Executive Summary, Investor next steps

First of all let me say that there is a lot of talking when your seeking money. A lot of the meetings are really about getting other meetings. Eventually if you have done a good job, and investors like the concept and the elements your presenting in a big picture sense. Then people will want to actually get down to work. 

This of course means proving everything you have been saying. Sometimes this is a VETT like in politics, fact checking, and seeing who everyone actually is. People's resume and background. Checking to see if your director has actually directed, the Producers who are saying they are attached are actually attached. So on and so forth until there are no questions left unanswered. 

One of the big steps in the VETT process is giving the investors information that they request. A summary of what the deal is. This is something you should have ready to go at meeting one. It should be ready at any point. If the deal changes or an element changes be honest with the investor and give them the new information in the same format. No more than two pages with breakdowns that are simple enough for someone to read but have as much relevant information as possible. It's a process, the first one I did went through a dozen revisions before it was ready. The most recent one still is evolving but we have a format that works for us. 

As always this is subject to every the situation and the details. 

Good luck, and your always 2 meeting away from the money. So stay calm. 

Emilia Clark is going to destroy Game of Thrones...or somebody else is...

Not on purpose, no but virtue of how Hollywood works and how much everything costs. At least that is one of the better options.

So here it goes, this is not the glorious praise that has been heaped upon the show this last season. With reports showing the greatest market share of viewers of any season.

The reality is, in terms of how television is measured in terms of success this is an overwhelming success. Over 8 million average viewers per episode, fantastic numbers every single episode, the lowest rated episode in season 5 was still higher in terms of viewership than any episode in the first two season and most of the episodes in season 3.

The critics also seemed to love the season as a whole.

Game of Thrones: Critical reception by episode

• Season 5 (2015): Percentage of positive reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes^[58]

Again a dip at season 6 but overall they are almost 100% satisfied with the show.

I agree with all of this, I loved the show. I would sit in my chair turn off my phone and do nothing else eat a good meal and drink Krakken Black Rum and Dr. Pepper. This was my ritual, no parents, no roomates, no girlfriend or job could detour me on Sunday night. 

Until Season 5. 

A little bit of back ground before I get into the why I am worried about what I am worried about. I have worked in and around major film and television shows in both LA and Chicago since 2005. So 10 years. No I am not the biggest name in the business or am a foremost expert above all others. That said, when certain things stand out to me on a show, that I have been in love with. I pay attention, I have to. If I am working a show and the previous season was garbage I know that the second season needs to do things differently or I won't have a job in the third season. 

Game of Thrones Season #5: List of Red flags and concerns about the turn the show is taking. Yes, I know that compared to the books there is a litany of things that are not lined up. The issue now, is that this is having an exponential affect on the show...more on that later. 

Red Flag #1: Emilia Clarke is going to kill the series....

Because she: refuses to get naked anymore. No, I don't care for the reason you think...she is dictating terms creatively now. In the final scene of Episode 509 the dragon is supposed to burn off her clothes. When it does this it also burns the people in the arena killing some of her companions and metaphorically burning away Emilila's current life and responsibility, ties to the current world(paradigm) etc. 

1a. She has a no nudity clause in her contract. Which means the writers/producers had to rework that entire scene from the book no matter what to work around her contract. Of course she didn't always have this clause it only happened after the popularity of the show went up after season one and she got to renegotiate her contract the people at CAA know their craft. Which is fine, except that now not only does the price of the show go up, but everyone else will want to change their contracts as well. That's not to say that there are not other reasons they rewrote that, but before they even begin that is a consideration. Nudity, is about a state of vulnerability, and it creates instant sympathy and identity at some visceral level with the audience. This, is now gone, unless she changers her mind. This amazing character, who is unafraid to be shown, is now playing princess...and it's lost something. 

 1b. This whole season, her character had the least amount of dynamic change in terms situation. She is the queen with a stable relationship and unruly subjects (yawn). The Kalesie version of Danni would have killed the troublemakers without question. Her decision to hesitate and listen to the people around her almost had no real conflict or substance. It just was sub par. No, not a bad performance, or bad direction. Writing was even ok. But it was not at previous levels of GOT. 

