Welcome to THE RESOURCE ROOM, MOVIE IN A BOX's quarterly newsletter! Just like our one-day filmmaking seminars, this newsletter connects you with what and who you need to know to make your movie.
Reality Bites
This quarter's interview with hard-but-helpful filmmaking facts come from indie entertainment attorney Rick Rosenthal, who still gets too much business resolving disputes over contracts that were signed without attorney review. He's got an offer you can't refuse.
Spotlight On...
We hunted for tools for your filmmaker's survival kit and found producer Patric Hedlund's jaw-dropping roadmap to PBS, A Breadcrumb Trail through the PBS Jungle: A Producer's Survival Guide. If you're a documentary filmmaker and DON'T have this book, one question: How'd you do at PBS?
The Cost Report
This quarter's low- or no-cost industry deal is Ink Tip's weekly newsletter with industry calls for screenplays. Your cost? FREE.
Upcoming Seminars
MOVIE IN A BOX currently is reformatting in order to provide more local and regional offerings!
REALITY BITES
WHO: Rick Rosenthal, Entertainment Attorney
WHAT: Why Your First Team Member Should be an Attorney
WHERE: RosenthalR@aol.com
Attorneys know all of the old tricks...
People overlook a lot of credit language when they enter into a contract. And you can end up with a contract where you get credit in the main titles but that doesn't mean you're going to be on the video box or the DVD box.
...and can negotiate new media
The DVD deals that I'm seeing now, even for low-budget films, are very complicated, and I don't think you can go into any kind of DVD deal without a lawyer -- and a lawyer who's experienced with doing DVDs... Because there are delivery items in a DVD, just the same way there are delivery items with a motion picture, because you want to have some performance guarantees, because you want the rights to do some other things with the movie.
...but they do way more than read contracts
You may be dealing with people who want to option your work or produce your work or partner up with you or joint venture with you. Your attorney may have some experience or knowledge about those people. There may be situations where your attorney can help you develop a strategy for moving your project forward, for making attachments to your project, what kind of attachments would be valuable for the project. The attorney may be familiar with financing sources, generally, as long as they're not private equity sources, which are generally proprietary to the attorney's clients. But you know, distributors and other people in the industry who may be interested in putting up the money for a project. Or an attorney may be able to just advise you about different strategies as far as raising money goes.
Have great -- but realistic -- expectations
I was involved with My Big Fat Greek Wedding maybe seven years ago, one of the early deals on that project. So you know, My Big Fat Greek Wedding which is probably the biggest independent success story of all time, you know, that's still a project that took about ten years to get made.
...and remember that YOU are part of the package
I'm looking for clients who have good material and also understand that they are responsible for putting the project together... Because even if you find a partner or somebody, you still have to sit on top of them and manage them and push the project if you're the one that's passionate about it.... They're not just looking for an agent or somebody else to hand the project off to because that's a situation where their project is likely not to see the light of day.
Okay, how much?
There are many ways to work with an attorney. On a percentage basis...on a flat fee basis, depending on what type of project, and then, generally, I don't charge for giving people advice on the phone or tossing ideas back and forth... Negotiating and documenting a deal, regardless of what side my client is on, that's generally what I consider my expertise to be, and that's what I generally want to be paid for.
Now -- how to meet Rick. You can always meet with him in The Resource Room at our seminars when his schedule permits. Second -- remember that "unrefusable" offer? Rick Rosenthal is offering a FREE consultation if you contact him and mention Movie in a Box.
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SPOTLIGHT ON...
WHAT: A Breadcrumb Trail Through the PBS Jungle: A Producer's Survival Guide
WH0: Patric Hedlund, Author
WHERE: www.forests.com/breadcrumb/index.html
Heard the one about the filmmaker who got turned down by PBS? Now read about the filmmakers who DIDN'T -- because they mastered the PBS landscape over the course of many years. If you don't have many years, read this book. If you just have a few minutes, read this review (you'll go get the book).
Alphabet soup -- who to approach with your film:
A Breadcrumb Trail clarifies that filmmakers don't need to start or stop by just "submitting to PBS." It details the niches and missions of APT (American Public Television), CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), ITVS (Independent Television Service), and a long list of other public outlets for funding and distribution. It also hails the arrival of Pat Mitchell, the new head of PBS, who is bent on making the system more accessible regionally and bureaucratically.
Funding and distribution distinctions:
Hedlund tackles these as separate strategies -- and rightly so. Some institutions handle both; many focus on (or are better sought out for) just one of the two. All the system entities are presented here, with producer guidelines on how to navigate their particular applications and contracts. A Breadcrumb Trail also intensely explores the erosion of producer licensing in the system (think "Barneygate") and explains how to get back what you can.
A roadmap for success:
A Breadcrumb Trail includes worksheets for filmmakers to focus their approach. It also case studies in detail top docs that made it through to PBS broadcast and ancillary success. Throughout, there are candid interviews with present and former PBS representatives for even more insight and guidance.
Want to learn more about getting your doc or narrative film onto public television? Hedlund was one of the all-star instructors at DOCS IN A BOX; ITVS was there, too -- TAKING PITCHES (when you read the book, you'll understand the caps). Contact us to get on the list for the next DOCS IN A BOX near you!
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THE COST REPORT
WHERE: www.inktip.com
WHAT: weekly newsletter with submission listings
WHO: Ink Tip
Anyone who is, was or knows an actor understands the importance -- and exclusivity -- of casting breakdowns. For screenwriters, Ink Tip sends out calls for scripts every week for FREE. It's as easy as subscribing to their newsletter at www.inktip.com/newsletter.php.
The site offers much more on a pay basis, including a preferred subscription newsletter with more leads, online posting of treatments and scripts, and an active production community of people actively looking for material. Maybe the best thing they offer is stats: hundreds of writers/scripts connected to producers, writers finding representation, screenplays and shorts sold or optioned.
Did we mention the weekly newsletter with industry calls for screenplays was FREE?
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UPCOMING SEMINARS
Our next seminar is Saturday, June 9, 2007, from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm at the Writers Store. For more information and registration, click here!
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