Anyone Here do business with Maverick Entertainment?

erased everything I wrote -- arrrgghhh!

anyway, to make a long story short...LOL

don't waste too many years making genre movies, because they will take their toll on you

who do you want to be?

make those movies that you truly believe in

in filmmaking you can't go from step 1 to step 2 to step 3;

you fire the rocket

it goes up, you go into orbit

if it doesn't you crash, you build another rocket and fire her up again ... until you make it

have you noticed how slow the NASA rocket carrying the shuttle gets off the ground?

the first few inches are the hardest, then when it has gone up a few thousand feet, it picks up speed and soars

you're in the rocket business .... fire her up!

as a filmmaker always remember (inside yourself) that you're the STAR. Whether your actors are famous or not is only something for the distributors. You use their names and get the best advantage by promoting your movie with them. They are your tools. You tell your story with them. That's the business side of it. You got to play the business side of it like a business. That's why I like JLS and Nate's point of view, because they are talking only about business. But they make movies for their own sake, because they love movie making, and that's what makes them artists.

The art side of filmmaking is, therefore, you.

A friend of mine got his PhD. I made a documentary for him about the process of getting a doctoral degree. His dissertation stressed two aspects: passion and critical thinking.

You have to have passion and be critical.

This cross Atlantic discussion is both :-)

Brilliant discussion Lawrie...
 
Brilliant discussion Lawrie...
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Oh your making me blush filmman! I have a tendency of infiltrating threads and taking them into metaphysical tangents!

don't waste too many years making genre movies, because they will take their toll on you
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I certainly couldn't agree more if you are making movies for genres that don't interest ones self. However i would personally find that impossible (unless it was a gig!) I like films that are intelligent, thought provoking and unusual - and certainly im not such a fan of the multiplex (though i do watch some!) Neither do i sit watching art films 24/7 and deride those who don't appreciate Maya Deren as mere philistines hehe (okay maybe i do a bit!)

Fortunately the dedicated fanbase of genre are the most demanding audiences that expect something new! Horror fans at a horror fan film festival will booh a mainstream commercial genre vehicle pumped out by a studio. There perhaps even the scariest audience hehe and they certainly don't represent a core market demographic for the studios. But they are our dedicated audience - and for any indy filmmaker who puts passion and a hint of autuer into his genre indy - can if he is succesful win a very dedicated and passionate fanbase. Where that hint of autuer comes useful is that if they want more of your type of storytelling - then its just you that can deliver it.

Because damn right - if you can't afford a star - better try and make yourself the star (aka the films uniqueness!)

That to me is one of the better ideas of a fringe/market strategy for artistic genre films be it crime/gangster/horror/fantasy etc.
 
Zak Forsman said:
i still need to write it so that it exists in a form beyond a stack of outlines, and various notes and research printouts. but it is on the scale of something like The Wrestler or Half Nelson. without a name, $150k at the very least. the veeeerrrry least. with a name, or names it could land anywhere from $250k to $1M. it's funny, I had my eye on a girl who has been labelled an "existential porn star" named Sasha Grey for the other lead and it turns out, Steven Soderberg beat me to her for The Girlfriend Experience. jerk.
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Cool. Very cool.
 
jls4 said:
When we finsihed my second film - the one that sold to Mav. I only got 2 reviews - the first was was 90% bad, the second one said in essence this guys (me) film is much better than most of the movies I've seen of this genre with this distributor, I'd like to see what he does next.
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Your Video Store Shelf said something like "With about $1000 Masters made a movie better than most of York's line." That had me cracking up.

jls4 said:
So my point is, I was shooting for a better story, for better quality. I just didn't know better. I don't want to get caught up with looking just to make a quick buck, instead I want the only difference in my movies vs the ones in the theater to be simply, I couldn't afford Will Smith or Tom Cruise.
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I'd say write based on what you know is readily available and focus on the story itself. If you need talent try to get Eve or Vivica Fox. They're well liked for low budget stuff but again what is "low budget" because neither of those ladies are particularly cheap. Eve was running about $50,000 and it may be higher now. I don't know if she has a day rate or not. I'd see if I could get one for a day. Try to find member of En Vogue and Destiny's Child (the members that aren't Beyonce). The rapper L'il Mama is a huge hit right now and I'm sure Soul'ja boy will need some work soon enough.

jls4 said:
actually I used green screen throughout my 3rd movie and I'm getting better with it. much better. In the next movie I plan on using it at least twice as much. It helps to put those actors where I want and it's quick. Something else I've learned, is to shoot with my "celebs" and maybe just get the shots with them in it and come back later with more time and finish up with my main actors - again quicker, get'er done! :beer:
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Green screen is gold to the indy filmmaker when it comes to using the bigger name actors.

