LES with my wheat paste and posters trying desperately to find some free space beside the ubiquitous Ryan Gosling, hoping to share some of that limelight. Or, I think of Stockholm, when HAMILTON played right after a sold- out screening of OLD JOY and I thought, this is good: a perfect double feature until OLD JOY ended and everyone left the theatre but me and 11 people (one of them Ryan Fleck). Point is: I like these movies and I think audiences that like these movies will like my movies.
So how do I connect with them? [...]
Today continues my efforts to try to define the takeaway from the two most recent and robust US acquisition markets of Sundance & Toronto. I (and hopefully we) will try to extrapolate from them where we are today. How can we use our most recent experiences to determine the reality of our filmed dreams today? How can we move to a more realistic model of indie film finance?
Foreign estimates still set the initial value for films, and it is CAST that is the predominate determinator for this value. Before a film is shot, there are three types of actors that mean something to foreign buyers:
- 1) stars that have been in big hits in the relevant territories;
- 2) stars that have been in popular television shows in those territories;
- 3) stars that can be expected to generate a great deal of publicity everywhere.
Other than stars, there are a few other aspects of a film that create foreign value. Stars are another entity altogether from cast or actors — and it is really the stars that determine foreign value.
Are there any other factors that help shape what your project is determined to be worth overseas? Fortunately, yes! [...]
This site could not have been built without the help and insight of Michael Morgenstern. My thanks go out to him.
Help save indie film and give this guy a job in web design or film!
