Corrado Part II
- Thread starter taormina
- Start date
Rubbersquare
Well-known member
only problem is no one will buy a pristine perfect lots of bonus featuers version of "X-Indie Film" for $2.99, but they WILL buy a crappy, shot in the theatre, with heads in the way and dodgy sound with a 5-minute bathroom break shot-on-a-mobile-phone version of "the dark knight" for $2.99 or more.
you'd do better making a "rip-off" of the current cool film (cloverfield, dark knight, any superhero, lord of the rings, porno) and selling that. but, do you really want to do that?
</bitter rant>
you'd do better making a "rip-off" of the current cool film (cloverfield, dark knight, any superhero, lord of the rings, porno) and selling that. but, do you really want to do that?
</bitter rant>
Rubbersquare
Well-known member
ah! :thumbup:
when are we all getting the "bootlegged" versions of corrado to sell? :beer:
wcmartell
Well-known member
I don't know who UNK is, but he/she/HAL 9000 has really good advice, aimed at writing the kind of scripts that a producer would buy. That's my focus, too. So I tend to err on the side of commercial considerations. You can make any film you want to make if you are making it yourself.
But just to give you my opinion about things I know nothing about (this is an internet message board, right?) - I think that if you are making a movie for commercial reasons, what goes for the script also goes for the movie. Whether a producer buys a script, makes the film, and takes that film to a distrib... or the distrib buys a completed film from you - that distrib is still looking for a movie they can sell to an audience. The producer who buys the script and the distrib who buys the movie are both looking for the same thing.
Now, it's possible to take a script that might seem like a tough sell and through your film making skills and a great cast and everything else - turn it into a fantastic movie that a distrib will want. But if you have all of those elements *plus* the script they salivate over, you're probably in a better position.
The whole thing with gangster films is that there have been so many of them it's hard to find something really unique and interesting to do in that genre. Something that is so amazing, that when they do that paragraph on the back of the DVD that tells you the story - people in Best Buy who read it *must* buy the DVD and see the film right away. The idea is so cool, it transcends and reinvents the genre. It's not just another gangster movie (vampire movie, zombie movie, slasher movie, T&A comedy, etc). Those are not easy ideas to find - but that's kind of what I do for a living.
But even if you are making plot 53B, you need some wild-ass stuff in there. Something I've never seen before that you can put in a trailer and make me *need* to see this movie.
- Bill
But just to give you my opinion about things I know nothing about (this is an internet message board, right?) - I think that if you are making a movie for commercial reasons, what goes for the script also goes for the movie. Whether a producer buys a script, makes the film, and takes that film to a distrib... or the distrib buys a completed film from you - that distrib is still looking for a movie they can sell to an audience. The producer who buys the script and the distrib who buys the movie are both looking for the same thing.
Now, it's possible to take a script that might seem like a tough sell and through your film making skills and a great cast and everything else - turn it into a fantastic movie that a distrib will want. But if you have all of those elements *plus* the script they salivate over, you're probably in a better position.
The whole thing with gangster films is that there have been so many of them it's hard to find something really unique and interesting to do in that genre. Something that is so amazing, that when they do that paragraph on the back of the DVD that tells you the story - people in Best Buy who read it *must* buy the DVD and see the film right away. The idea is so cool, it transcends and reinvents the genre. It's not just another gangster movie (vampire movie, zombie movie, slasher movie, T&A comedy, etc). Those are not easy ideas to find - but that's kind of what I do for a living.
But even if you are making plot 53B, you need some wild-ass stuff in there. Something I've never seen before that you can put in a trailer and make me *need* to see this movie.
- Bill
dougspice
Veteran
In the music industry it's become not that uncommon for artists to "leak" their own tracks in advance, so I don't see why there's not something to this whole "bootleg" concept. Stealth marketing... we live in a world where no one can be trusted because they might just be selling you something! (also, some of them are terrorists, or so I've been told)
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
I said screw it and put the whole film up for free. I've been pirated on P2P networks also but the question is are they pirating my film or Wages of Sin the horror film with my name attached to it that I had nothing to do with. LOL. They did use my cover so I'm assuming it was the real one. That's the thing about doing a download. People who use P2P think nothing about putting your stuff out there for the world. Can work in your favor if you're not making a living from it. And if you're making a big living from it then you can probably take the hit.