-Nate
 
Metaphysical tangents -- that's what filmmaking is about -- for me :-) and what life is about also ... I think.LOL
 
lawriejaffa said:
Its a joke to think that selling a 5 k film and making a 10k gross is like a victory. If it took 9 months say, free volanteers, cost 5k and made you cry yourself to sleep hehe. Then its just not enough... you could make more working a regular job to fund say - the 10k film that the last films profits were to go too.
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Who takes nine months to edit a $5k film. You'd go broke that way. You have to pump out at least three 5k films a year and you and friends will be doing all the work.

Oops your quite right - misread that thought poor old Nate was slagging off films with merit - indeed i agree completely with him regarding films without any substance! Even Evil Dead has substance (its a classic!!) hehe[/QUOTE]

LOL, I make films with merit, but I just know there's a business aspect to it a lot of artist want to ignore. Zak said it best, when he said something to the effect if you're doing this without a sense of business then you're doing an expensive hobby. There is a formula to this. It's not a sure thing but I'm on a big "use well what you have kick" and you have to stack as many chips in your favor as possible.

-Nate
 
Jim2000 said:
Now, it's 2009, and there are more films out there than ever. By most accounts, the last AFM was a total bust. If you want to be successful now, then you have to bring more to the table than just the standard exploitive elements of nudity and action.
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It was my 1st time and I was (attempting to) Repping 4 micro-budget Features there and definitely found it challenging. I learned a lot about it and you're absolutely right.

I'm walking in with no-names, sub 10K features (ranging from decent to good, I'll be honest), and me trying to sell them :)

I certainly needed more than that. I remember one company that seemed to have a large catelog that I was hoping might take and interest but as they looked over my materials (one sheets, etc) for each film I looked on their walls and saw completed features that I'd never heard of in my life with well known (yes, even Joseph might know a few) names on the covers. I knew I'd be out of that suite pretty quickly..."Good Luck" was the kiss off :)

I am still working my contacts to see if there's any possibilities but it just proves that it's Damn hard at every level to sell movies. I mean, those guys were having just as bad a time trying to make sales as I was and it didn't cost me millions to get "no" for an answer. So, I just took it as a learning experience and will definitely try to keep realistic expectations as well as large ambitions in a proper balance as I move forwad.

Definitely do like that there's so many folks on DVXuser to discuss this kind of thing though.

-MK

btw - Never got my original question answered about what type of film, etc you had done here in GA.
 
Who takes nine months to edit a $5k film. You'd go broke that way. You have to pump out at least three 5k films a year and you and friends will be doing all the work.
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For most low budget film directors who are writing / producing and editing films with minimal budgets i'd say about 9 months is right - bare in mind you have to factor in that these people will be doing jobs / part time jobs, relying on folk working for free to turn up!

Pumping out 3x 5k features a year hehe - that is insane as a business plan. I would concentrate on making 1 very good film over 3 rushed 5k budget movies. It makes no sense to career or production company development to churn out such micro budget content with the added pressure of 'rushing/time'. Again even if you were making 10k NET on these films...

Thats just 30k net a year!!! Its peanuts. Of course the aim is to increase budgets for films but budgets are just budgets... the quality and artistic quality at that (for whatever goal or purpose) has to increase, and that requires time... ie quality not quantity.

