Zak Forsman
Major Contributor
First, an explanation of the project I'm working on. So for the last month I've been raising money on Kickstarter for a new microbudget crime thriller titled Down and Dangerous, inspired partially by my dad's brief career as an independent cocaine smuggler in the seventies. We are currently 114% funded with a few days to go. We've even had support from Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin Aces, A-Team, The Grey) who wrote: "Go get 'em brother! Down and Dangerous looks like the s**t! You've got a director's mind and an editor's eye. Lethal!"
There's more detail and video at this link. http://downanddangerousmovie.com
Our budget is tiny but we do intend to pay cast $100 per day and intend to do the SAG Ultra Low contract as we've done in the past, but I recently learned about a film by the Polish Bros (Twin Falls Idaho) called "FOR LOVERS ONLY" starring Stana Katic from "Castle". This article on The Wrap mentions that they used an "experimental" contract with SAG. I was not aware that "experimental" still existed and my understanding was that it was replaced by the Ultra Low a few years ago. But I suspect they meant the New Media contract because their distribution method was exclusively internet based – having debuted on iTunes. On the second page of the article it says...
"They even got the film classified as an experimental film by the Screen Actors Guild, which meant they didn't have to pay Katic, who shared an agent with Mark and brought her own wardrobe."
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/colum...w-movie-no-budget-huge-profit-exclusive-28989
Now looking at SAG's web site i can't find any language in the New Media contract that says running time is a qualifier for whether or not you can use it for a 75-90 minute feature. There is a bit that says it excludes "motion pictures" but they also use the term "motion picture" when describing a would-be program that does qualify. Thank you SAG for keeping things vague.
Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone had gone down this path yet. I have a feature that is designed to do two things... The Kickstarter campaign effectively allows us to pre-sell the movie to a small niche audience, and affords me and our team an opportunity to stretch our creative muscles in a movie with action, suspense, romance and other genre elements we haven't worked with before. We'd do it non-union but that puts members of our cast in conflict with their guild and exposes them to penalties for working without a contract. This is in preparation of producing larger budget endeavors that would have the appropriate attachments for "The Cultraro Method".
And because we intend to debut the film through internet platforms, I'd like to have the added flexibility of the New Media contract. Hoping someone here can offer advice. Anecdotally, everyone I talk to says it can't be feature-length. But then I see pieces like this on FOR LOVERS ONLY where they say flat-out that Stana Katic was not paid for her days ont set, only after. And this, as far as i know, is only possible with the New Media contract.
There's more detail and video at this link. http://downanddangerousmovie.com
Our budget is tiny but we do intend to pay cast $100 per day and intend to do the SAG Ultra Low contract as we've done in the past, but I recently learned about a film by the Polish Bros (Twin Falls Idaho) called "FOR LOVERS ONLY" starring Stana Katic from "Castle". This article on The Wrap mentions that they used an "experimental" contract with SAG. I was not aware that "experimental" still existed and my understanding was that it was replaced by the Ultra Low a few years ago. But I suspect they meant the New Media contract because their distribution method was exclusively internet based – having debuted on iTunes. On the second page of the article it says...
"They even got the film classified as an experimental film by the Screen Actors Guild, which meant they didn't have to pay Katic, who shared an agent with Mark and brought her own wardrobe."
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/colum...w-movie-no-budget-huge-profit-exclusive-28989
Now looking at SAG's web site i can't find any language in the New Media contract that says running time is a qualifier for whether or not you can use it for a 75-90 minute feature. There is a bit that says it excludes "motion pictures" but they also use the term "motion picture" when describing a would-be program that does qualify. Thank you SAG for keeping things vague.
Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone had gone down this path yet. I have a feature that is designed to do two things... The Kickstarter campaign effectively allows us to pre-sell the movie to a small niche audience, and affords me and our team an opportunity to stretch our creative muscles in a movie with action, suspense, romance and other genre elements we haven't worked with before. We'd do it non-union but that puts members of our cast in conflict with their guild and exposes them to penalties for working without a contract. This is in preparation of producing larger budget endeavors that would have the appropriate attachments for "The Cultraro Method".
And because we intend to debut the film through internet platforms, I'd like to have the added flexibility of the New Media contract. Hoping someone here can offer advice. Anecdotally, everyone I talk to says it can't be feature-length. But then I see pieces like this on FOR LOVERS ONLY where they say flat-out that Stana Katic was not paid for her days ont set, only after. And this, as far as i know, is only possible with the New Media contract.
