Cinefile

Crew in Chicago...

...a few positions open for a feature shoot, nights and weekends from Aug. 15 - Sept. 30...

-Lighting Person
-Sound Person
-Production Designer (Sets + Props)
-PAs


We're working with fun people who are at an advanced stage in their crafts.

Lemme know if you/anybody you know is interested.

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Justintodd18 at 7/21/11 9:05 p.m.

Sure thing, Mike. Hope you're well.

Mike at 7/21/11 8:14 p.m.

Thanks for posting this Justin!

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Pretty classic interview w/ Dino DeLaurentiis...

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If you appreciated David Lynch's 'Inland Empire,' you will appreciate this website. 

Maybe not the whole script, but good chunks that will bring back memories.

When the actors saw this at first they must've been like 'uuuhhhhh...what?'

Makes me think - if dramatic structure is so important for scripts, and I think it usually is...why did this movie work so well? (And I know many disagree with that last statement).

To me, the movie did have a dramatic structure though, but it was all based on subtext, intuitions, feelings, archetypal energies. Like the whole arc was based on subtext. 

Almost as if the characters and words didn't mean much in terms of our traditional understanding of dramatic characters and words used for rational communication.

It was like everything in the movie floated beneath the surface. 

From what I understand, Lynch wrote it pretty much  straight from the subconscious...but from my own experience in writing, I know that's pretty hard to do without also applying dramatic craft to it, so I'm guessing he did this as well. For example, dreams are usually cool to watch, as I imagine Lynch's are, but dreams don't always have active characters, and movies with inactive characters are pretty dull.

It seems that Lynch also could've written a whole separate script for this movie - that being the subtext which he'd use to tell the actors - and then written these words in the 'script' as just sort of nonsense to show that everything is not what it seems.

But I'm guessing he really did do the Transcendental Meditation thing, and did some fishing from the collective subcsonsious to come up with these scenes.

Favorite movie ever!

"It's OK lady, you dyin' is all."   

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Mike at 5/10/11 8:36 a.m.

It's a mesmerizing film. I think Lynch it's Lynch in top form. There is something about this movie that very pure. I can't explain it. Just the way Lynch likes it.

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[B][/B]Co-Producer Wanted

Looking for a co-producer for an indie film. In search of a collaborator to get this film off the ground. Want to go 50-50 with someone. This project will take a special person with a fearless entrepreneurial spirit, and the time to get it done, so I will go into detail here... 

About this film: It's at an advanced stage of development now. A script is in place. A business plan draft has been completed. Steps have been taken to lay the foundation for receiving financing. The total production and distribution budget is $100K. I have creative financing and distribution ideas in place for this film, appropriate for the 2011 environment. I can follow up with a treatment (synopsis). What's needed now is to raise the budget, oversee the production, and execute the distribution strategy to distribute a great film and make a lot of money doing it. 

About me: 10 completed short films. 6 completed full-length screenplays . Degrees from top film-related programs. Half entrepreneur, half artist. This will be my first feature film that I am writing and directing; that being said, I have studied film and the business aspects behind it for the past 10 years. I know the crafts of screenwriting and directing inside and out, and am very well-versed in where we are today with the massive opportunities of the digital film production and distribution revolution. Film is a career to me. I am pursuing this film both as an opportunity to make an outstanding film, and as an opportunity to exploit a highly-leveraged intellectual property and get rich. All that being said, filmmaking and film distribution is a team effort. I would like to team up with someone as a co-producer who complements my personality and skills in order to make this project as successful as it can be. Further, since this is pretty much the best time ever to be in the indie film business, there is the potential to partner up to create a production company and produce more films for art and profit. 

Who I'm looking to team up with: Above all, I am looking for someone who loves entrepreneurship and film, and who enjoys the challenge of making something out of nothing and getting things done when others say it can't be done. Not gonna lie - film producing takes a strong-minded, resilient person with solid character, a positive attitude, and a will to get things done by any means necessary. But we can do it. This would be a full-time commitment for approximately 5 months - 1 month of raising funds, 2 months of the production process, and 2 months of distribution. There is significant travel involved - two months of this would require living on the set of the film, in Wisconsin, and 2 months would require traveling across the country to exhibit and promote the film. You and I would be entrepreneurs in this venture, with all of the risks and rewards that go along with entrepreneurship. 

Film producers do anything necessary to get the film completed and distributed. What this film really needs at this point is someone to act as an entrepreneurial partner for it, help raise funds, oversee production, and oversee distribution. Take it from where it is now to a finished product. It's a great opportunity to produce an outstanding film, and to make a lot of money doing so. Films can be investments with outstanding returns if approached correctly. 

With all of this in mind, an ideal partner in this venture might possess some of the following additional characteristics: not a lot of commitments or tie-downs; very career-oriented; intelligent, creative, charming, persuasive, and entrepreneurial; a degree from a liberal arts college; a business or film degree or background; open to a highly-motivated student or recent graduate because what this role requires is grit, persistence, time, and chutzpah more than experience; and a strong desire to make things happen by any means necessary. 

We can discuss more over coffee or something. It's so important to meet each other and see if it's a good fit for everyone. Please let me know if this interests you, and I will be in touch. Thanks!

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Justin, will you be attending our Meetup Monday at the new location?

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Mike at 2/16/11 2:47 p.m.

