Month: December 2010

Categories
Truly Free Film

If I were a filmmaker going to Sundance….

Today’s guest post is by Orly Ravid of The Film Collaborative (TFC), the first non-profit, full service provider dedicated to the distribution of independent film.  Orly was featured as one of HFF’s Brave Thinkers Of Indie Film, 2010.

* This is part 1 of 3 parts to this Sundance focused blog.

* Part 2 will be written during the festival.

* Part 3 will be written in the aftermath of the glow of the fest.

If I were a filmmaker going to Sundance, and let’s say that I had a film with no recognizable press-generating cast that would be attractive to a distribution company for a large MG… What would I do? Seriously, I asked myself that question. And I realized how tempted I would be, even I, to find some sexy publicists and rockstar agents or sales company so that I could get the hot sexy sale at Sundance and make all my dreams come true.

What can a distributor do for you that you cannot do yourself with just a little bit of money, not even a lot, and some low fee consultation? And above all, what are you giving up by not building community for your film before and during the fest, instead letting other people run your show, potentially losing out on the momentum of the festival?

Let’s look at some films from Sundance last year that were in this position and the routes they took and what they may have netted. These are films that cut distribution deals of some kind and got less than wide releases from their distributors:

Continue reading “If I were a filmmaker going to Sundance….”

Categories
Bowl Of Noses

The First Ten Years In Less Than 90 Seconds

Natalie goes from her first days to ten years. One day we will see someone’s entire life into old age this way

Categories
Issues and Actions

181 Renewed! Indie Filmmakers Rejoice!

Why does this matter? Zak Forsman tweeted it nicely: ” if tax payer is in 35% tax bracket and the film’s shot in a state with a 42% credit, investor’s eligible to get 77% of her investment back.”

To go a tad deeper, Zak Forsman posted it well:

Minutes ago, I received this email from my friend and fellow filmmaker, Justin Evans.

Dear Film Professionals –

Section 181 has finally been renewed! The new Tax Bill was signed into law by President Obama earlier today. The tax law includes Section 744, which includes language that replaces IRS Section 181’s expiration date of December 31, 2009 with December 31, 2011.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr4853enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr4853enr.pdf

Here is what this means:

  • Any money spent on qualifying domestic film production* in 2010 now qualifies for the Section 181 tax write-off.
  • Any money spent on qualifying domestic film production* in 2011 will also qualify for the Section 181 tax write-off.
  • There is no gap in Section 181 protection…which means all the fear and worry that someone might have begun a project in 2009, somehow didn’t get the financing in place and investors invested in early 2010 can now breath a sigh of relief.

Read all of what Zak has to say about it here. Thanks Zak!

Categories
These Are Those Things

Idea (Pillows) + Execution (Backwards) = Fun

Categories
Issues and Actions Truly Free Film

Piracy: (Some Of) The Short & The Long Of It

Thankfully, Taylor Hackford recognizes that the film industry needs to wise up and educate itself on piracy. He and I agree on that. And I think we agree on the goal of it all, but I suspect we have completely different approaches to solving the problem.  And that is where I am really concerned.  To solve it, Hackford seems willing to sacrifice greater principles in the service of business, and that is a shame.  I hope I am wrong.

Mr. Hackford, president of the DGA, was recently speaking at the Content Protection Summit and Variety reported on it. Reading the article I remain unclear as to what Hackford’s point is about piracy beyond that it is bad and we need to make it a real concern of the industry. He seems to be saying that if we want to protect our content, we have to be willing to give up on a free and open internet. He claims groups like Public Knowledge and Free Press as enemies. Shutting down a free and open internet is not the path to solving the piracy problem; it is the path to a closed society that favors a class or capital over access and opportunity — and that is the antithesis of what we need to do.

We can not create a system that favors the powerful, the connected, or the well capitalized.

Continue reading “Piracy: (Some Of) The Short & The Long Of It”
Categories
Truly Free Film

An Endless Cycle Of Diminishing Returns

  • This is how it goes…
    • Decreasing global value of non-blockbuster filmed content
      • leads to decreasing funding which
      • leads to decreasing budgets
      • which leads to decreasing scope of execution
      • which limits content & style
      • which often reduces audience size & impact.
    • Lower budgets lead to 
      • lower fees which leads to
      • reduced access to international stars, which
      • lowers value estimates of the film
      • which reduces budgets and fees further,
      • which reduces creative individuals ability to support themselves in the field.
      • Which reduces availibility of quality product
      • Which reduces audience satisfaction and faith in the industry
  • Which gets us to the world we live in today.
Categories
Uncategorized

How We Evaluate The Now Now?


How do we measure the world around us?  When did “Search” become one of those tools?  I may be a bit slow on the uptake, but it certainly snuck up on me.