Making Offers...

FROM JULY 2007...

I spent this weekend on research, looking into advice on how to best make ‘offers’ to actors. What that really means is how to attach an actor to your project by making them a financial offer in writing. It’s one of those classic Catch-22 situations. Nobody will finance your project without actors attached and you catch attach actors without making offers - which takes money. It’s a hard lesson to learn and a tough thing to get around. If you happen to know Tom Cruise and you can get him to read your script - then you’re in great shape - but for the rest of us, it means using our personal connections to deal with the talent directly. Simply put, the best way around all this, is to work with actors you know personally. Okay, so they might not be the most famous people in the world - but if they know you, they might read your script. Getting your material read is key to putting a project together and attaching actors.

Talking of reading, my research took me to a number of books that were helpful. In reverse order you might want to find copies of…

“From Reel to Deal: Everything You Need to Create a Successful Independent Film” by Dov S-S Simens.
This is basically Dov Simens ‘three-day film school’ as a book. It takes you through everything from putting a script together to finding finance, your director and actually shooting. It is a good book, but doesn’t totally take into acount the politics of indie film or the Agents/Managers you will probably have to interact with.

“Independent Feature Film Production : A Complete Guide from Concept Through Distribution” by Gregory Goodell.
A more sophisticated take on production than the Simens book. The sections on finance and distribution are extremely smart and direct you around various hidden pitfalls. Numerous industry professionals have told me that this book was invaluable to them.

Rebel Without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player’ by Robert Rodriguez.
From screenwriter/director Robert Rodriguez this volume is both entertaining and literally crammed full of insider secrets. You will find strategies and methods that are intelligent and in some cases marvellously devious. Regardless of whether you will deploy what Rodriguez suggests - certainly a great book and worth a look.