1c. The character did not live up to any of the previous seasons in any respect. 

1d. This is kind of attached to point 1a. Emilia Clark is not getting paid on season #5 what she was making on season #1. If her agents are worth anything they are saying, "Look at her pull to the show, the people naming there kids after her...." and then getting her more money. Which makes the other actors on the show(their agents) do the same. This is all expected and deserved. The question is, is the budget of each season increasing to match what the actors are asking for (Mr. Richard Pleppler, let's not pull a Breaking Bad) and for what the show demands creatively? It maybe this that is responsible for the problems in Episode 509 and 510. 

I would like to not that Lena Headley performed her nude scene(first one in this show) amazingly, with no words conveyed volumes. Emilia Clark had some opportunities to do the same in terms of what her character had to do, and was 50/50. Which is rare for her, she is a very good actress. 

So maybe it's not totally Emilia's fault. I will concede that, that maybe this is a bigger problem. Maybe it goes deeper. This season for her had some red flags, concerns that show that something is happening and that special (grit factor, real factor) on the show has slipped just a little, at the best. 

Red Flag #2: Story, story, story

This season has the greatest despairity between people that should be dead/or doing (in the books) that are still alive.

It also takes the largest creative licence with the GOT universe in general. 

2a. The people that are staying that should be out of the story because they are popular. Danairis Targerian (she gets picked up by the dragon and sits on an island and is lost.)

REEK- he's dead guys, he doesn't help Sansa. Kind of a producing for content choice. 

In fact the girl that is raped by Ramsey is a double for Sansa in the books, placed by Lord Balish as a ruse. Her rape scene was a gimmic, a risk, and the ratings showed what people thought of that. People reacted more negatively in ratings to that than the "Red Wedding".  

Breeann of Tarth, is also very dead along with her squire making her Lady Stonehart seems like a mistake.

These are all major deaths, and these big characters now have to have new reasons to exist and have to stay relevant which means interactions with other main characters that are not apart of the original story. 

2b. The mountain is not a white walker in gold armor. He is more like a Ring Wraith in Pure white Armor which would be cheaper to do and waaaaaaay cooler.  Katelyn Stark comes back from the dead, as a kind of White walker with a purpose, so no, not a cheap zombie. Much more like a Lych Queen. They got rid of that, after nobody in the target demographics of this show knows about Lych Kings or Queens...(nobody plays World of Warcraft...nobody at all).

2c. The Dragons....really, she randomly makes a huge jump with them and locking them up is waaaaaaay too extreme that fast. 

2d. The Dragon at the end of 509, possibly the most anticlimactic moment in the show....he's hurt by spears!?!?! These are the creatures that will turn the tide of any war???? "She has dragons...." the army decimating #1 reason everyone is scared of the phrase "mother of dragons".  

The biggest one of these beasts, which is almost killed by a bunch of angry rich people in robes lobbing spears. It's basically a whiny VW with teeth and an exhaust problem...it should have been the USS Ronald Reagan. A perfect machine of war...

 It's the size of a griffon. Keep in mind, the movie "Dragonheart" which did terribly in theaters had a dragon that would kill all three of her dragons single handed, oh and did take on a castle and win in that movie. This is important because this dragon in Dragonheart is only 3x times bigger, not as big as Smaug, who is probably 10x bigger (approximately). 

20 people almost killed this thing, and in the book it's bigger than the arena. So we have Smaug who's wings are a "Hurricane" and killed and entire people, and then two more cities for kicks. Then Drogon the dragon (yes the name is super stupid, sorry George) who can't defend it's self against the no "wind lance" having, stick-throwing-gold-shower-people. 

2e. Danariys is now reconnected with the mighty horse people.....not in any book....RED FLAG CENTRAL

Red Flag #3: This is more about a fear than anything I can prove. If this is happening it may not really have consequences until season #7. This is because Season #6 is already shot and the mistakes have already been made so it may be gradual because they shot it the same time as Season#5. 