Excellent. See you then.

Justintodd18 at 2/16/11 1:13 p.m.

Yep, just put in the RSVP on MeetUp today. Looking forward to checking out the new location :)

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A cool link for indie film financing...

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Justintodd18 at 2/16/11 12:48 p.m.

Yeah I think the demand will always be there for good stories. The financing/distribution part seems a lot like like acting - stay moment-to-moment with what's really happening and changing, and the project will be successful.

Mike at 2/16/11 10:40 a.m.

Nice post and this line for me says it all - " I can buy a movie for zero and distribute it myself. And if I want to invest, going microbudget seems the place to be. I can have just as much fun making a $450,000 movie as I can making an $8 million movie. Much less risk there."

These guys are getting tuned in. Little by little. :)

Thanks for posting!

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2 questions for the Cinefile community...

1) If you were planning on releasing an independent movie in 2011, what percentage revenue total would you budget to have coming in from each distribution channel (ie, theater 10%, VOD 30%, internet-connected TV, cell phone, DVD/Blu-Ray...)

2) Anybody know of any sources with specific numbers (current and projected for the next 5 years)that would say what the income flow looks like for each distribution venue (theater, specific VOD outlets, Netflix, iPad, iPhone, DVD/Blue-Ray, etc...)

What I'm trying to pin down is for this year, and in the next few years, what will be the top 5 or 6 specific distribution channels for independent film?

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Co-Producer/Co-Entrepreneur Wanted...Interest in Finance and/or Marketing Very Helpful

We're in the midst of a revolution in film. Advances in cameras and distribution channels, really in the past 12 months, have made it possible to both independently shoot and distribute Hollywood-looking productions to the world at prices that equal just a few weeks tuition in film school.
 
Both now and in the next 5 years, the film world will be seeing a resurgence of highly creative, character-based stories that will make people want to see movies again. 
 
The questions of how to capitalize, both financially and artistically, on this new environment that involves independent studios and independent distributors then becomes twofold:  1) Who has the financing and new media marketing know-how to exploit digital storytelling in this new environment? and 2) Who has the filmmaking craft background to produce content that is as structurally and dramatically sound as the best Hollywood productions but as creative as the guy with a camera, a dream, and nothing to lose?
 
In this new environment, I consider myself an independent film showrunner. After 10 years of study and implementation, I'm craft-confident and creative enough to create an outstanding feature film that will take people on a ride they've never been on before, but also business-savvy enough to bring new ideas to the 25% of film that is financing, and the 25% that is marketing/distribution. 
 
I want to create a feature film. I have an outstanding script. Repeat, I have an outstanding script. I have an outstanding directorial vision for this project. I am working with a very talented DP/editor. I have a solid understanding of business and am up-to-date and creative on what it will take to finance and distribute in today's environment.
 
Now I need your help. A collaborator. A co-producer. A co-showrunner. Someone to help me get this project off the ground, and persist until we have a distribution exit strategy. Above all, I am looking for an entrepreneur who is passionate about both business and film. Someone who instead of saying 'This can't be done,' says instead 'How can we do this?' An interest or background in finance and/or marketing would be very helpful as well.
 
This is a project that I expect to be very enjoyable to work on, as well as abundantly successful, both in terms of financial reward and in producing a soul-touching, truthful, captivating, well-crafted film.  Independently produced. Independently distributed. An opportunity of a lifetime for myself and a co-producer, I really believe.
 
Please message me ASAP if you would like to speak further with me about collaborating on this project. Or if you know someone who may be interested. I am especially looking for someone based in Chicago, although open to other options. Would like to begin speaking with an interested co-entrepreneur in Chicago this week. 

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Justintodd18 at 2/11/11 7:20 p.m.

Thanks Mike! Would love to get your input on things later.

Mike at 2/11/11 6:45 p.m.

Justin, great post here and I intend to reply to it directly. Bit swamped now but will reply to you in the next few days.

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Trying to soak up the most recent and relevant indie producing books I can. 

Just enjoyed 'The Hollywood Economist' by Edward Epstein today. 

Also looking forward to 'The Business of Media Distribution' by Jeff Ulin.

Anyone read these?

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Justintodd18 at 2/9/11 7:36 p.m.

So true. There's always an illusion with media, and then the reality behind the illusion is so important to understand before making any decisions.

Mike at 2/9/11 6:51 p.m.

Sounds really interesting. What Hollywood also became good at was never showing a "true" profit. If you ask the top levels execs at the big six, none of their films profit. wink wink.

Justintodd18 at 2/8/11 12:21 p.m.

Hi Mike,

It was published in 2010, and was really interesting in showing how Hollywood had creatively financed movies in the past, and how the same ideas have an effect on current financing.

The idea being - which of course can be applied to indies as well - that you try to make film a low-risk investment with no investors to pay back.

The book gave examples of $100 million studio movies that they had put ~$8 million of their own money into.

The rest was financed through "the art of the deal" and really reminded me of how a real estate investor might think.

Taking advantage of worldwide gov't. film subsidies, tax shelters, and incentives. Using presales as financing mechanisms, which may be fewer nowadays, but the idea still applies.

Hope you're doing well.

Justin

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Nice film interview! 

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Creepy interview I did in the real Maywood, IL. Shot and edited by Fernando Castillo.

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