CIMS 285 Midterm
if Leo and Fincher, budget is
$55 M Sony not doing so well as a company JOBS would need to make $130 million at BO to hit all targets (with talent pool money) and achieve a 7% margin (and that was on a $33 M budget)
traditional business concerns:
IN WHAT OTHER BUSINESS IS A SINGLE PRODUCT FULLY CREATED AT AN INVESTMENT OF TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WITH NO REAL ASSURANCE THAT THE PUBLIC WILL BUY IT ?
Little Miss Sunshine: stakes
INTERNAL: RICHARD, THE PROTAGONIST, NEEDS TO WIN ACCORDING TO SCHWARZENEGGER'S DEFINITION OF WINNNERS AND LOSERS. EXTERNAL: OLIVE, HIS 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, IS IN A BEAUTY PAGEANT. PHILOSOPHICAL COLLISION OF INTERNAL V EXTERNAL: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO (REALLY) WIN?
art concerns
IS THE STORY GOOD? WHO KNOWS? NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING? INTUITION & CREATIVITY
producer-generated financing
International Pre-Sales Independent Financing Entities Angel Investors (LLC) Crowd-sourcing: Kickstarter/Indiegogo DIY Changing all the time
breakdown page software
Movie Magic Integrated software
enough about business, what about art?
The screenplay is "the holy grail" - Doug Liman ^ director (Mr. and Mrs. Smith... produced and developed The OC, Covert Affairs)
producer does
anything that gets the movie made some examples.... Securing necessary rights for development and production of the material. Selecting the screenwriter. Securing the initial financing (e.g. studio or independent funding, license fees, loans) Selecting the unit production manager. (top below the line staff position, handling admin) Preparing the preliminary budget.
enter WME person...
ari emmanuel this offer is shit! give us the movie back!
two or more studios financing
bind together split distribution over territories (mitigated risk)
movie magic scheduling
creates all production forms shooting schedules day out of days (actors) - chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member budgeting links
film timeline
development pre-production and money (finding it, using it) production (hiring line producer) to... post-production to... marketing to... distribution & everything else
line producer responsibilities
hire (and fire) crew oversee spending set up shooting schedule run production
The pitch: what to ask yourself
inciting incident? central conflict? protagonist character arc? visual image that SHOWS not tells the transformation? how do we want people to feel when they leave the theater? ... think of comparable movies... make pitch like the story in its moments
ancillary (additional) concern if you wrote/created idea
intellectual property theft
current business concerns
internet streaming collapsing theatrical windows "television programming" impatient consumers piracy
key first hire
line producer name comes from idea that they are hired to budget the film as job continues throughout production, until post-production supervisor takes over
deal memos
main cast director writers online: "form that provides protection between the production company (or financier) and crew."
what do you want in a pitch
money support distribution a YES
gross v. net
more to this?
internal stakes
movie propelled by emotional need of protagonist
Once you've decided on a cinematic idea
need to own the RIGHTS to the idea in order to DEVELOP it into a Pitch / Treatment / Script
lawyer roles
negotiates details fo deals - compensation - credit - profit participation - perks - right and refusals
sony says
only way to get net neutral is to have 100% financed and backstopped release in 2016 can plan better or release in 2015 but only as distribution / backstop deal
difference between option and purchase
option: - less upfront money (to be deducted against eventual purchase price) - renewable according to set terms - set time limit - rights typically revert to owners ___________________________ purchase: - price negotiated either at the time of the option, or "in good faith" upon purchase by studio/financier - higher amount - ownership shifts to studio / financier / producer, until public domain also note: often linked to budget of film , may have additional compensation for awards
What about getting the rights to something you did not create or do not own?
