I got a D-List Actor now what?

capitalP

capitalP

Veteran
I've been working on this project for over a year now. Script is done, got all my ducks in order and I approached a D-List actor and they are interested in the project. But here comes the issue we all face. I can't seem to secure funding.

How would you guys go about securing funding for a project if you had a D-List actor attached? When I say attached, I mean me and the agent have been dealing back and forth and gave me a written commitment. So not quite sure how can I use that letter as leverage to get my funding. Any thoughts?
 
So, you have a letter of intent? Does the letter say you're able to use this actor's name for fundraising/marketing purposes? If not, are you able to pay a small deposit/downpayment to secure a contract and use the name? Know that it'll likely be non-refundable (from my experience) and it is a bit of a risk, if you're more testing the waters to see if you can raise the funds.

Kegan
 
The letter doesn't say I can use his name for fundraising/marketing, me and the agent have been back and forth on the phone and emails. It's not really a letter of intent more like an actual contract that says if I have the money the actor will appear in the film. Money meaning his fee.

I actually was thinking about shooting a short promo with the actor to raise funds, but even that short promo will cost me money. I guess I just don't know where to go with a somewhat name actor interested in my film and I have no money to shoot. Who knows if he'll be interested if I come up with the money a year later or so, just wanted to strike now while they are still interested in the script.
 
Are you trying to get the actor for a lead role, or just the typical slightly bigger than a cameo one day of shooting deal so you can put the name on a video box sort of deal.

If it is the latter I'd say get your ducks in a row, and scrape together what you need to pull off that one day of shooting. With that footage in the can and the proper contracts signed you should be able to rightfully say that said name is in the film. Even if you need another year to put together the rest of the shoot, as long as you don't need reshoots, you should be fine.

Although not the greatest film ever, Kenneth Branaugh's Dead Again, should be required viewing on how to milk a cameo. He had one day, and one location with Robin Williams, but the sequence is intercut through the whole film and seems like a much bigger role. Often a name cameo in a no budget film sticks out badly, but some manage to make it work.

Is the D-list even worth the effort? There are A-listers that regularly work for scale if they like the script. Look for talent that has development deals take executive producer credits, those are the names that get financing.
 
What are your plans for distribution?

Will this D-List actor even be a factor in getting you money back on your return -- or even money to pay yourself back for what you paid him? When I think D-List I think moreso actors I know personally who have been in some theatrical movies as some guy with a handful of lines that nobody remembers until they see his/her photo and I'm there to remind them of what small scenes and movies the person has done in the past just to get the "Ohhh! Okay! Now I remember him!" response.

Ask yourself if he's worth it.
 
Better yet, ask a film buyer if he's worth it. They're the ones who know. You'll be amazed which 3rd rate actors mean box office in Germany or Tokyo.
 
dop16mm said:
Are you trying to get the actor for a lead role, or just the typical slightly bigger than a cameo one day of shooting deal so you can put the name on a video box sort of deal.
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At this stage I have him in mind for a small role but with the option to be the lead with a little more money. At first I was just thinking just cameo but now knowing it's possible to get him for the lead now I'm even more driven to get the funding.
dop16mm said:
Is the D-list even worth the effort? There are A-listers that regularly work for scale if they like the script. Look for talent that has development deals take executive producer credits, those are the names that get financing.
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You know what, I think so because before I approached this D-list manager, I made my researched and punched in my numbers. The film I'm doing is a comedy and he is a stand up comedian with a nice following. So I know this film will specifically cater to his audience, he has relationships with distributors, so worst case scenerio if the film don't get picked up by a distributor, with just his followers I know I will recoup my initiall investments on DVD sales alone, so yes it's worth the effort. And truthfully, recouping my money is the least of my concern, I'm looking at this more like a vehicle to take my career to the next level. With him in the film, hopefully I can get more work and have a built relationship with him if the movie don't suck lol, then hopefully I can then use his name with his permission to secure more budgets. So basically, I would like to milk the cameo the best way I can.

FilmBoy77 said:
What are your plans for distribution?

Will this D-List actor even be a factor in getting you money back on your return -- or even money to pay yourself back for what you paid him? Ask yourself if he's worth it.
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Good question, my plan for distribution is basically contacting a previous distributor I dealt with for my first feature film and try and shop the new film to them. I have somewhat of a good relationship with that distributor because my first feature film did pretty well for them, but obviously it did not do well for me, so with this name actor in my film, I can negotiate better terms.

Another option is this, as mentioned above, this actor has estabished relationships with one mini major distributor because they released a couple of his films already, so I would approach them also. And obviosly nothing is guaranteed, but I do feel I will be able to recoup my initial investment because half of the budget is going towards his salary and the rest for production. And speaking of the budget, I have it at $20,000. $10,000 for his pay. So recouping this won't be a problem. As you can see from the budget, this is nothing huge, but it's still something I don't have. Obviously with this budget in mind, I will be wearing many hats, I've done it before, it's not fun but it's necessary to keep the budget from skyrocketing to $60k+
 
capitalP said:
Good question, my plan for distribution is basically contacting a previous distributor I dealt with for my first feature film and try and shop the new film to them. I have somewhat of a good relationship with that distributor because my first feature film did pretty well for them, but obviously it did not do well for me, so with this name actor in my film, I can negotiate better terms.

