Saturday, June 4, 2011

The New Moviemaking 101

Here is the upshot of E.L.'s phone conversation:

As mentioned previously, most established studios will not finance motion pictures unless a high-visibility (and high box-office draw) talent is attached.

Screenplays are now turned into movies by small production companies; the movie is then pitched to studios for distribution rights.  But cripes!  Movies cost a ton of money.  How on earth can I...?

E.L. recommended that I attend a seminar on making independent ("Indie") movies he was hosting in May.  I started making plans the moment the words were out of his mouth.

In the meantime, he said, you need to come up with a Budget (Oh yeah, I can do that...NOT!) and with the Budget I can write a Business Plan for making my movie.  The Business Plan is what Potential Investors review to see whether or not they want to invest.  And yah, I have about as much expertise at writing a Business Plan as I do in writing a Budget...

E.L., of course, anticipated my cries of "Holy crap!"

"Now, you'll need to call Budget Guy and send him your screenplay.  He will deliver - he's a good guy and a personal friend of mine.  Then - I'll put the budget in your LLC charter. We'll take that to Business Plan Lady and she'll set you up."

Why don't I just open a window and throw my money out in the street?

A constant theme threading through my Screenplay is that the characters Know They Cannot Fail.  At whatever they choose to do, over insurmountable odds.  Perhaps I should take these words to heart, quit bellyaching, and get on with the program.

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