"Corrado" - A production blog

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some of you may have heard of randy pausch. he was a computer scientist specializing in virtual reality, who died this past week after a battle with pancreatic cancer. last year he gave a speech entitled "really achieving your childhood dreams". my description won't do it justice, so just suffice it to say the talk was very inspirational, and a good kick in the butt to make you want to grab life by the horns, live big and chase your dreams. the pdf transcript can be found here: http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf

anyway, there was a quote in it that reminded me of what adam has been doing:

But remember, the brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.
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so just one more thanks to adam and everyone else on the boards living life this way. it's what keeps me going and reminding me that it is possible to make it in the movie making biz, even though it is a bigtime uphill battle.

sorry to semi-hijack your thread adam.
 
I have friends who shot a feature film in Kansas last year (they are from LA) and they did essentially what Adam has described. They hired all department heads and a few cast members out of LA and did most of the pre-pro here. About two months before shooting the director and producer moved to Kansas and set up shop there, finished securing all the locations. Then they shot for 20 days and came home. The surprising thing, to me, was that most of the cast (who were excellent) were local. So in this case, they were fortunate in that they only had to house maybe half a dozen people who weren't native to the area.

This film was shot for around $400,000 using Varicams and recently secured distribution through Warner Home Video.
 
just spent the last 3+ hours reading the thread. Amazing story, Adam, and best of luck w/ distribution.

I love how you stuck to your guns and your vision despite all the naysayers. Keep up the good work!
 
dougspice said:
I have friends who shot a feature film in Kansas last year (they are from LA) and they did essentially what Adam has described. They hired all department heads and a few cast members out of LA and did most of the pre-pro here. About two months before shooting the director and producer moved to Kansas and set up shop there, finished securing all the locations. Then they shot for 20 days and came home. The surprising thing, to me, was that most of the cast (who were excellent) were local. So in this case, they were fortunate in that they only had to house maybe half a dozen people who weren't native to the area.

This film was shot for around $400,000 using Varicams and recently secured distribution through Warner Home Video.
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What's the name of the film?
 
krestofre said:
If I may chime in with my current experience. I'm in Missouri and you simply cannot split yourself between coasts any more than I am. My company is currently working on getting a feature together much in the same way that Adam brought Corrado together.

The key for us, being geographically removed from filmmaking centers has been to have a business partner based in LA. Thus we've essentially split the production crews. There's a crew in LA and a crew in Missouri each handling production as needed. We intend to shoot the film in Missouri, but hire principle actors from LA. As a result our LA production team is handling funds, actors, and script development primarily, while the Missouri crew is handling locations, equipment, and crew. This was decided after careful study of budgt concerns. Would it have been cheaper to move the production crew to LA for the duration of the shoot? In our case, no.

Our crew is coming from local talent, a lot of whom have been groomed on other projects handled by my company, or by some of the other individuals partnering on this project.

The short answer is that it becomes a chess game of sorts. I've been planning the move into features for the better part of five years now and am finally to the point where I feel that we have a script ready, a crew ready, and now is the time to strike.

Having that LA connection though has been critical. I would not be where I am now if I didn't have that. Moving to LA is not an option at this point in my life, as much as I'd like to be there. I understand that saying "get connected with someone in LA" is easy and actually achieving it is hard, but not as hard as pulling up roots and moving everything west.

I hope that helps a little bit.

Sorry to take so much space in the Corrado thread, Adam.
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Oh man, no worries - good info!!!
 
Adam, I have been away from the forum for a while, and only just discovered this thread last night. I read it right through in one go - what a *massive* amount of information - this thread rules, I think it might be one of the best on the internet, ever!

I live in New Zealand and only starting to get my act together with filmmaking, plus I'm a poor student, so not a lot of the information applies to me right this second (in terms of making "budget" moves, dealing with agents, etc. etc. but it's awesome to get as much of this stuff in my head as possible so when I do finally leave this town I will know what to do! I realize there are many ways to do things and getting lots of peoples stories is a real sweet deal.

Thanks heaps, you're quite an inspiration. I agree with the others that have said this is on the level of the Rebel Without a Crew book. I felt the same way reading through your blog as I did reading through that book.


Chris
 
I've gotta say I enjoyed the article in HDVideoPro magazine!

Very impressive!!!

Isn't this thread the highest views ever on dvxuser?
 
Working in Hollywood means you can get to the talent and the labs quickly. It's difficult to do movies outside of Hollywood because people don't take filmmaking seriously elsewhere. It's like fighting a whole other battle beside making film.

But you can be a filmmaker anywhere. The best thing to do is if you're stuck somewhere far off, take advantage of what's available, shoot the kind of movie that can't be shot in Hollywood, whether it's on account of locations or even circumstances and events.

However, wherever you are, you got to have imagination :-) and believe in yourself.