3a. George R. R. Martin does not have the time he requires as a novelist to write and re-write his novels because of the press, and being involved with the shows. This last book has been joked about in terms of it's completion a lot, and for more than a couple years. He probably wrote notes and outlines for he first five or six seasons and had a rough idea of how he would do things in season #7. Now it's upon us and he may only have another year to write it. 

If you have ever tried to write a high fantasy fiction novel with this level of complexity then you know that time is definatley the commodity you need, besides air that is. 

3b. Producers are changing up how loose ends are sown up using Hollywood stand bys in terms of character instead of doing what is right for the character and the GOT universe in general, a bad case of blurred lines. 

Conclusions:

I love this show, still, this is fear talking. The greatest single Fantasy story on the screen besides the one that started it Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit. (Sorry Tom Cruise Legend doesn't count.)

Please let Danni find her balls and feed that baby dragon so it can actually be a size that makes sense. 

Please let Emilia be encouraged by Lena and get honest and naked again. The mountain looks ridiculous, Bree cannot be Lady stone heart. 

Dealing with High Finance Investors, some basic rules.

No you don't really have to do any of that, but if you stay with it. You will have to know a bunch of what the people who do those jobs talk about. At least if you walk this long walk. Some folks have other in's and others just want to do indie projects and then sell them to studio's to distribute or not.

I, am in this for the prize. The big 2500+ theater domestic box office release.

That kind of thing is the hardest to do, the most intimidating and the biggest challenge. Most indie people try it once or twice in a ten year chunk and then stick to the, safer but doable, but still hard "make it then sell" model. For me, and this is not necessarily slamming anybody it's me being honest about my own intent. For me, I have to know how to and be able to execute a film into theaters. I must get a film from thought to theaters globally. Indie is great, but it's just not enough. When I see a great film, I want everyone to see it and have a chance to watch it.

 That said:
"Fish Tank" is great indie film. People who love film should watch it. I love it, but I have seen Guardians of the Galaxy way more times then Fish Tank. I can relate to the characters struggle in Fish Tank a ton more than going into space and fighting intergalactic titans...but the second one is a way better escape.

All of the following is for above $3M closer to $10M dollar film
Money People:  Usually know nothing about investing in film. They get excited, then they get intimidated buy the dollar amount and THEY DO NOT CALL YOU BACK TO SAY NO...they just all the sudden get busy in a strange way that becomes a "soft pass" and usually wastes 1 to 2 weeks of you time.

I realize some of this is a repeat of an earlier post, that's ok, this is how much this stuff happens.

If your asking for these high dollar amounts you should have some sort of investment vehicle to protect and grow the money while your not actually using it in addition to making a smaller amount get to an amount you need while your in development(ideally).

How do I do that? You fairly ask, and the answer is. Associate with high finance people, take classes about financial products, but your banker, use google. Start watching the finance channels even if you don't understand most of it. Start to pay attention and begin to wire your mind to consider how big money really moves.

My dad told me a secret about teaching yourself stuff that I have never forgot an it has worked for me. He had many year of a subscription to Car and Driver magazine and it would always be laying around the house and bathroom. You read them and you learn car stuff. Dad read them cover to cover, all the time. Asked mechanic, gear head friends of his before doing anything(playing dumb so they talk more) and then trying to apply the knowledge. Testing it out on things that made sense, like a junker that he was fixing to sell.

Same idea here, how does money work? Who knows the answer to that? Where do they hang out?

((Most important question))  How can I get into a position to ask questions that will get real answers?

Entertainment attorneys often are connected to a myriad of these things so it's a good place to start, be warned they don't usually give up the info unless your a client.

Here are some basic rules when dealing with these money folks, they seem to all have the same set of rules they operate on.