optioning / buying rights
public domain
public domain works are not restricted by copyright and do not require a license or free to use they allow any user unrestricted access to the material - in general, anything written prior to 1923 is in the public domain -- currently, default term is life of author plus 70 years (so copyrighted works made from 1970s to present may not become public domain during my lifetime) - works published after 1977 will not fall into public domain until 70 years after death of author, or, for corporate/anonymous works, 95 years from date of publication or 120 years from date of creation, whichever expires first
agents
regulated by State overview of agency set fees based on percentage of talent's fee (10%) can't be producer larger client list (than managers) APA Gersh WME Verve CAA UTA
all good stories have
stakes - michael arndt ^ screenwriter. Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Toy Story 3(2010), and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) types: internal, external, philosophical
above the line
story writer producer director cast (usually just stars) ATL travel and living, including fringes
finding the money
studio (w/ or w/o distribution deal) negative pick up deal international pre-sales independent financing entities angel investors (LLC) Crowd-sourcing: Kickstarter/Indiegogo DIY
Examples of movies we get behind because of setup
that is, because we think the protagonists have some kind of heart, good or bad
vesting contingent compensation
vesting means to give right - so right to future profit participation???
step one of movie making
what makes an idea a movie? how to make that idea a movie?
rights (intellectual property rights)
"IF IT IS NOT MY OWN ORIGINAL IDEA, I NEED TO OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE STORY. IF I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO MY STORY, I WILL (POTENTIALLY) BE THE DEFENDANT IN A HUMONGOUS LAWSUIT WHERE I WILL LOSE MY JOB, MY REPUTATION, MY SAVINGS AND MY DOG."
Storytelling is...
"STORYTELLING IS JOKE TELLING. IT'S KNOWING YOUR PUNCHLINE - YOUR ENDING - KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING YOU'RE SAYING, FROM THE FIRST SENTENCE TO THE LAST, IS LEADING TO A SINGULAR GOAL, AND IDEALLY CONFIRMING SOME TRUTH THAT DEEPENS OUR UNDERSTANDINGS OF WHO WE ARE AS HUMAN BEINGS." (ALSO STANTON) Andrew Stanton - director finding nemo, toy story 4, wall-e.....
Rudin has a _____________ deal with Sony what does this mean?
1. company (Rudin) must pitch any potential creative project to studio/financier (Sony) before going elsewhere In return, some kind of compensation If Sony said "no", then Rudin could go elsewhere or produce it himself 2. From the outset, this was seen as a follow-up to the social network, with same organizational structure: -Sony -Rudin (producer) -Sorkin (writer) -Fincher (director)
The Three Act Structure
1. create world (setup) 2. make a decision (plot point) 3. confront obstacles (conflict) 4. make another decision (plot point) 5. did protagonist get what they wanted? (resolution)
types of studio financing
1. one studio 2. two or more studios 3. negative pickup
reason jobs didn't work
A."Steve Jobs" was too brainy, too cold and too expensive to make it a success. Moreover, Michael Fassbender, the electrifying Irish actor who replaced Bale as Jobs, lacks the drawing power to open the picture. B.NOT The Social Network. TSN was released when FB was becoming ubiquitous. Zuckerberg remained largely unknown to the general public. The story of the social media platform's litigious origins had the shock of NEW. C.Steve Jobs is many things, but he is not an unknown commodity. D.Fassbender's casting may have been disastrous from a commercial standpoint. Research showed that interest in SJ dipped after Fassbender was cast. DiCaprio or RDJ may have helped. E.Market is especially crowded. F.Jobs's persona, particularly the issue about acknowledging paternity of his daughter. G.In sum - a brilliant film and a bad bet. A project it hurts not to greenlight and a picture that it pays to put in turnaround.
"I FEEL LIKE I JUST GAVE AWAY A SEMINAL MOVIE LIKE CITIZEN KANE..."
