Bankroll. Tom Malloy

      The reason we moved forward was because we had a major investment group in New York interested in funding the film. In fact, they committed verbally several times, and were one step away from committing on paper.

      The problem was, being the star of the film, I could not focus even the tiniest bit of my efforts on raising money once the production started, or it would be seen all over my performance. I believe this is 100% necessary if you are an actor in your project. You cannot produce and act at the same time. It’s just too much. I’ve heard of actors succeeding as they directed themselves (Clint Eastwood is a great example), but being a producer on set and starring in the movie is a recipe for disaster.

      So I gave over the financing reins to Robert Royston and his sister-in-law, Melissa McDonald, along with her business partner, Beth Fisher. They all worked together raising money for the film. They were green, but they were effective because they were motivated. They learned the ropes quickly.

      We hired Sylvia Caminer, a New York indie producer, to work as the nuts-and-bolts, experienced producer on set.

      I don’t know exactly what went on during production because, for better or for worse, I was kept out of it. Eventually, I believe, the New York group committed in writing, but the money never dropped. We got to a situation where we were almost done shooting, and our funds had run out. In the meantime, however, the team of Robert, Melissa, and Beth had raised somewhere in the realm of $1 million, which kept us going. We still needed that extra $2 million or so to finish, and we found out after shooting that we weren’t getting it.

      I returned home to Los Angeles, and the “crack high” of production ended instantly. We were faced with past due bills, vendors and crew that needed to be paid, and no money in our account. All the credit cards were maxxed out, and we were stuck.

      Three lessons here:

      ‹› Never hand over the reins entirely. In fact, I got some flack from this during production when I found out my producing partner thought I wasn’t doing enough. He took full credit for bringing the New York group, which leads me to my next lesson….

      ‹› Never take credit for bringing anyone or anything to the table until they have closed. I’ve actually seen this happen on several occasions, and each time it has blown up in the person’s face.

      ‹› You can’t sue anybody. What were we supposed to do when the New York group backed out? Sue them? They were a billion-dollar entity… we were broke. And say we did have the money to sue, what then? We would have ended up in a three-year lawsuit and the film would have crumbled and fallen long before then. Unfortunately, that’s why filmmakers are such easy targets for scam artists. Scammers know that filmmakers are desperate, and they also know they won’t sue.

      We had shot the film in New Mexico, and when we were late paying people, they started getting really pissed. The most anger came from unpaid extras who were due something like $120. They thought we (as producers) were keeping the money hidden somewhere, or maybe spending it on luxury items. I racked up over $60,000 in credit card debt trying to live (the film owed me over $50,000 and it took eleven months to see that), and Robert actually got his electricity turned off in his house at one point.

      Eventually, through some networking connections, I was introduced to Michael Roban, a great guy who runs Cold Fusion Media. Thankfully, Rob Iscove had started to cut the film for free with a great editor named Casey Rohrs. They had put together a “dog and pony show,” and I showed that to Michael and his investors. I’m skipping over the running around, the sweating, and the endless happy pitches I gave so I can get to this: Cold Fusion came in, paid off the debt and saved the film. This wasn’t a straight investment, however. It was “finishing funds,” which I will explain in Chapter 14: The Structured Approach.

      It still took us months and months to get everything straightened out. I can’t tell you how many people threatened to sue Robert and me. If any cases against us had moved forward, the project would have simply collapsed, because we had $0. You can’t get blood from a stone. Throughout it all, Robert and I had only the best intentions, and why would we not? I knew I had the lead role, and that this could be a huge hit for me. As for Robert, his choreography would be on display for the whole film, and he’s the producer.

      When we finally screened the film in March 2008, we were ready for the hell ride to end. We’d find out soon enough, the road was just beginning to get bumpy. Basically, the film was very well received, and tons of video offers came in. We wanted a theatrical release. Two small theatrical offers came in, but they were nothing to write home about.

      We soon realized that we needed to raise the P&A (prints and advertising) money ourselves and get the film into theaters. We went to our sales agents and said, “Go back to the distributors who are interested and ask them what they would do if we were bringing $3 million to the table.”

      Again, a classic example of “He who has the gold makes the rules.” Distributors were suddenly all over us to help with the theatrical release for Love N’ Dancing. We eventually chose a great group called Screen Media Films. Universal Home Video would be doing the video release.

      Sounds simple, right? Wrong! We now needed $3 million! On top of that, we needed to pay off Cold Fusion’s loan and a few other bridge loans, so we had to get our hands on nearly $5 million to get out of debt and release the film.

      The fiascos that took place could merit their own book. Robert, Andy Goldstein (one of our executive producers), and I were at work fulltime for over six months trying to find an investor or lender to cover this gap. With our film growing older and everyone pushed to the edge, we finally accomplished our seemingly impossible goal. (This story is conveyed in Chapter 16: Getting It Done.) Robert and I continually joke about how good the book on Love N’ Dancing will be, and I think we’re holding off because the final act has not been written. I really hope the film is a success, because then it will all be worth it. But the gray hairs, the mental stress, and the internal damage done to us will always linger. Still want to be a film producer?

       Status of the Market

      Things have changed. Yes, the market for independent films is not that good right now, which will make it tougher for you to raise money. Don’t fret, though. If you follow the methods in this book, I still believe you can get it done. The main thing I’m seeing from all investors (due to the faltering economy) is that they are all risk averse. You can counter that predisposition with formulas, utilizing tax rebates and tax write-offs, as well as foreign sales, which help or eliminate risk for investors. You’ll find an in-depth discussion of this topic in Chapter 14: The Structured Approach.

      Many great films are not getting distribution. No distributor wants to take the risk anymore. They are scared to put $20 million in P&A behind a film. Risk aversion has all but destroyed the market for indies. Years ago, you could make a great film (which is a feat in itself), then take it to a major festival, get a big money pickup, and see that film released into theaters. That’s not happening anymore. The films that cost $8 million are being picked up for under $1 million (if they’re lucky). It’s very tough to make money on films that cost over $5 million unless you have a major star who can sell your project, and that list of potential candidates is getting smaller and smaller. Obviously, it’s very tough to get a true major star behind your project. The most recent Demi Moore-Michael Caine movie went straight to video. She used to be one of the biggest stars in the world. Does that tell you something?

      Years ago, a commercial film like Love N’ Dancing would have been a layup to sell. In today’s climate, we had to find a way to do it ourselves.

       The Future

      The future is uncertain. The Internet will be a force, but no one seems to be able to predict how it will be used, and very few (or none) seem to be able to find the formula to make money off of it.

      But selling is not your top priority, though it is important. If you make money for your investors, you’ll be able to line them up and get them to participate in future projects.