1st Rule of High Finance: "Play your cards close to your vest".
Just like anything, get the relationship first with the person then ask the questions that get real answers.
There are many many investment vehicles(products) that can work for film finance people just don't talk about them to non-industry people. Just like car mechanics don't normally tell the lady coming in for an oil change how adjustments in timing can effect your overall horsepower. Certainly not in detail.

So sometimes its for practical reasons they don't talk plainly about the products, other times they are just a paranoid group of folks. You will learn as I did, that every, single high finance person has been ripped off in there business. Just like the film industry, people steal, and take advantage of what the other guy doesn't know.

2nd Rule of High Finance: "Find the part they are leaving out."
If you think film people exaggerate, inflate, or overstate things Wallstreet has Hollywood beat.
Spend the day with a broker, trader, filling agent, or even the clerks for investment firms.
Strategy NOTE:
These guys have made an entire culture out of being 14 still. Most of these people are white, male, English speaking in their 40's+. Don't misjudge the exterior, the quickest way to piss these guys off is to threaten the reputation of their intelligence. Especially about their knowledge with money. So any threat to their ego can be an interesting dance. The next generation of these finance folks are starting to make headway with women and ethnic minorities fighting the good fight all around. If your talking to one of those minorities in the financial world they for sure have stories about the all white boys clubs from when they got started, and even today.

The part everybody leaves out of there financial product is where the risk is. They may have to say it for SEC regulation reasons, but they usually don't get into details unless you ask. So ask if they have answers that don't makes sense or they skirt the question it's a yellow flag, come back to it later. If they refuse to answer it it's a red flag. Remember business is a two way street, you have to be in business with someone you can do business with. If you guys can't talk plainly in the pitch meeting and have a good honest dialog, it will only get worse later.

#1 Rule for you, if you don't understand something in a financial product and your there pitching ASK!!!!

Don't worry about everybody else in the room, they probably had the same question.

#2 Rule for you, Your appearance is the 1st half of the pitch kit!!! 

If you can wear a suit. If you can't dress nice. Most importantly, what every your wearing, it should be clean and ironed. That said, knowing what your talking about is more important than what kind of shirt your wearing. I have an associate who has pitched and closed multi-million dollar investments in his shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. He says a suit can sometimes make you look too desperate.

#3 Rule for you, Judge the type of meeting!!

If it's the first time your meeting face to face and your at a bar or restaurant, no suit unless you wear one as a part of your regular day.

If it's at an office of any kind wear at least a polo and nice shoes, clean slacks. If Lawyers are in the room and your signing anything that comes with a check, a suit makes it look good for the picture your gonna take.
If your a director producer you can get away with no suit. Producer Producer, get used to wearing nice clothes.

#4 Rule for you, ALWAYS BE EARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If your a producer on a film asking anybody for money, you had better be the first jamoke there. If your early it counts for your group, if your late, you instantly sink the groups entire business credibility, even if the investor is 5 minutes late, if your 6 minutes late it can be devastating. Yes there are exceptions to every rule, but do you really want to bank on that for getting a project funded?! Not worth it, leave early, on time is already late.

Wednesday is the new official post day.

Wednesday, tomorrow will be the official day for the posting of the weekly update on this blog.
This week it's going to be a review, critique concern about Game Of Thrones. It's a different take on it, not so much just hating Season#5 but really concerned about some things that are definite "Red Flags" for the series as a whole.  

So this is an update on that, and I will add another post today that is about kind of what is going on producing wise for me right now. Again, this blog is about my journey through film as a producer. What works what doesn't and what this experience is all about from my perspective.

Best
~J

Entertainment Attorneys

Entertainment Attorneys,
THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS!!!

Remember this person works for the people that hired them, which may not be you. So know where the chain of purpose is. Why is this attorney talking to you and what is his/her agenda? This is not a defeat kind of thing, this is a mindset. The lawyer will back the project as long as he knows what side his bread is buttered on.

Another big point is to keep in mind that even if the attorney is the "Legal" in the line item on the budget they are going to act 100% in there best interest. Many people in the indie level write there own contracts or hire an attorney on a "pay you the line item out of the budget when we get money" agreement.

