Anyone on here have any experience with "Ostrow and Company"?

Stephen Pruitt

Stephen Pruitt

Member
I'm not kidding, these guys are like tigers when it comes to getting new submissions. Three festivals, three contacts from them. They charge upfront fees of $10,000 or so, and claim a 98% success rate at getting distribution deals. I can't even begin to believe that, but. . .

I'd love to know what experiences any of you have with this outfit. I was very surprised to find out that they have an "A-" rating from the local BBB. Given their aggressiveness, I wouldn't have been surprised to see an "F." But I don't know. Maybe they really can do what they say.

Any experience on these folks?

Thanks.

Stephen
 
RUN Stephen, RUN!

I hope others chime in and tell you the same thing because I know you won't listen to me.
 
doesn't sound good to me. what's the $10,000 for? if they liked your movie enough, and believe they can distribute it profitably.... why charge you $10,000?
 
The cable and satellite brokers and distributors that I have worked with all charged a percentage fee of 20 or 25%. Nothing is paid up front. These guys get $10K whether they sell 1 or 10,000. What are they doing for you for this $10K??? I would check them out carefully and have them supply credible references and have them outline everything they do to market your film....
 
Ostrow and Company are the best! The only rep I would trust and I have investigated all! Not only is this company led by a beautiful and hot woman but she's surrounded by a team of really cool and nice guys who have been so assertive when it came to my film being marketed to all of her contacts in Hollywood. Page Ostrow is loved by all of Hollywood execs and so it stands to reason that no matter what your film is like it's best to have someone who has strong relationships handle it!

The landscape in Hollywood has become much more competitive in the past three years and with the country tittering on the edge of recession its only getting worse. In this new era anyone owning a digital camcorder and a computer can churn out a movie, and as a result the market has become historically saturated.

Hiring a producers rep is not something I took lightly, I have a long history of being a "do it yourselfer" the idea of paying someone to do something I could do myself seemed like a bad choice. I attended numerous distribution seminars, all pedaling easy answers while at the same time being taught by people who had no real track records.

Some of the schools of thought included -

1. Only show your trailer, never let a potential distributor see your entire film.
2. Only allow a potential distributor to screen your film in a packed theater of cheering fans, or have them attend when you win a festival.
3. Wine and dine potential distributors, until they feel a personal connection.

These are all good ideas, but in this day and age, many times just are not real. At the end of the day, a potential distributor is going to sit in-front of a TV & watch your film. Trouble is that regardless if he or she likes your work, its so easy for your film to get lost in the multitudes of new product being released every week.

I learned back in the music business that Hollywood is a closed society, and its for this reason I am satisfied with my decision to hire Page Ostrow. After sending out countless DVD's and getting rejected by a few major cable broadcasters it all came down to Page having lunch with an old friend and the next thing you know I have a Showtime deal. Could I have done it without her? Maybe, but all I know is that out of the throngs of films that mine came out with, competing in many of the same festivals, mine is the only one premiering on Showtime.
 
Ostrow and Company president Page Ostrow is hot and I got the photo of her with Clint

Ostrow and Company president Page Ostrow is hot and I got the photo of her with Clint

Clint Eastwood Page Ostrow.jpgPage Ostrow photo I was able to get when I saw her at trendy Piccolinos with Clint Eastwood! They were very gracious and said they didn't mind me snapping the photo so long as I sent them a copy. Some people have all the luck...smart, successful and hot! ....and Clint's not so bad either..:)
 
Stephen Pruitt said:
I'm not kidding, these guys are like tigers when it comes to getting new submissions. Three festivals, three contacts from them. They charge upfront fees of $10,000 or so, and claim a 98% success rate at getting distribution deals. I can't even begin to believe that, but. . .

I'd love to know what experiences any of you have with this outfit. I was very surprised to find out that they have an "A-" rating from the local BBB. Given their aggressiveness, I wouldn't have been surprised to see an "F." But I don't know. Maybe they really can do what they say.

Any experience on these folks?

Thanks.

Stephen
Click to expand...

They're the real deal. Whether you're spending $10K, $100K or $1, all that matters in an expenditure is getting the value.
 
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Stay Clear

Stay Clear

I have had the very unfortunate experience of doing business w/ her. She will take your money but not your calls. She will not deliver. Yes, she got me a deal all right-- a deal w/ a company that refused to pay my SAG actors -- meaning I would have to pay them out of my meager percentage and after their hefty take and expenses.My lawyers assured me her deal would have cost me money. She sent my niche doc about a Native American elder out in bulk mailings and had no personal relationships what-so-ever. She is a fraud-- and even a blind pig finds a truffle every once in a while. Mainly she bottom feeds off of vulnerable trusting artists. No lawyer would take my case because of her "reasonable efforts" clause. I sued her in small claims court in Beverly Hills and lost-- but was thrilled to face her down in public and tell her exactly what I thought of her.
 
