"Corrado" - A production blog

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damn hvx2006...that's all the questions you could think of? :)

you must've been reading my mind because i wanted to know a majority of the things you asked but haven't had the time to type that much :)

adam thats cool of you to keep it so real with everybody. you sound like a sales guy that knows his sh%$. i work with a lot of them.
 
taormina said:
Dog is already waaaaaaay ahead of the game. He has sixty large, bro. Sixty large! that already puts him above 98% of the people on this board.
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Yep, I'm trying to gather together about $50,000 or more. I got a great production plan that could net some good money but I have to get the initial $50,000.

-Nate
 
The most important thing I learned from this thread is that you gotta pay the price.

The reason Tom got involved was because he was given a "Pay or Play" offer -- which is extremely gutsy of Adam and proved to everyone that he's SO sure that not only will he make the film but that it's good enough to make it's money back.

Usually people are told to stay away from Pay or Play deals because anything can go wrong which could force you to pay A LOT of money to an actor for nothing, but now I'm looking at this in a completely different light.
 
Slim = Thats really the way to think IMHO.

Now imagine a snowball effect of turning 60 into 100...Then taking that to another state that is open for incentives and scoring 70 more and so on and so on, make a road movie and tailor the script to the criteria for soft money just as you would tailor to the current market trend before even going into production.

So guys do the math and use that model if you are having a hard time raising the 1st 50K start with 5k and snowball it.

Thanks for the tip BTW!

Dogday.

P.S.
I am using that principle right now as we speak only instead of States I am in talks with Countries. I dub the money tree "Subsidy".
 
Corrado was a good script and there was distribution. Adam had the money to make a movie. The rest was easy. Yes, Adam is a good salesman. He also is a great writer. This thread is proof of that.

It's been very interesting how Adam negotiated with the agents. Once he had a name actor that the distributors liked, he was able to convince investors to put in more money.

What do you want out of life? Do you want to be a filmmaker? What type of films do you want to make? Do you want to make a lot of money and then spend the rest of your life enjoying it? Do you want to make movies that you feel good about and people admire you for?

One of my young actresses answered the question thusly, "I want it all!"

LOL
 
filmman said:
It's been very interesting how Adam negotiated with the agents. Once he had a name actor that the distributors liked, he was able to convince investors to put in more money.
LOL
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Well that was sort of my point, he didn't check with distributors as far as i understood. This is information he found out after he had wrapped the shooting. What i was basically asking earlier is if this kind of info was easy to find. As in what actors are distributors interested for a specific genera. And if there was a sort of price tag that could be expected for a film with this kind of actor. If you have Tom Cruise, you know that even if the script sucks there is going to be a fixed amount producers and distributors will feel is the minimum they will be able to make in profit, so the budget can be relative to that with low risk. I read an interesting article that showed that films in the 20 million dollar range have the most consistent record of returns. Surly not the highest, but constantly where the most likely to turn a heathy profit, where for both mega million blockbusters and below 5 million movies it was much more of a hit and miss - more of a risk. The conclusion of the article was, that there was just a certain amount of people that vent to cinemas every friday regardless, and would see what ever was the main feature and that was kind of like the "core" that you can count on, when calculating profits. This does not so much apply to Adams film, but it is something that would be nice if one could do for "micro" budget movies when planing the budget. Like what is average in over seas sales for a movie like Corado. Not just as leverage when financing, but also just so as not to get an ulcer, i think hedging your risk as about as wall street as it gets.
 
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Adam would you mind talking about promotion and advertising and what your take and strategy is on that? Are you allocating some money to that, or will you leave this to the distributors? Do you know, how many DVD's sold is considered an average success for a movie of your caliber?
 
I think this is my first posting. I'm fairly new to DVXuser. I came across this post while looking for something completely different and noticed the word "Corrado" which I had just read an article about in a video mag a few days ago. Upon reading this post, I wanted to drop a line and say a couple of shorts:

1. Bang-on as to your views on sales and perception. There is no secret. Just do it.
2. Interesting anecdotes and good inspiration! I loved it.
3. I think I will probably use this posting to get my co-producer pumped before we go into a meeting this week.

I am realizing how close some of you people are, and wish I had joined sooner.
 
dvxuser is great dude..I just joined not too long ago (came from the myspace film forum which isn't as nice...nor filled with as many people actually...MAKING film)..these guys will take you right in, and are 100% willing to help..it's scary because no one has alternative motives, they help because they would love to see everyone make a million dollar film..it's like an underground world..lol
 
HVX2006 said:
Adam would you mind talking about promotion and advertising and what your take and strategy is on that? Are you allocating some money to that, or will you leave this to the distributors? Do you know, how many DVD's sold is considered an average success for a movie of your caliber?
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I'm really leaving the P&A to the distributor. Direct to DVDs don't usually have a big advertising budget.
 
shibby555 said:
I think this is my first posting. I'm fairly new to DVXuser. I came across this post while looking for something completely different and noticed the word "Corrado" which I had just read an article about in a video mag a few days ago. Upon reading this post, I wanted to drop a line and say a couple of shorts:

1. Bang-on as to your views on sales and perception. There is no secret. Just do it.
2. Interesting anecdotes and good inspiration! I loved it.
3. I think I will probably use this posting to get my co-producer pumped before we go into a meeting this week.

I am realizing how close some of you people are, and wish I had joined sooner.
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Thanks very much for the kind words!
 