Great blog, Adam. I'm addicted to it. LOL
 
Hey Adam,

I was pointed to this thread yesterday after being away from the boards for some time and I managed to plow through the entire thing in a day. You've overcome a great many hurdles to get where you are and I found the whole blog to be riveting. Plus, you've had some nice things to say about my film "Plasterhead" in the past, so I already had a soft spot for you. :)

The success of "Plasterhead" (a $20,000 feature) has afforded me the opportunity to put together a second film with a budget around $250k, much like "Corrado". The thread has answered a bunch of my questions already, but of course, there are more. Here goes:

1. I noticed that there was never any mention of you retaining an entertainment lawyer. Why not? While on "Plasterhead", I found an entertainment lawyer to be invaluable when reviewing the contract from the distributor, and I wished I had the $$$ to retain him for all manner of contracts in pre-production as well. As it was, we used stock contracts from a book, but we were working non-union. I can imagine that when working with SAG actors of the caliber you did, their agents/lawyers/handlers would be a lot more picky about what's in and out of the contract, and might not be satisfied with a stock contract from a book (like Mark Litwak's). Did you have a lawyer available to add specific clauses? Also, a production lawyer should always be used to read the script prior to shooting to give the material legal clearance. Was this done?

2. I saw that you mentioned you used the SAGIndie Modified Low Budget Agreement ($625k and below budget). This is almost certainly what I will use, but there was one passage in the contract that had me scratching my head. It was this one:

"12. Initial Theatrical Release Required

As indicated in Section 2 of this Agreement, an initial theatrical release of the Motion Picture is required. Except as provided below, initial release into any non-theatrical market will require “step-up” payments to performers equivalent to all terms and conditions, including consecutive employment, of the Basic Agreement in effect at the time of principal photography. However, the “step up” payments shall not be due if, after three (3) years from the end of principal photography, the picture fails to get a theatrical release and is initially released in the video/DVD, pay or free television markets. In either instance, the picture shall remain a “theatrical motion picture” for all residual purposes of the Basic Agreement, as modified herein, and shall not be reclassified as a “Made for Pay” or “Free Television” motion picture. Residuals will be due in accordance with General Provisions, Section 5.2 of the Basic Agreement."

To me, that sounds like you can't go straight to DVD with the picture until you've spent 3 years trying to go theatrical. Otherwise, you have to pay some kind of "step-up" payment outlined in the Basic Agreement (not sure exactly what this constitutes). Is this a concern with "Corrado"? Do you know anything more about this? It seems astonishingly unfair for SAG to essentially "demand" a theatrical release for such small-scale films, and it's one of the main things holding me back.

3). If you're paying actors in lump sums (say $20k for 5 shoot days), how do you determine their overtime rate?

That's all for now, but rest assured, there are more! Keep up the good work!
 
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Kevin McCallister said:
Hey Adam,

I was pointed to this thread yesterday after being away from the boards for some time and I managed to plow through the entire thing in a day. You've overcome a great many hurdles to get where you are and I found the whole blog to be riveting. Plus, you've had some nice things to say about my film "Plasterhead" in the past, so I already had a soft spot for you. :)

The success of "Plasterhead" (a $20,000 feature) has afforded me the opportunity to put together a second film with a budget around $250k, much like "Corrado". The thread has answered a bunch of my questions already, but of course, there are more. Here goes:

1. I noticed that there was never any mention of you retaining an entertainment lawyer. Why not? While on "Plasterhead", I found an entertainment lawyer to be invaluable when reviewing the contract from the distributor, and I wished I had the $$$ to retain him for all manner of contracts in pre-production as well. As it was, we used stock contracts from a book, but we were working non-union. I can imagine that when working with SAG actors of the caliber you did, their agents/lawyers/handlers would be a lot more picky about what's in and out of the contract, and might not be satisfied with a stock contract from a book (like Mark Litwak's). Did you have a lawyer available to add specific clauses? Also, a production lawyer should always be used to read the script prior to shooting to give the material legal clearance. Was this done?

2. I saw that you mentioned you used the SAGIndie Modified Low Budget Agreement ($625k and below budget). This is almost certainly what I will use, but there was one passage in the contract that had me scratching my head. It was this one:

"12. Initial Theatrical Release Required

As indicated in Section 2 of this Agreement, an initial theatrical release of the Motion Picture is required. Except as provided below, initial release into any non-theatrical market will require “step-up” payments to performers equivalent to all terms and conditions, including consecutive employment, of the Basic Agreement in effect at the time of principal photography. However, the “step up” payments shall not be due if, after three (3) years from the end of principal photography, the picture fails to get a theatrical release and is initially released in the video/DVD, pay or free television markets. In either instance, the picture shall remain a “theatrical motion picture” for all residual purposes of the Basic Agreement, as modified herein, and shall not be reclassified as a “Made for Pay” or “Free Television” motion picture. Residuals will be due in accordance with General Provisions, Section 5.2 of the Basic Agreement."

To me, that sounds like you can't go straight to DVD with the picture until you've spent 3 years trying to go theatrical. Otherwise, you have to pay some kind of "step-up" payment outlined in the Basic Agreement (not sure exactly what this constitutes). Is this a concern with "Corrado"? Do you know anything more about this? It seems astonishingly unfair for SAG to essentially "demand" a theatrical release for such small-scale films, and it's one of the main things holding me back.