Amy Pascal, head of Sony Pictures about Steve Jobs
in the end
Amy and Sony bail Universal pays Sony 30 M in turnaround costs universal and rudin make movie in early 2015 big flop - pulled from more than 2,000 theaters after just five weeks earned 16.7 M in box office (apple makes that in 38 minutes) 54.3 million - apple revenue for running time of film went wide too soon
Logline for Saving Mr. Banks
Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
Line producer vs. unit production manager
BASICALLY NOTHING! sometimes the same person line producers - create budget, responsible for keeping to budget hire key crew ________________________ unit production manager - executes plan and reports to line producer, dealing with daily approval of timecards, reviewing production reports, and approving call sheets ____________________________________ More: Line Producers create a budget (usually several budgets) for a production - then are responsible for keeping to the budget during production. Line Producers are 'on the line' or 'responsible for each line' of the budget. They are involved with all aspects of the production and are directly in contact with the rest of the crew and the producers above. Line Producers typically hire the key crew (alongside the director and producers) like the Director of Photography and Production Designer and oversee the hiring and approve everyone else the UPM would like to bring onto the project. Unit Production Managers (UPM) on the other hand is the person who executes the plan and reports to the Line Producer. They are the person dealing with the daily approval of timecards, reviewing the production reports and approving call sheets.
watched clip from
Barton Fink directed by coen brothers SETUP: AN INTROVERTED BROADWAY PLAYWRIGHT IS LURED TO L.A. IN THE 1920'S TO WORK FOR ONE OF THE BIGGEST (AND NEWEST) STUDIOS IN HOLLYWOOD. HE HAS ONLY CARED ABOUT WRITING GREAT WORK (ART). NOW HE IS CONFRONTED WITH THE DEMANDS OF A FLEDGLING MARKET FOR ENTERTAINMENT...
intellectual property
Basically, IP is any creative expression of an idea that has been written down, and you would have some kind of legal right to it ___________________________ NOVELS, BIOGRAPHIES, AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, SPORTS EVENTS, PLAYS, MUSICALS, ESSAYS, SHORT STORIES, NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, BLOG POSTINGS, TWEETS, INDIVIDUAL LIVES, COMIC BOOKS, BOARD GAMES, HISTORIC EVENTS, MEMOIRS, WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF IN THE SHOWER THIS MORNING, THE IDEA YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS CAME UP WITH LAST NIGHT...
different guilds
PGA - Producers Guild of America SAG - Screen Actors Guild WGA - Writers Guild of America DGA - Directors Guild of America
common sentiment about agents vs. managers
agents get you job, magma get you career
what is it about a story that makes me think it will be a movie?
•PLOT? •CHARACTERS? •SETTING? •TIME PERIOD? •GENRE? •MY KIDS LIKED IT?
Amy Pascal on the hired writer
"There is no writer working in hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we're confident that the film will be everything that jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing."
Finding Nemo - the structure
*** complete this *** 1. setup - ocean Nemo and his overprotective dad, Marlin all set up in about 2 min because about family -barracuda dad's main concern - Nemo ___________________________ 2. conflicts - sharks -dory ___________________________ 3. resolution
more simply , the three act structure
1. put likable guy up a tree 2. throw rocks at him 3. get him down
Ona Judge 3 act plot
1. setup 2. conflict: she's going to be given away 3. resolution: lives freely, never caught
Ex Machina
3 act structure through characters
Packaging
???
contingencies i.e. (in other words) conditions precedent
Conditions precedent, in layman's terms, are the requirements that need to be satisfied in order for the company to be obligated to fulfill its side of the agreement. In most cases, the conditions precedent will more or less be along the following lines - paperwork and signed contract, basically
Enter ________________
Danny Boyle (director) (directed Slum dog millionaire)
Contract for actor
Fee: conditions precedent guaranteed compensation __________________________ - Bonuses for box office performance - percentage contigent compensation ___________________________ clauses for credit: acting credit... - on screen, paid ads, if artwork title is used
Script attachments: first step
Find Talent (capital "T") that wants to make the movie so you get more money/attention. Talent = Writers, Actor(s), Director (producers are rarely considered "Talent") Agents, Managers, Lawyers, Connections
further clarification on difference between unit production manager and line producer
For further clarification, the differences between a Unit Production Manager (UPM) and a Production Manager is nothing - except a little knowledge of Hollywood history. Back when studios had in house production departments, there was a production manager (today they are called production executives) and each project was completed by a 'unit' of crew and cast. Remember, the old studio system contracted talent (cast and crew) to work exclusively for the studio. These 'units' had their own Production Manager. As things evolved, these UPMs became freelance, but never lost the 'Unit' part of their title.