There are some misconception that have risen over the last few days in this thread. The Corrado formula is a very good one, but it's not easy to duplicate. In fact, it's damn hard for anyone that doesn't have access to a few hundred thousand dollars of personal money and family backers, which Adam has.

Also, he has stated from the beginning that he had distribution. At first I even thought he had a distribution agreement in place, but I was wrong. However, Corrado had from the very beginning two distributors that were involved in an output deal. It's been months since I read the details but if you go back to the beginning of this thread you'll find out that distribution was never an issue.

After Corrado completed principal photography, Adam decided to wait with making a distribution deal until he found out what the true potential of the movie was, and this was a learning experience for him and all of us really. I was really scared when he announced that he was leaving the door open for other distributors. Personally, I would've grabbed the deal that was offered, even if it meant that I would be making $50,000 over the budget. But I know this is not the case with most filmmakers, especially the ones starting out.

What's specifically interesting about Corrado is that Adam was able to find the right actors that would guarantee the movie would be marketable within its genre and by a certain segment of distributors. He knew the distributors and the he knew the marketplace. He was able to negotiate like no one I know with agents. I've tried to get agents to agree on a project many times but have always failed to get them interested in even reading the screenplay. The one time I had an agent read a script, he wouldn't give it to the actor. He said, fine, he'll do the movie but you have to put up $100,000 in a pay-or-play deal. I couldn't get past this agent. The script was based on a published novel that sold 50,000 copies. So it was a great script, and I still can't figure out how to make this movie.

If I had Adam's skills as a negotiator and his skills as a film producer, I would've been able to do it tomorrow.

The other misconception is that if you get a certain name actor in a movie, you're guaranteed a certain return. I know I'm simplifying this, but it's not easy at all, and it doesn't work to approach it that way.

There was mention of Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise would never do a picture unless he himself decided he would do it. He's not reading scripts by any independents. He won't consider any scripts sent to him. His agents won't accept any scripts from anybody. The only question they will ask you if you call and say you want to hire Tom Cruise is "do you have $20,000,000. to pay upfront for him to read the script?" They will ask you who you are. If you're not Stanley Kubrick, they won't talk to you even if you have the money to pay him and the money to make the movie. (I know Stanley Kubrick is dead -- that's the point). Even if by a miracle you can get Tom Cruise interested in your project, Tom Cruise will take over the production and make the movie with his team. You will only end up as associate producer and that's if you're lucky; most likely you won't get Tom Cruise under any circumstances.

And this goes for all the stars, not just Tom Cruise -- all the $5 million to $40 million actors. Even if one of these actors are your brother or sister, they won't do it. Why would they throw away their entire career for? For what? They have money. They have stardom. Why would they agree to be in an indie movie?

We are talking about indie movies, which are a whole other ball game. It's like the difference between Bobby Sox softball and major league baseball. They look like each other. The game is pretty much the same. It's just as much fun to watch -- it can be :-) if your kids are in it.

Anyway, let's learn what is practical about the Corrado experience. Take from it what will work for you, but don't expect to repeat it. Every movie is different. It's like marriage; there are no two alike :-)
 
You are right film man not everyone can do what Adam did.

We all should learn from his experience and take what we can from it but in the end we all have to do it our own way there is no paint by numbers method to making a successful indie movie, all we can do is take in as much knowledge as possible and then use that knowledge how WE see fit.

Your example of Tom Cruise is valid... BUT in the scenario of Corrado it dosent fit... I mean i love Tom Sizemore but he isnt anywhere near the star of Tom Cruise, SO i dont think it is really a valid example in this case.

It obviously is possible to get stars of Sizemore's level in a indie film, no not Tom Cruise but you can get some name actors in your film, Adam isnt the only one to pull this off....Yes its impressive but it isnt really an impossible feat.

Getting Tom Cruise in your indie flick is though lol.
 
Hey Vic,

Close, real close, but here is the part you got wrong:

I never had distribution from the beginning. I have never, ever been presented with a single deal on Corrado. It's true that I had some connections with distributors from a movie I worked on in 2005, but when I phoned them, I was put in touch with two very different people within the company.

And they "expressed interest" in the project....that's it. They have seen a demo, liked it, and want to see a finished movie, at which point I'll probably get a deal. But it is crystal clear to me that at this moment, I have no concrete deals, promises of deals, or commitments.

I do however, have EXCELLENT prospects. And in this biz, that's better than nothing.
 
Hey, Adam I was wondering i know this is the thread for Corrado but im curious about your new project Hangar.

Have you begun any of the pre-production on it yet, or are you waiting to have Corrado sold?

You mentioned that you plan to have several "Household" names in it, What exactly do you mean by household name? I know you cant give exact names of people you may have in mind for parts but could you give a few comparable actors as an example?

Im just curious to know what level of star you can pull with a 2-3 mill budget which is what i believe you said your next film will be.

Thanks in advance for any answers your able to give.
 
YaBoyTopher said:
Hey, Adam I was wondering i know this is the thread for Corrado but im curious about your new project Hangar.

Have you begun any of the pre-production on it yet, or are you waiting to have Corrado sold?

You mentioned that you plan to have several "Household" names in it, What exactly do you mean by household name? I know you cant give exact names of people you may have in mind for parts but could you give a few comparable actors as an example?

Im just curious to know what level of star you can pull with a 2-3 mill budget which is what i believe you said your next film will be.

Thanks in advance for any answers your able to give.
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Hangar 14 is not in prepro quite yet. I'm just in pre-pre pro I guess!!!!

My idea of a household name is someone like Jake Gylenhaal. Except it's not him, but someone of that caliber.
 
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