LOL, I make films with merit, but I just know there's a business aspect to it a lot of artist want to ignore.
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Oh don't worry your critics will decide if your films have merit (screw them though hehe!) Yah, but look anyone who didn't smell the coffee and realise theres a business element to film is hardly going to be concerned with engaging the industry are they? How many guys ive met from film school thinking that yes ill be 'anti-art' and talk business and genre - that is the ooobvious way to business success. I say there is no obvious way. But as a business man who makes for his company more usually in a month than you would need to fund an entire years worth of your 5k a budget movies (3 movies right) then i think that idea a business plan is insane. In fact its not a business model, its just what a penniless indy like any of us would do out of necessity. So...

why make it out to be like some kind of matter of fact business plan? hehe

//

Im glad you appreciate the deeper meaning of my statements filmman haha. For me filmmaking is a passion - FILM OR DEATH hehe thats my honest opinion. Its a creative compulsion that i have built a business to hopefully facilitate its succesful expression.

//

Martay thats good to know mate, and i took Jim's words and i take yours quite faithfully as a good warning on the situation.

A site id recommend anyone for film distribution advice is Stacey Park's www.filmspecific.com her case studies alone are worth membership.
 
Zak Forsman said:
it's appreciated but i think you give me too much credit, jls4. let's see how "Heart of Now" performs first. i'm after Bill Pullman for a feature I'd like to shoot in 2010 called "Fingerbang My Heart". When that happens, you can call me one of the big boys. :) haha!
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Well. I guess great minds think alike.

Spoke with Pullman's people before...met him at Cinevegas once. They had first agreed to read the script (had already found that he was free during the time of planned production and interested based on my pitch) but then started backtracking as the film wasn't fully funded at the time.

I should have simply made an offer instead of being honest in my opinion and I could've made it happen an alternative way than was planned.

So, the best way to approach would be to already have the film "Set-up" (fully financed) or be ready to make a definitive offer right away if you want him.

He'd be perfect for my movie, and I may just make it one day.

We'll see.

-M
 
taormina said:
First, I write my own stuff, unlike most other people. Second, I don't write cameo roles into my stories. Third, I've never been approached by an Oscar winner to be in my movies, and I don't think anyone else here has either.

What's up with the straw man argument?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: names for cameos are cheap. They're cheap for the filmmaker, and they're cheap for the audience.

If you think that's a slam, then hey! You're entitled to your wrong opinion.

BTW, I wrote about this topic at length before Justin ever cast his movie, if that's what you're referring to.
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Not a fan of cameos either. If things go well I'll build my own fan base up enough to where I can be own "name" therefore eradicating the need for extra names (the extra names would be added toppings.

taormina said:
hey, I'm cool. Actually, I don't mind cameos either. If you happen to get a big guy for a day, great! I'd take it.

What I can't stand, what is a blatant misrepresentation to me is to get a guy for a day then follow it up with ads saying the guy is "starring" in the movie.
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The distributors do this a lot. They have no problem misrepresenting a film.

Zak Forsman said:
no but this makes sense. might be fun to see some examples of this... where a cameo is marketed as a starring role on the poster or in the trailer, etc.
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What dastardly company would do something like this?

-Nate
 
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But it's awesome how many covers they have. It seems this was an older one. That's some pro Photoshop work there. LOL.

-Nate

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Silly isnt it though!

We have a responsibility to ensure in a positive reptutation for Indies, god knows how we can fulfil it but its that kinda crap that contributes to the bad reputation Independent films can have.
 
lawriejaffa said:
But as a business man who makes for his company more usually in a month than you would need to fund an entire years worth of your 5k a budget movies (3 movies right) then i think that idea a business plan is insane. In fact its not a business model, its just what a penniless indy like any of us would do out of necessity. So...

why make it out to be like some kind of matter of fact business plan? hehe
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It's not my plan, it's simply a plan for those who want to go this route and DON'T make the kind of money you may make. Everyone has their own road. My next film will obviously cost more than $5k but people can make a living on the deals that Maverick hands out by shooting cheap and making more than one film per year. Also if Maverick buy one of your films, it's a good chance they'll buy more of the same particularly if it sells well.

But I have to ask, has anyone actually gone here? One thing they have going for them is their covers.

But has anyone seen this Tanya York has a book out called "How to Make Money Making Movies". I'm wondering is she going to expose her basic methodology "Make a crappy product."

-Nate
 
Well she has indeed done it and seems to be profitable, by crook probably more than hook.

-Nate
 
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