[Reported on June 25, 1998 by Jerry Witt]

 

Well, two steps forward, one step back.

Both of the companies I mentioned in the prior post have passed on our project. One company dropped out rather early. They really loved the script but their production slate was full. They wouldn't be able to become involved with the project at all this year.

Talks with the second company went much further. I had several conversations with the Development person. Again, the script was very well received. At one point this development person stated that the material was better than what they were accustomed to working with. She assured me that they were open to first time filmmakers. Talks progressed and David and I set up a meeting with her, the president of the company, and the V.P. of Production.

We were also told that they typically produce films in the two to four-million dollar range. We were impressed. A budget like that would make our dream cast a reality. But with that price tag came a certain amount of risk. How much ownership of the project would we give up? As talks progressed it became clear that they would take over ownership of the film. Any money we would make would have to be in up-front fees. Still, this would get our first film made.

Prior to the meeting David and I made the decision that we would be willing to forego ownership of the project, but we would want some small token points in the project. More importantly, we decided, we wanted to retain the roles of Producer and Director on the film. Let the company install a Line Producer they were comfortable with, let them take the Executive Producer credit, but we wanted to retain creative control over the project. Having them option the script outright was also out of the question.

We guessed that they might be leery of our lack of experience in narrative films. David and I took the preemptive measure of shooting a short scene on DV to show we the business end of a camera. [I'll post more on the making of this scene next week.]

The meeting started off pleasantly enough. But the president of the company stressed that the way they usually work is that they option a script and produce it themselves. We explained that we intended to produce this film and were looking for another company to help with the finances and arrange distribution. The question was asked if we were willing to bring on a more experienced director or a different producer. I said, "We want to retain the roles of writer, producer and director on Double Down. We are open to installing whoever else you feel is necessary to protect your interests."

The president of the company stated flatly, "I don't see how we can work together, then." He went on to explain how he viewed our lack of experience as a major problem. The fact that we had produced hundreds of video productions didn't seem to impact him. He related how they had a project in production at that very moment in which a well known Hollywood star was "walking all over the first-time director. If I had a first time director and producer combination, the project would be doomed."

So depending on how one looks at it, our deal with this company fell through due to a.) our lack of experience; b.) external circumstances beyond our control; or c.) our determination to do it our way.

In the days that followed (this happened two weeks ago) David and I have been a little down. It's difficult having your project inflate before your eyes, only to have it crash in front of you.