3). If you're paying actors in lump sums (say $20k for 5 shoot days), how do you determine their overtime rate?

That's all for now, but rest assured, there are more! Keep up the good work!
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Kevin -

Do you have a copy of SAG's Basic Agreement? If not, you should get it. It's as thick as a Bible. Look up the clauses that deal with non-theatrical releases. Call SAG and they'll explain this to you. It isn't as scary as it sounds...it's simply an extra residual that is owed to the SAG actors.

We're doing a 160K movie under the Ultra-Low Budget Agreement and we have the same clause. We called SAG and said "Okay, we think the chances of getting a theatrical release is pretty slim. We're selling our movie at the AFM. Is that a problem?"
Julia Allen at SAG made it very clear. We pay a percentage of our gross sales into a pool controlled by SAG. Based on the average number of working days and the size of each actor's role, SAG divies up that pool. That's the only "penalty" for not achieving a theatrical release.

I believe the logic for this is so that producers do not attempt to make "back-door tv pilots" which are paid at significantly higher rates than these modified low budget contracts.

But, don't take my word for it. Call SAG and have them walk you through the details.
 
Kevin McCallister said:
Hey Adam,

2. I saw that you mentioned you used the SAGIndie Modified Low Budget Agreement ($625k and below budget). This is almost certainly what I will use, but there was one passage in the contract that had me scratching my head. It was this one:
3). If you're paying actors in lump sums (say $20k for 5 shoot days), how do you determine their overtime rate?

That's all for now, but rest assured, there are more! Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Kevin -

Two more things you should consider:

1.) If your budget is only 250K consider eliminating 50K from your budget, signing the Ultra-Low Budget Agreement, and doing deferments. If you look at the language, you're allowed almost 300K in deferments. And, if you think every expense of a movie has to end up in a movie you're wrong. Email me privately and I can explain. As one example, post production and promotion are not considered part of the budget that SAG wants to look at. They want to see "the shooting budget." So, if you plan on spending a good chunk of your budget on post, why are you including that in your shooting budget and pushing yourself into a higher SAG category?

By doing this you'll reduce your actor overhead by 66%.

2.) I would never pay an actor a lump sum. I'd always have it as a day rate or week rate. I don't see any advantage for you doing it as a lump sum. It won't encourage the actor to work longer hours, it makes calculating overtime difficult, and you could end up paying more because you wrapped their scenes faster than anticipated. Plus, every celebrity we're talking to would never consider a lump sum because they'd be afraid we'd go over schedule.

For non-celebs pay them SAG scale day rates (for our budget that's $100.00 plus health and pension.) For celeb actors, negotiate the best day rate you can, and don't forget to negotiate their travel days, ADR days and promo days at scale + 10% (almost all will agree to this.)

Lastly, don't forget that health and pension is 14.8%. So, if you pay someone 5K for one day you'll be paying far more than that. It is important to calculate the fully loaded cost of an actor. If you're in LA you can get them to waive nearly every "perk" imaginable. If they have to travel, well, that complicates things.
 
Justin summed it up pretty well, Kevin.

Let me add one thing: SAG does not recognize flat fees. They will never let you pay an actor flat fees - all the numbers are broken down into day rates.

So if you and an actor have agreed to a $50K paycheck for the whole film, they will then divide that by the number of days to calculate his day rate then use the day rate to calculate overtime.

I actually had two actors I had agreed to flat fees with. In order to make it fly at SAG I had to figure out the day rate.
 
Kevin, I wanted to mention to you that Plasterhead was a big inspiration at the time. I remember going home and telling my wife "Look what this guy did with $20K!!!!! he just went and did it!!!!!"

Although I never saw the film, Plasterhead was very infectious in my house and was held up as a role model for actually doing something and not just talking about it.

Thanks for the push, Kevin!
 
Re: Entertainment Lawyer;

When I've needed one I've consulted with a friend of my parent's who is just such a lawyer. During the sale I will use him extensively for all the paperwork.
 
Thank you both for great responses.

Justin, great advice with the "shooting budget" for SAG. Is there a list somewhere that breaks down exactly what SAG considers as part of your shooting budget? How about things like copyright fees for registering your script, fees for setting up your LLC/S-Corp, etc? If not, I definitely think I can make it down to the Ultra-Low Budget Agreement, which is exactly where I wanted to be in the first place.

Adam, thanks for the kind words. I was 22, fresh out of college, and completely drained my life savings when I made "Plasterhead." At the time, I didn't feel like much more than a potentially giant dope, but everything worked out in the end!

I missed this thread when you were kind enough to post footage from "Corrado" the first time around...any way I could pursuade you to let me take a peek? I'm dying over here! A private Youtube link for an hour? Anything? Hehe.

As always, all the best, and please keep us updated. And rest assured, you haven't heard the last of my questions.

- Kevin
 
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