Thing about physical bootlegging is that they actually give you a physical product which to many people is still worth more than a download. Even in video games, there's people out there bootlegging the Japanese video games (the one's we don't get). It's a big industry for people who know how to mod Playstation and Xboxes. They can give you a DVD with the game or put it on the drive.
-Nate
Thing about physical bootlegging is that they actually give you a physical product which to many people is still worth more than a download. Even in video games, there's people out there bootlegging the Japanese video games (the one's we don't get). It's a big industry for people who know how to mod Playstation and Xboxes. They can give you a DVD with the game or put it on the drive.
-Nate
i agree with that, but to play devil's advocate, can't the same be said for every genre?
especially with people illegally downloading movies as much as they do now, i'd say the bar is raised across the board to actually convince people to buy any movie (especially without a popular actor) let alone go out and pay to see it in a theater.
10s
Veteran
Bill, nice insight, one of the most serious & consequential things I've read on this forum because you're addressing the toughest part of the film making process - FRESHNESS. IMO this is where our energy & time needs to be directed for success to occur. Most of us waste our time & energy on secondary issues [meaningless time wasters] and miss the real work; we then wonder why we're having such a tough go at it. I believe the key to understanding freshness is to go toward the essence of the what the genre is delivering and try and understand the basic code or value, what ever it may be called, that we, the audience, resonate with when it's there. This is the stuff that makes us in the audience feel alive when we experience it for the 1st time, it's the emotional rush we crave and tell everyone we know about. This is the film makers job, to create the emotional high that helps people connect with their emotions and feel alive. As Joseph Campbell put it, we want to feel the rapture of life. Good story told through cinema can do this. Unfortunatley the needed focus, study and conversations film makers need to engage in to crack this mystery is often pushed aside for frivilous ADD activity and technical diversions. I understand why, because it's difficult. Anyone can copy, but most of us can't create those sparks that deeply excite us.
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10s
Veteran
Hey, Bill, do you have a wild ass screenplay you could let me shoot? I need to be raptured out of the B-genres. Help!
10% of gross?
When you figure the Rapture piece out, let me know.
Imaginate
Well-known member
Hey Adam,
I wanted to thank you for blogging this journey of yours. I only found the original Corrado thread a couple days ago and stayed up all night reading it. Your thread answered dozens of questions that I have had for some time now and didn't quite know who where even to look for them. I'm very interested in the stage that your journey is in now and hope you continue to blog this process. Following your story has been like a film makers guide , but also a guide for young producers... reading how you secured your actors was pure gold.
I'm producing a film along with my partner who wrote and directed it. We just finished the edit and soundmix on a feature length " creature horror " film shot with the HVX200. We attended AFM this year and inspite of the fact that sales agents told us the market was flooded with slasher and zombie films, they took an interest in our project because they liked the creature and visual effects.
Please continue the updates on your distribution story.
Garnet
http://theycamefromtheattic.com/afm
I wanted to thank you for blogging this journey of yours. I only found the original Corrado thread a couple days ago and stayed up all night reading it. Your thread answered dozens of questions that I have had for some time now and didn't quite know who where even to look for them. I'm very interested in the stage that your journey is in now and hope you continue to blog this process. Following your story has been like a film makers guide , but also a guide for young producers... reading how you secured your actors was pure gold.
I'm producing a film along with my partner who wrote and directed it. We just finished the edit and soundmix on a feature length " creature horror " film shot with the HVX200. We attended AFM this year and inspite of the fact that sales agents told us the market was flooded with slasher and zombie films, they took an interest in our project because they liked the creature and visual effects.
Please continue the updates on your distribution story.
Garnet
http://theycamefromtheattic.com/afm
Nathyn
Low Budget Ninja
LOL, everyone does this when they read Adam's production journal. Couldn't take my eyes away.
-Nate
taormina
Hates to Rent
Adam,
Damn, that is a huge change! Can't wait to see what you've got, so long as it's not Red Runination Dawn.
Any new info on Corrado's progress?
Chris
You won't believe the stuff you are going to need to come up with for me, Chris. Just wait till you read the script. I'm counting on you!
Wolverines!!!! (joke!)
Corrado is in the hurry up and wait stage. With the holidays and people travelling I'm stuck waiting!