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Filmmaking resources for indie filmmakers, including, screenwriting, financing, producing and film distribution

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7 Lies Film Distributors Like to Tell Filmmakers

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Film distributors are great if they offer you a decent deal for your movie. And having spent the greater part of my career in distribution, I can tell you there are (still) many great film distributors out there, working to do the right thing.

The problem is, distribution also has a fair share of sleazy, fast talking hotshots more concerned with selling you the dream, versus actually promoting your movie. And as a result, many filmmakers give away their movie rights in exchange for false hope based on empty promises.

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7 Lies Film Distributors Like to Tell Filmmakers

In order to help you figure out if you’re talking to a great film distributor or a bad distributor, I am going to share 7 very common lies film distributors like to tell filmmakers. Utilize the following as a guide before you talk with film distributors. Having this knowledge will help you avoid common pitfalls.

1. “It is expensive to take your movie to market.”

Getting a movie into the digital marketplaces is not expensive. Unlike the days of DVD, there are no manufacturing, warehousing, shipping or physical retail costs. A distributor simply has to pay for encoding, closed captions and an errors and omissions policy. And most times, these costs are passed to directly the filmmaker. This model eliminates overhead and risk for the distributor.

2. “We are not an aggregator. We are a distributor.”

For those of you new to the concept, a movie aggregator is simply a volume distributor. These film distributors gobble up as many movies as they can and then throw them into the digital marketplace to see what sticks. And while it was once cost prohibitive for most indie film distributors to pick up more than a few movies per year, due to the inexpensive nature of digital, film distributors can now pick up dozens of movies per month!

Many filmmakers have wised up to how the “aggregation model” works. In response, and to increase the perceived value of the service, most aggregators now describe their volume business as distribution. (See how that works?)

3. “We can get you special placement on the platform!”

With a gazillion movies being delivered to popular platforms like iTunes, Amazon and Hulu (and others) each month, it is increasingly difficult for customers to discover new titles. So it behooves any distributor to ask the platform gatekeeper for special placement. While personal relationships certainly help, due to limited real estate, no distributor can guarantee special placement.

4. “We are direct with the platforms.”

While not a full-blown lie, touting a direct relationship with any platform can be misleading.  A direct relationship simply gives film distributors access to sales data and also, a point of contact. But having a direct deal does not necessarily guarantee the success of your movie.  And when it comes to actually delivering your movie to platforms, most film distributors utilize the same half-dozen approved delivery labs! Make sure you ask how the direct relationship will help you.

5. “We will market your movie.”

Outside of trying to get you special placement on the platforms, many film distributors will not market your movie. And while it’s true that some tout the wonders of their email list (we have 50,000 people on our list!), many of those people are other filmmakers – not necessarily your target audience.

Whenever a distributor talks about marketing your movie, make sure you find out exactly what they plan to do. A good distributor will disclose a P&A (prints and advertising) budget and explain exactly how promotional money will be spent. A shady distributor will not.

6. “Focus on making movies. Let us handle distribution!”

While this set it and forget it mentality may have worked back in the DVD days, those days are long gone. During the launch phase of your movie, a good distributor can help you make money. But sooner or later even the best film distributors need to focus on new projects.

Since your deal with the distributor will last for at least five years, you want to make sure you know what’s going to happen with your movie after the honeymoon. A good distributor will sell your movie over and over again to various outlets. A bad distributor will forget about your movie. In both scenarios, you will need to have an a promotional plan to assist film distributors for the long term.

7. “All of our filmmakers are happy with us.”

Really? Prove it. Good film distributors will happily put you in touch with their best clients. (After reaching out to the clients and getting permission first, obviously.) Bad film distributors will avoid putting you in touch with any past clients. In both instances, I highly recommend doing your own due diligence. As long as you’re professional, there is nothing wrong going on IMDB and telephoning past filmmaker clients on your own.

The thing to remember in all of this is, your ability to access popular marketplaces is not necessarily the problem. Through companies like Distribber, (where, in full disclosure, I do a lot of work) getting your movie seen and selling is easy. The real problem is getting enough people to buy your movie over the long term.

It is never too early to learn about distribution. If you’d like to start planning your distribution strategy I recommend accessing my film distribution training and learn everything you can.

Download The Modern MovieMaking Movement

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If you are looking for filmmaking information, make sure you download your free copy of the Modern Moviemaking Movement. In this guide, ten of Hollywood’s most innovative filmmakers provide insight on how to navigate the ever changing world of Independent filmmaking.

Topics covered in this book, include how to write your script, how to raise the money and also, how to implement modern movie distribution strategies.

Download The Modern MovieMaking Movement

modern moviemaking movement

Here’s an overview of what’s included in this FREE Filmmaking Book!

  • Uncover Successful, Modern Screenwriting Tips with Jurgen Wolff
  • Find Out How To Make the Most of Movie Money with Norman C. Berns
  • Discover Six Ways to Finance Your Feature Film with Gordon Firemark
  • Bankroll Your Movie with Tom Malloy
  • Get The Inside Scoop On Crowdfunding with Carole Dean
  • Plan Your Production For Maximum Success with Peter D. Marshall
  • Modern Guerrilla Filmmaking with Gary King
  • Navigate Film Festivals and Do Them Right with Sheri Candler
  • Sell Your Movie Without the Middle-Man with Jason Brubaker
  • Know The Producer of Marketing and Distribution and Utilize The New 50/50 with Jon Reiss

This filmmaking book is 100% FREE of charge. Enjoy!

[Download Here]

Seriously. Add this one to your collection of filmmaking books!