Another option is this, as mentioned above, this actor has estabished relationships with one mini major distributor because they released a couple of his films already, so I would approach them also. And obviosly nothing is guaranteed, but I do feel I will be able to recoup my initial investment because half of the budget is going towards his salary and the rest for production. And speaking of the budget, I have it at $20,000. $10,000 for his pay. So recouping this won't be a problem. As you can see from the budget, this is nothing huge, but it's still something I don't have. Obviously with this budget in mind, I will be wearing many hats, I've done it before, it's not fun but it's necessary to keep the budget from skyrocketing to $60k+
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Yikes, the Rodriguez-wearing-many-hats method, yea brother I been there and done that too. Would never do it again. But I hope you can get an estimate from those distributors before you film. Also since you say dude has a following be sure to see if your $10k covers him promoting the film. It'd be too easy for him to collect his pay, check out the movie when it's done and say "Eh, it was aight...nothing I want to promote though since I'm tryin' to get bigger movies going" and then keep it moving leaving you trying to market it any way you can.

Good luck though man.
 
FilmBoy77 said:
Yikes, the Rodriguez-wearing-many-hats method, yea brother I been there and done that too. Would never do it again. But I hope you can get an estimate from those distributors before you film. Also since you say dude has a following be sure to see if your $10k covers him promoting the film. It'd be too easy for him to collect his pay, check out the movie when it's done and say "Eh, it was aight...nothing I want to promote though since I'm tryin' to get bigger movies going" and then keep it moving leaving you trying to market it any way you can.

Good luck though man.
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Yup, I spoke with the agent yesterday and he said marketing and promotion would be part of the deal. I'll just have to make sure to get it in writing because like you said, the film may suck and he's like, I'm out of here lol. But obviously the goal is to make a good film but you never know.

And I promised myself I was done with the whole wearing too many hat stuff, I hate it. But it's either wear the hats again or wait until I get a big enough budget not to, but eventually tha's what I want to aim towards, to only where one hat which is the director's hat.
 
It's hard to say if it's worth hiring this actor without knowing his name.

If this guy is truely a D-lister it's not worth the $10,000, no D-lister is worth that.

The way I think of the "lists" is like this:

A-lister is someone who can carry their own studio movie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney etc. Or an actor who does studio movies exclusively, even if only supporting roles.

B-list I would disect into two parts, there are the big guys who can carry their own Direct to Video movies like Seagal, Van Damme etc. Then there are the lower B-listers who you need several of in your movie to be able to get distribution, like Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones etc.

C-listers are the people who used to be B-listers, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels, Armand Assante, Robert Davi.
These guys need much stronger names around them, and the movie would have to be done as cheap as possible, even then it's questionable if these guys bring you any real value.

D-listers I would think are the people you see constantly in these microbudget movies like Joe Estevez, Jason Mewes, Debbie Rochon.
These actors will do a day or two in your movie for a couple of grand, and the filmmaker might be lucky to secure a distribution with a company like Maverick.
Even then you would need to keep the entire budget in like a $20k to $30k range to recoup.

Internationally these names don't mean anything.

This being said you need to be really careful about this.

$10,000 is a lot of money, and there are a whole bunch of actors who would jump at the chance to do a day or two in a movie for ten grands, you would be surprised to know the level of actors who will work in this range.

However, they probably don't like to do a movie with this low of a budget.

These guys who work constantly will do a day or two for $10k but only if the budget is otherwise a bit larger.

My suggestion to you is: Aim high.

You will be surprised to see who you can get with $10k.

Someone like Tom Sizemore works for under $10k a day all the time. This is the level of actors you need to pursue.

A D-list comedian will not cut it I'm afraid.

However, most actors who will bring your movie any value are SAG, and you would have to become a SAG signatory production.

I heard Michael Madsen works Fi-Core.

Go around distributors asking about Madsen's value. You will get him for $10k or under I guarantee.
 
EuropeanDistributor said:
It's hard to say if it's worth hiring this actor without knowing his name.

If this guy is truely a D-lister it's not worth the $10,000, no D-lister is worth that.

The way I think of the "lists" is like this:

A-lister is someone who can carry their own studio movie, Brad Pitt, George Clooney etc. Or an actor who does studio movies exclusively, even if only supporting roles.

B-list I would disect into two parts, there are the big guys who can carry their own Direct to Video movies like Seagal, Van Damme etc. Then there are the lower B-listers who you need several of in your movie to be able to get distribution, like Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo, Vinnie Jones etc.

C-listers are the people who used to be B-listers, Eric Roberts, Gary Daniels, Armand Assante, Robert Davi.
These guys need much stronger names around them, and the movie would have to be done as cheap as possible, even then it's questionable if these guys bring you any real value.

D-listers I would think are the people you see constantly in these microbudget movies like Joe Estevez, Jason Mewes, Debbie Rochon.
These actors will do a day or two in your movie for a couple of grand, and the filmmaker might be lucky to secure a distribution with a company like Maverick.
Even then you would need to keep the entire budget in like a $20k to $30k range to recoup.

Internationally these names don't mean anything.

This being said you need to be really careful about this.

$10,000 is a lot of money, and there are a whole bunch of actors who would jump at the chance to do a day or two in a movie for ten grands, you would be surprised to know the level of actors who will work in this range.

However, they probably don't like to do a movie with this low of a budget.

These guys who work constantly will do a day or two for $10k but only if the budget is otherwise a bit larger.

My suggestion to you is: Aim high.

You will be surprised to see who you can get with $10k.

Someone like Tom Sizemore works for under $10k a day all the time. This is the level of actors you need to pursue.

A D-list comedian will not cut it I'm afraid.

However, most actors who will bring your movie any value are SAG, and you would have to become a SAG signatory production.

I heard Michael Madsen works Fi-Core.

Go around distributors asking about Madsen's value. You will get him for $10k or under I guarantee.
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This is some great advice. I would mention the guy's name but I don't want to yet until the deal is secure and finalize and the production is underway.

That's the dilemma I'm faced with, because the budget is so low, I'm basically putting all the money towards this guy and banking that the film will be succesful. I love the way you broke down the A-D list :).
 
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