Who is hired next?
May 2012 Aaron Sorkin hired to write script (writer) (wrote social network, west wing) finished feb. 2014
above the line and below the line
On a budget... Above the line: W,A,D,P Below the line: everything else
unit production manager
Reporting to the film's producer, this person supervises the budget, hires the crew, approves purchase orders & time cards, and generally makes sure all departments are doing their respective jobs within the parameters of the budget.
deciding on a director
Rudin and Sorkin want Fincher Amy is skeptical that he can give film emotional depth Fincher seems to say yes. but then... Jolie emerges: she wants him to direct Cleopatra --> Pascal and Rudin get in fight over email - Rudin super pissed off... said cleo is dumb
most favored nations
Simply put, if your contract terms are granted on a most favored nations basis, then none of your fellow performers can have better contract terms than yours. An MFN contract is common on projects that employ a number of similarly situated actors, such as independent films or plays with ensemble casts or television series on which several cast members have approximately equal prominence. An MFN agreement can also be a mechanism to allow a highly paid actor to perform for a lower fee in a smaller production without damaging the actor's perceived economic value in the marketplace. The actor's representatives can reasonably argue that their client took a lower fee because he or she was passionate about the project and, because it was MFN, no other actor was paid more.
First _______________ options the book from ________________ and.....
Sony options the book from Isaacson 1. book published (10/24/11) 2. Sony 1 M against 3 M for Isaacson (10/7/11) (means that 1 M is option price and 3 M is purchase price) 3. Mark Gordon is producer (who has a deal with Management 360)
what actors wanted meanwhile.....
Sony wants Leo Sorkin wants Bale or Cruise meanwhile... the financing is fraught
First steps for producer
Source Material: 1. length of option and terms of renewal 2. compensation 3. credit
You have to start somewhere
YOU NEED A BEGINNING. AND YOU NEED A MIDDLE AND YOU NEED AN END. OR YOU NEED TO SET UP YOUR STORY AND INTRODUCE A CONFLICT. THEN YOU HAVE TO INTRODUCE OBSTACLES EXACERBATING THAT CONFLICT. THEN YOU HAVE TO RESOLVE THAT CONFLICT. OR YOU NEED THE BOY TO GET THE GIRL. THEN HE NEEDS TO LOSE THE GIRL. THEN HE NEEDS TO GET THE GIRL. OR YOU NEED TO INTRODUCE THE ORDINARY WORLD. THEN YOU NEED TO LEAVE THE ORDINARY WORLD AND FIND AN "ELIXIR." THEN YOU NEED TO COME BACK, FULLY EXTRAORDINARY BECAUSE OF YOUR HERO'S JOURNEY, TO THE ORDINARY WORLD.
option
a *contract* over intellectual property that gives the holder of the option an *exclusive right* to develop the material into motion picture/filmed entertainment over a *set period of time* and for a *set amount of compensation* included in the option is an amount of money paid as the *option price* as well as (usually) a pre-negotiated *purchase price* (or terms for the purchase price) for the creative material if the holder of the option decides to exercise his/her option put simply: contract exclusivity money time
pay or play
a guarantee, or informally a "pay-or-play" contract, is a term in a contract of an actor, director, or other participant that guarantees remuneration (money paid for work or service) if the participant is released from the contract without being responsible director might get this as a deal
After book optioned, what happens?
another producer comes on board: Scott Rudin (aka Voldemort) serious producer of high brow, high $ movies -- likes big books (PRODUCER OF NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE BOOK OF MORMON,LADYBIRD, FENCES, EX MACHINA, SILICON VALLEY, CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, MOONRISE KINGDOM, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, MONEYBALL, THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, TRUE GRIT, THE HOURS, SCHOOL OF ROCK, TWILIGHT, THE TRUMAN SHOW, CLUELESS, THE FILM, THE ADDAMS FAMILY...)
