Making a Movie: Cast, Distribution, Financing

* This article is written for filmmakers, but film investors will enjoy it as well. Investors are, and always have been, members of a film's production team. How active you choose to be in your role is the only variable.

Ancient alchemists spent their lives in pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone, a magical item that, once made, would turn lead into gold. As a filmmaker you will spend a great deal of time in pursuit of something almost as ephemeral called the Iron Triangle.

In order to produce a feature film you need many things, most of which are relatively easy to acquire. You'll need a script, a camera, a camera man, lights, a location, etc.

But the heart of your production, if your film is to be profitable, will be the Iron Triangle, which is to say a cast, financing and distribution.

If you have a good cast, reasonable financing, and solid distribution you have a good chance at a financially profitable film Without these three things, getting your film made will be a hassle. It will be a hassle because once made your film is unlikely to make money and no one wants to lose money right along with you in most cases.

Let's define these terms in a meaningful way:

Cast: If you go to www.breakdownexpress.com and post descriptions of your characters for your SAG or non-SAG film you will get thousands of applications. There will be many fine actors in the list. To get a cast that an investor (who is not related to you or friends with you) will invest in, you need to make sure at least some of the actors on your list are "names". You can go to your grave trying to figure out what a "name" is. Let me help you. Names that can get a film financed are found on the A or B list in the Ulmer's Scale book as a rule. There are exceptions to this rule (for very tightly targeted films) but if you want a quick way to find out what constitutes a nam The larger your film, the more "names" you need. Look there. The Ulmer's Scale is a statistical analysis of actors and their box office value for a given year. To get great cast you usually have to have a fully financed film, or great distribution.

Distribution: Distribution for a feature film may be theatrical or non-theatrical. A theatrical release almost always means a film is going to make more money because it sells for more in foreign markets, and is probably going to make more money in the US market as well. To get theatrical distribution and foreign presales, a great cast is usually necessary. A great cast of "names" guarantees that less PR will be needed to sell the film because the names will get press interest. Names also attract a certain base of diehard fans. Full financing of a film and good names guarantees good distribution. Non-theatrical distribution can work for you as well, but it does tend to limit your budget because financers won't put as much money into a lower budget film.

Financing: A film with a good cast and good theatrical distribution/pre-sales can get funding because it is very likely to make the money invested in it back along with some profit. A film without a good cast or distribution is likely to earn a loss. Investors don't often invest in movies that are likely to make a loss.

Now you see the Iron Triangle. Get any two elements of the iron triangle and you will get the third. This is why everyone a filmmaker talks to asks who is in their film, do they have distribution, and if they have financing. If you have none of those things, you have a problem.

Breaking the Iron Triangle

Now that you understand the Iron Triangle you are ready to figure out how to work around it using these and other strategies:

• A really seriously great script. Actors are artists and they really love a great script, which is to say one that says something meaningful and important whiel giving them a chance to play an exceptional character. If you have put your script through several readings with actors and it is just diamond hard in its perfection, you may find its good enough to get an actor's attention. The easiest way to get the script to the actor is through the agent. They will ask if you have financing or distribution . . .
• A previously established financially profitable piece of intellectual property. If you have a comic book, book, stage play or some other property that people have already paid lots of money to get, you have reduced everyone's risk. A film you make is likely to sell. So actors, funders and distributors will find you quite interesting. You should probably approach actors or funders first.
• Enough money to buy actors and distribution. That means 10%-20% of your budget. If you are willing to risk that much on your project, with pay or play deals for actors and by paying for a service deal with distributors, you will find investors starting to get interest. Don't actually make these investments without finding a funder first, but make it clear you have that much of the budget in a bank account somewhere. Get your budgets and schedules in place so you can prove you know exactly how much your film will cost to produce. You may want to contact actor's agents or managers to explain your situation. They may express interest verbally and may be able to talk to investors that call them on that basis.
• Having non-investment funding, including grants and film loans. Millions are awarded to filmmakers every year. Why not you? This is a particularly good option for short films. Check to see if your state has a film incentive program. Look for national programs as well.
• Non-traditional distribution is a great option for folks who want to produce a film they can afford to produce with a cast they can get hold of. Check out www.createspace.com, www.kuanki.com, video.google.com, www.revver.com, and www.youtube.com for distribution options. Your film make not be financially profitable in the short run, but if its the first of many it might well represent a property that makes money for you later.

There are other ways to break the iron triangle that I haven't mentioned here. The truth is, no one knows anything. Every film's path to market is different because film productions are custom built every time.

Rather than seeing the Iron Triangle as a barrier to getting your film produced, see it as a door you can cut using a variety of tools. The truth is that a motivated, dedicated, high spirited filmmaker is an unstoppable force.

^{* You can find out more about my film at www.nobetterfriendmovie.com. My iron triangle is well underway, and i have budgets, shooting schedules and locations in the works. If you have questions about my project, please email me at info@nobetterfriendmovie.com.}