| | | | The Current State of Indie Film Distribution with Jerome Courshon
I'm excited to present my next Guest Expert event--What The Hell Is Going On With Film Distribution Today--with Distribution Strategist Jerome Courshon. This topic--the current state of indie film distribution--is near and dear to me right now. I'm getting ready to approach distributors with my new no-budget feature The Last Days of Capitalism, which has been playing film festivals for the past year. What I'm learning is that things are remarkably different from what they were when I was taking my last film, DriverX, out to the marketplace, and that was only a couple of years ago. In other words, the "old" assumptions no longer apply.
This is where longtime distribution strategist and old friend Jerome Courshon comes in. Jerome has been an expert in this part of the business for years, and has been closely monitoring the rapidly evolving marketplace for indie features, much of it due to the sudden changes in consumer habits brought on by the pandemic.
In an hour (maybe slightly longer), we'll get you all caught up on where we are right now. Jerome will walk us through a brief history of indie film distribution--where the opportunities used to be--and explain where the market is now. He'll explain all the VODs--and let you know which VODs are producing revenues for filmmakers and which are going the way of the Dodo. This is crucial information for anyone planning to shoot a new film in the coming months. If you're basing your revenue projections on what was working two years ago, you're gonna get killed. And if someone told you a particular genre worked back then, don't assume it's still working today.
We'll also detail the different revenue flows (the waterfall) that come from different distribution approaches, and give you an idea of what your indie feature might make in the current environment. Finally, he'll reveal his biggest landmines to avoid when going through the distribution journey. As I often say, you won't want to miss this!
The seminar is Tuesday, May 4th at 6pm PDT, and it's FREE. Like my last Guest Expert event, this one will be conducted via Zoom Meeting, and I encourage everyone to join with their videos on (though you can certainly sit in the back with your video off if you prefer). My goal is to make these events more interactive, and we'll have plenty of Q&A, where you can ask your questions on camera if you want.
Click the button below to register and we'll see you on May 4th.
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| | | | OTHER CLASSES & WORKSHOPS |
| | Stu Pollard's Indie Film Financing Course Starts April 19th
If you've taken my two-day "Art & Science of No-Budget Filmmaking" course, or have been paying attention to most anything I've written in the past 15 years, you know I don't teach you how to raise money to make your features, (other than crowdfunding). The whole point of my class, the whole thesis for any of my training, is to figure out how to make a feature with the resources you have available to you right now, so you don't have to go out and try to raise financing. I'm a true believer in this method of filmmaking and every time I've looked the other way--where you don't make a movie until you've raised money from investors--I've gotten stuck, and either ended up with no movie or moved forward with my own money and made the film myself.
Now, I also teach that you can't make every kind of movie this way. At some point, you're going to want to leave the nest of no-budget filmmaking and try to get more money to bring about broader, bigger visions. If you're considering doing this, don't wait for me to teach you how to do this, (I won't)--take Stu Pollard's course instead!
Full disclosure, I've not taken Stu's upcoming Indie Film Finance course, but I've known Stu for some time and I've seen him give a free two-hour financing presentation before, and it was terrific. Stu is a straight shooter, not a bullshitter. And he really knows this terrain. He knows what you're going through when you're considering making a no-budget $50k film, and he knows what it's like to raise millions of dollars. He's been there many times and he'll carefully guide you down the road to raising this kind of money.
In this intensive four-week course, you’ll learn how to secure equity financing, structure deals, connect with investors, and avoid critical pitfalls, all from an industry expert who’s raised millions of dollars for independent films. The course combines pre-recorded online elements with live coaching. It's designed for filmmakers looking to raise anywhere between $50k and $5 million, but the sweet spot is a $1 million budget.
When I saw he was teaching this course, I reached out to him to see if I could get a discount for any of you who were interested in taking the course. He obliged with a $100 Off discount code. Just use NBFS100 when you register for the course. |
| | | | | "One Cut Of The Dead" - Rent on Amazon Prime
If you haven't seen this Japanese horror film yet, you're in for a big treat. Now, there are rules for watching this in order to get the most out of the viewing. PLEASE, DON'T BREAK THE RULES! First rule, don't read anything else about the film except what you read here. And I mean nothing. Don't read the Amazon description, don't read any of the reviews, don't watch the trailer, don't talk to your friends--just trust me and start watching it. Second rule, watch it all the way through, no matter what you think of it in the beginning. This is crucial. Third, don't be turned off by it if you don't like the genre, or don't like subtitles. Just suck it up and watch it. I promise, you will not be disappointed. It's so much fun, and the surprises awaiting are part of the fun.
This little feature cost around $25k to make in US$, but has supposedly grossed over $30 million worldwide, and is 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. That should be enough to get your attention! Enjoy, and hit me up if you see it! |
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