Netflix has stopped
backend participation (also called profit participation -- when you get portion of profit) In traditional model, % of profit for talent, but Netflix doesn't release so they give a flat amount and OVERPAY
what comes first? asking for money or knowing how it will be spent?
both -- budgeting is general at this point
one studio financing
buys from outset through distribution less creative control, more financial support (and guaranteed output usually)
bad times in 2014
christian bale drops out megan ellison drops out no co-financier in sight aaron corkin has no idea who michael fassbender is
what do you want after movie is produced
commercial success or critical success MANY FILM PROFESSIONALS SAY THAT IF YOU DON'T LOVE THE IDEA, ALL THE TIME & MONEY & EFFORT IS WASTED. REMEMBER THAT.
if you wrote/created the idea, ways to protect ownership?
copyright also: distinct voice relationships
per diem
daily living expenses during production
or co-financing
enter Megan Ellison
Movie landscape
everything changes, and everything is the same
fringe
health and pension benefits renegotiated union fees
What's the real issue?
money ---> Fincher wants too much $10 M standard fee, control over marketing and a $45 M budget. Film is three act play, shot almost all interiors. Rudin: You don't think $40M to shoot three scenes is enough? Do YOU want every control given to him, including the entire marketing campaign? This is the director who refused to put the girl with the dragon tattoo in the ads for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO." ---> By April 2014, Fincher deal is off the table.
external stakes
movie propelled by outside action ex: charlie bucket gets the golden ticket
managers
no government oversight of management companies fees can be anything (15% and profit participation) producer possibility generally, a smaller client list - looking at career Management 360 BGE Echo Lake Anonymous Content Mandeville Films Untitled
day out of days
plan for actors work schedule chart used by filmmakers to tally the number of paid days for each cast member
pre-production
planning phase of any project it is where we think about what we need to do , how we will do it, who will do it, and when it needs done by
screenplay becomes blueprint for __________________ and __________________ who does what
screenplay becomes blueprint for budget and planning line producer - will use the locked screenplay to make the budget, first goes through the process of breaking down the script assistant director - will later use/adapt this same breakdown department heads - will also do their own version of a breakdown for their own planning process
key phases of pre-production
script (ideally locked) budget business (set up financial entity and office) breakdowns (from a script to lists) key hires of crew StoryBoard Locations Casting Art Department begins work Insurance, secure permits, Legal elements Shooting schedule additional crew shot list tech scouts (recon)
making the story....
show character doing thing they love at the start need a flaw, comes out of that character's grand passion (it's taken too far) strike of lighting that takes away their passion want to seem like world is a bit unfair ... then they have high road and low road options feel pain so we want him to do the wrong thing
logline
this is a story about "a" who wants "b" and does/doesn't get it
scheduling overview
traditional strip board - little pieces of cardboard represent scene, organized by color for int/ext/time of day , includes all primary information primary information - scene #, set, actual location, actors, scene desc., # of pages, time of day, special notes put on BIG BOARD that they move around and can be reconfigured now movie magic does this
negative pickup
§a studio/financier agrees to guarantee payment of part or all of the "negative" cost of the film upon delivery of the negative provided certain pre-determined criteria is met. "Owning the negative" really means that the studio is purchasing some or all of the rights to distribute the film. No money is exchanged before the filming begins, although the producers can use the deal memo as collateral when they approach other financiers, including banks in order to finance the production.
negative pickup
•: a studio/financier agrees to guarantee payment of part or all of the "negative" cost of the film upon delivery of the negative provided certain pre-determined criteria is met. "Owning the negative" really means that the studio is purchasing some or all of the rights to distribute the film. No money is exchanged before the filming begins, although the producers can use the deal memo as collateral when they approach other financiers, including banks in order to finance the production. --> contract entered into by an independent producer and a movie studio conglomerate wherein the studio agrees to purchase the movie from the producer at a given date and for a fixed sum. maybe sony would treat Jobs as this
actor perks
•On set / location expenses, per diems, etc. •Hiring of specific crew members (hair, make-up, trainer, dialect coach, entourage, etc.) •Rights to approve all publicity, press, etc. •Creative decisions (ultimate is final cut for director) (Bruce Willis $1.5 million in perks)