Just getting back to this thread niw. Thanks for the sympathetic respnse -- but it was worth facing her in court and telling thr world what I think of her in open court. I survived and thrived and lived to tell the tale. Just please fellow artists-- filmmakers, producers, writers-- DO NOT FALL INTO HER TRAP!!! She hounded me relentlessly-- and she has a golden wrap. She will make you feel like no one else out there -- until she snages your cold hard cash. Then she won't even remember your name or the name of your film. And she cannot be intimidated-- and you cannot be protected by lawyers -- I know, I had 2 of th best. Her 2 pager is a solid piece of ambiguous fluff written just loosely enough to snare you but good.
 
Stay away from ostrow and company

Stay away from ostrow and company

Ostrow and Company makes many promises and then follows through on few. Ostrow did make us a small distribution deal but refused to pay us our portion for months on end. I left six messages in a row over a two week period and never got a response. They also kept exorbitant fees for phone calls and faxes that they refused to account for. I ended up spending more on fees than I received in distribution money.

leighpod said:
Just getting back to this thread niw. Thanks for the sympathetic respnse -- but it was worth facing her in court and telling thr world what I think of her in open court. I survived and thrived and lived to tell the tale. Just please fellow artists-- filmmakers, producers, writers-- DO NOT FALL INTO HER TRAP!!! She hounded me relentlessly-- and she has a golden wrap. She will make you feel like no one else out there -- until she snages your cold hard cash. Then she won't even remember your name or the name of your film. And she cannot be intimidated-- and you cannot be protected by lawyers -- I know, I had 2 of th best. Her 2 pager is a solid piece of ambiguous fluff written just loosely enough to snare you but good.
Click to expand...
 
RUN RUN RUN!!! It makes me sick to my core OSTROW AND COMPANY is a SCAM!!! We spend our life writing and somehow are able to raise capitol to shoot our film. And get lucky to get it edited. Along comes a company like Ostrow who leads with a good story to get you in their grasp. They stand by "Articles" Wriiten about them and track record? So what I have articles written about my film too? The bottom line my agent told me is if you have to pay for someone to represent you or a good film then you better run the other way. If someone wants your film they will represent you because they believe in it. Theses guys take your money and post your film on their web site CASE CLOSED. Maybe one or two films get distribution/Home Video maybe showcased but over all that is all they can offer. And after dealing with their arrogance and getting hooked to spend money I didnt have they did nothing any different than anyone else. HOLLYWOOD WIZARD/ CIRCUS CIRCUS/ all have asked me for money and they do the same thing. I lost money but I learned to just keep searching in waters where sharks were not quite as prevelant. It hurts to have been taken like this but I found a distributor who took my film for free. Good luck you awesome film makers out there. Never give up
 
Page Ostrow of Ostrow and Company got my film a six figure deal!

Page Ostrow of Ostrow and Company got my film a six figure deal!

Page Ostrow got my film a six figure deal. I retained Ostrow and Company and within a few months my film was in theaters with a cable network deal to follow. I think what Stephen doesnt get and other's are missing here is actual experience working with Ostrow from the tone I am reading on the forum. I feel compelled to speak up. FYI Producers reps are different than distribs or sales agents. You hire a producers rep to negotiate with the forementioned on your behalf. In my case I made much more money by spending some to hire what I consider the best in the business!!! I used to have my entertainment attorney do my deals and I found it to be less expensive to retain Ostrow in the end since they don't charge hourly against the retainer fee. It's a one time fee and it covers the company's work throughout the process of finding and negotiating deals in all platforms and then tracking a collecting over the entire time the film is in circulation. Knowledge is power and Ostrow has the connections to make it happen based on my experience. Hope this helps Stephen and others on the forum.
 
i forgot to add the fact that i don't understand why people are opposed to paying for a top rep unless they feel no one on their team including crew should get paid either?
 
I went through the entire website and found Ostrow films all had distribution and they have films playing on every cable network too! I think they must get exposed to a lot of freaks that are "creative types" but not business minded professionals. My experience is all my calls were returned promptly and most of the time the reception put me right through to Ostrow's assistant if she wasnt available. I never expected someone as well known as her to take my call every time I reached out but ultimately when it came to explaining offers and deal points Ostrow was on it and a great communicater!
 
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