Firing up independent films in the face of rapidly evolving distribution models and economic uncertainty is not an impossibility, but requires “specificity” in a film’s vision, according to Milan Popelka, the chief operating officer at FilmNation.
Popelka remains an advocate for the pre-sales model of financing films, and said: “If you bring the market something that is compelling and exciting, you will sell out. People need product. There is a whole eco-system of international buyers out there that need movies, and they are looking.”
“That is your secret sauce right there,” confirmed Jason Cloth, founder and CEO of financier Creative Wealth Media.
The pair were speaking alongside producers Erica Lee of Thunder Road Pictures and Rebelle Media’s Laura Lewis on an AFM panel on November 3 titled ‘The risk takers’.
“It’s got to be different. Bigger swings,” said Lee. “You’re not typically going to have Gerard Butler attached to a small independent film – the odds are not in your favour. There are so many actors, they’re all busy doing studio films, you need to think what the recipe is for your movie.”
Lewis was more sceptical of the future of the pre-sales model. “Equity financing is difficult. The old pre-sale model is harder. Streamers want worldwide rights,” she said. “I’ve seen a number of equity financiers leaving [the industry] because of that risk.”
She spoke positively about the benefits of reduced theatrical windows for indie films: “If you think about independent distributors, they only have limited dollars. So with a shorter window, you’re optimising those dollars, rather than having to reintroduce the movie to audiences a few months later.”
Streamers are also pulling back on spending. “The streaming world is getting more quality conscious,” said Cloth. “Five, six, seven years ago people would come to me and their pitch on a film was – don’t worry if it’s not sold into theatres, Netflix will buy it. It’s like they were telling me Netflix is the garbage can repository. That never made any sense to me. And of course, they’re not that.”
“The business is recession proof”
The panel was optimistic about the position of the industry in the face of current global economic hardships.
“Historically our business is recession proof,” said Lewis. “We are still one of the cheaper entertainment options, when people choose between going to a ball game, or a Broadway show – paying for Netflix or a movie ticket is so much cheaper. The recession doesn’t worry me at all. If you’re raising money for a company, capital raise, that might be tough. But the distributors and companies already in business – keep going.”
“There’s always going to be a place to shoot. There’s always going to be money available to you,” said Cloth.
“Recession might not even be my top five things I have to worry about on a daily basis,” he continued. “There are always other so many things in getting a movie made, which is what makes it so fantastic, and why it’s so incredible when you get it done and see it on the screen.”
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