Movie Sales Agent Screw Up

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I can’t go into details. I won’t mention names. But as a filmmaker, it is emails like the one quoted below that make me go bonkers. I can’t believe something like this can happen… But it does:

“…I finally spoke to the (confidential television network) today and as it turns out the contract was never signed.  As you know without a signed contract we can’t argue anything. I’m sorry that I mislead you, but it was never my intent.”

Now before I go further, I want you to know that there are GOOD sales agents. And there are GOOD traditional distributors. But before you go into business with any middle-man, my advice for all filmmakers is to ALWAYS conduct your due diligence. And if later, you find yourself working with someone who supposedly makes a deal with a TV network – but forgets to get a contract signed (please note: we think this is very fishy), then at the very least – you should never work with that guy again.

It is not part of my character to bad mouth. I really, really want to. Because I’m pissed. But this is part of the business. It’s the part most people experience but try to forget. And as a loyal reader of Filmmaking Stuff, it’s probably better for both of us if I continually expose the good and the not-so good.

Feel free to comment. I like comments   >>

Sell Your Movie For Maximum Profit

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If you’re already a seasoned feature filmmaker, take a moment and think back: Do you remember when the idea of making movies seemed like a far away dream?

Do you remember when you first got the idea for your movie? Do you remember Your first day of production? Do you remember your first screening and how well everyone loved your work?

That happened to me with my first feature. Like you, I thought our movie would get into Sundance, play well, build buzz and if we were really lucky, we had hoped the movie would garner us a 3 picture deal. But that didn’t happen.

Sure, we got some offers, but they were not “deals.” (A deal actually pays money!)

So instead of exchanging our movie for an empty promise, we decided to try selling our movie on the internet. Little did I know, this one decision has changed the course of my movie making life. That was five years ago…

And since that time, the internet as evolved. If you’re a filmmaker with a movie, you need to get it selling in all the popular internet marketplaces, including Amazon and iTunes.

You don’t need a middle-man to make this profitable. I am going to show you my internet marketing secrets…

You can check out my “How To Sell Your Movie” system by visiting the website here.

How To Make A Living Filmmaking

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Logistic Center Amazon in Bad Hersfeld industr...
Filmmakers can sell their movies on Amazon. Image via Wikipedia

Recently a question posed by filmmaker Ben Rock over at Neptune Salad gave me a good reason to think about (and share) my filmmaking business philosophy in detail.

Here is the question: “Is there a way to make enough money on any kind of self-distribution that a filmmaker can repay investors and eek out a middle-class existence?”

I felt like this question required a detailed response. So for Ben and other folks with similar questions, I broke it into 2 parts. Here we go…

1. Can any form of Self Distribution make you enough money to repay investors?

This depends on two factors. How much investor money did you spend? And how much of your investor money do you have left to reach your targeted audience?

Getting money to fund independent movies has always been a challenge regardless of what technological innovations have taken shape. But the big difference now is more emotional than factual. These days, whenever filmmakers go out to shake the money tree, their confidence is considerably lower. I mean, in the past, you could at least present speculative opportunities to to prospective investors with a measure of excitement: “Look what happened with The Blair Witch Project! Paranormal Activity! My Big Fat Greek!..”

But what do you say now?

“We are going to sell DVDs on Amazon!”

Yippy.

And even funnier is this. Let’s say you get the money, make your movie and get a (more traditional) 3rd party distribution deal – your deal probably won’t involve theatrical distribution. Add the demise of video sales outlets and video stores, and it is a good bet that your movie will end up on iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon.

Given these outlets, I now wonder why any filmmaker would even approach a 3rd party distributor. I mean, if filmmakers can simply set up shop and reach those outlets on their own, why pay a middle man? Do filmmakers really need 3rd party validation?

So my suggestion is this: If you’re trying to make a living as a filmmaker, you need to care less about traditional validation and more about your bank account. If the numbers don’t work, you nave NO DEAL!

“Ah… Filmmakers should be MORE excited to approach prospective movie investors!”

Unlike years past, you can finally eliminate much of the speculation from your business plan – and you can finally present a deal built on a measurable framework that YOU control. In other words, as a filmmaker you can now pick and choose your sales outlets and come up with an entire step-by-step system for reaching your target audience and then getting your movie seen and sold. Investors like that. It’s less risky!

From this perspective, you can create a reasonable plan and work backwards.

What? You can’t figure out how to repay 1,000,000 dollars in 5 years? Then you have two choices. Change your plan or change your budget (which may involve changing your screenplay and schedule).

And onto the second part of the question…

2. Can a filmmaker eek out a middle-class existence (with digital self distribution)?

Yeah. But like I was saying, you can not think about distribution in the traditional sense. In the past, filmmakers made a movie, got lucky and ended up with a BIG paycheck with incremental increases on the back end. These days filmmakers need to think about their movies in ways akin to how traditional investors think about dividends from bonds – once you make the investment, it’s a long term game!

In other words, you create your movie product this year, get it selling and then you repeat the process. Conceivably in 10 years, you’ll have a library of 10 movies. And with luck each movie will passively pay you thousands of dollars per month.

Moving forward,  if you want to make movies and make money making movies, your strategy has to include oodles and oodles of cash for marketing. I heard one colleague talk in terms of  applying 3/5ths of the budget for the marketing, 1/5th for “name” talent and 1/5th for your below the line costs. I’m sure there is room for variation – but we can all agree that your marketing (more than movie making) is going to provide you the difference between pocket change and profit.

What are your thoughts?

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This is a huge topic. So I will break it into a series. My next article will pick up where I left off. And we can get into a systematic approach to how to make a living through your filmmaking.

In the meantime, get my filmmaking book FOR FREE. Just follow this link: www.FreeFilmmakingBook.com