This of course means the attorney will ALWAYS have another agenda that is more important than your project, even if they are being paid something. Remember, it may be your passion project, but to them it's just another movie. It may seem like this is negative but it's really just basics in business that get forgotten because of the dynamic between the art of film and the business of film.

All of the above is true, and the attorney you hire can still do a great job of representing you and your project.

Everything is everywhere...

If any of you watch the show "Ballers" with Dwayne Johnson you know the phrase, "everything is everything".

Well right now everything is everywhere. This last year of dealing with this film that has consumed my life has really changed a lot of things, and is about to change the again.

The constant with the job I am doing (Executive Producing) is that we seem to get no where but "good things are happening". It is an experience that is filled with more duality then I had ever thought possible.

I have a Jr. Partnership in a company that I started with three other guys, I am the youngest person in the company but the one who created it. I have the most film experience but the least business compared to my partners who at one point all worked in High finance or dealt with many millions of dollars in jobs they had in the past.

The director of the show has more experience than me but I have to fight for him to stay attached to a project he created. We have multiple mulit-million dollar investment options that save guard a film investment and match fund investments. But we can't get enough to film this movie.

Get an actor and that gets you money.

Get money and that gets you an actor.

Get money and an actor and maybe you can get distribution.

These classic "cart before the horse" cycles of insanity that I am told are apart of the business are possible the most frustrating thing in the business besides dealing with investors.

Here is how an investor situation typically goes:

1.One of our guys gets a lead,
2. Then the lead person takes us to a lead who is the money. Typically the first lead is to a connecting person not a person who signs a check (this by the way can take weeks to figure out, be bold ask right away, otherwise you can waste weeks/months on this)
NEVER ASSUME THE LEAD IS THE MONEY!!!! Always find out ASAP who is actually going to drop the cash. What you find out is that there are lots of folks with money who are surrounded by people trying to sell there money for them that they don't know are doing that.
3. When we finally get to the actual money and actually pitch they say, "Great let me ________ this and well talk." (the blank is for the worlds ;"Digest, muddle over, think about, download, obsorb, etc")
4. Our guy who is contacts with the lead, plays phone tag with the lead about contacting the money and months fall off the calender.

Everything is everywhere, this means that at any moment one of these people we could work with could call us and change all our lives forever. Until then, we are nowhere, we have no money, the time table of not working to "work" on getting money has run out. It can no longer be a full time job.

It's all possible still, we have the attorneys we have the project, the talent, we even have the lights, it's just not the money...but we could.

Anyway, the cycle is starting again with another investor on Thursday, one of our partners comes back from China on Thursday so maybe this week something will happen that won't lead to another cycle of waiting and no real results.

No More Free work...

OK so I am sitting at a bar waiting for my Girlfriend to get out of her her final audition for the day and I get a call about doing a consult for a potential show.

The person asking is a personal friend that I have worked with for a number of years. He should know better...the consult is fairly simple. Go to a location almost in another state listen to somebody tell me about there great idea. They will make barbeque and use the food involved in the cooking show concept. Sounds great if your bullshitting on a super bowl weekend. The problem is I have to pay rent...and eat more often than when somebody gets an idea they want to pitch.

What really gets me is that these guys are in the business and didn't even bother to do basic shit. A single sheet of bullet points of the basic idea. I had to tell them this. It's unfortunately a part of film. People see stuff like "The Blair Witch Project" and think film is easy. People would pay a plummer grand to just look at their toilet yet complain about $300.00 on their Wedding video.

It's like telling someone that your an extra on Chicago Fire and they ask you to introduce them to Lady Gaga. Then finding out that person that asked you this works for NBC.

Free projects are great to learn on because the learning curve for producers is so intense. You'll get more out of co-producing one indie than a year of school. So much is in the doing. Although I will say anything by Dov S. Simmons is worth every penny.

So in conclusion... I am done selling myself for cheap. If you want this producers sexy brain you have to pay. No money( or equity) no love.