FEATURE
advocates throughout the life of the project, from negotiating talent deals to evaluating appropriate budget levels, to securing strategic partners and distribution.” The partners try to create scenarios where lit-
tle equity is at risk. For example, the budget on the Andrew Dominik-Brad Pitt project Cogan’s Trade was covered mostly by international pre- sales through Inferno, and from soft money, creating an attractive proposal with little risk against US. The belief at the department is that it is more fruitful to nurture long-term relation- ships that generate profits and encourage fur- ther investment than barge into a scenario where the partners cannot see past the deal. Just as financiers are made familiar with the
often complex puzzle that is independent film financing, so agents have been engaged in con- versations with talent to modify the mechanism of remuneration in cautious, post-crash times. “When people understand the nature of the
investment, it’s a lot easier to get to what cur- rent pricing is,” Green says. “When talent understand the risk profile of a film, and there is a human face to the investor, it can be easier to achieve a reasonable deal. People often look at financiers as this sort of money tree, and that has historically been due to a lack of transpar- ency in the financing process.” Sutherland adds: “Talent are willing to bet on themselves, partic- ularly when they are participating in world- class projects with strong breakout potential.”
Independent route When films come together well, studio- level independent projects offer a refresh- ing change from making similar films in the studio system. Joe Carnahan, for exam- ple, came off The A-Team and reunited with Liam Neeson on survival thriller The Grey. “You might be doing something for a price
but you’re doing it with complete freedom, and the film-makers love that,” Sutherland contin- ues. “It’s about working outside the system and using the studios for something they remain the best at — marketing and distribution.” An increasingly joined-up global business
means that today the money can come from anywhere. “We’re very focused on co-produc- tions,” says Sutherland, well aware that the right alliance can cover close to 40% of the budget. CAA is known to have nurtured strong relation- ships with European companies, particularly French entities such as Wild Bunch, Gaumont and StudioCanal, while it has a handle on China through the agency’s Beijing office. Sutherland says: “Peter Loehr is a genius at
being able to source money out of Asia.” Green adds: “Our China office is at the forefront of film financing within the Asian markets. We have a lot of China Film financing and we’re working on more than one Chinese co-produc- tion at a really high level with US talent. There’s a lot of money coming out of China which will be mingled with US investment, too.” Green and Sutherland are also intrigued by a
recent development. “The trend of equity finan- ciers moving into distribution investment is something we encouraged and facilitated — on Biutiful, I Love You Phillip Morris, Silent House and The Grandmasters,” Green says. Steve Rales’ Indian Paintbrush also arrived on the scene at Sundance when it teamed with Paramount to swoop on Like Crazy. “This trend is happening because financiers
n 28 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 12, 2011
BREAKINGNEWS For the latest film business news see
ScreenDaily.com
The budget for Cogan’s Trade was covered, in the main, by international pre-sales
‘We present projects from the perspective of the financier and how we think they make sense
as investments’ Micah Green, CAA
Insidious
Source Code
are becoming more sophisticated and want to diversify their businesses,” Green continues. “Many of them have learned the favourable economics of distribution after selling the orig- inal production at a film festival. These oppor- tunities have to be packaged and brought to them and it’s not happening overnight — rela- tionships are being cultivated over a long period of time.” The past few years have seen festival buyers
stump up low-seven figures or six-figure sums for highly regarded titles. Wise investors see the economics of distribution at a certain level can
be profitable when the price point for domestic rights is low up front. It is understood Mickey Liddell is setting up distribution for Sundance hit Silent House through a rent-a-system and will put up the p&a. It takes money to mount an effective cam-
paign, and for a nimble financier who can move in on a quality project, a service deal — which Green says would have been regarded five or six years ago as a “last resort” — presents an opportunity. CAA wants to be in the thick of it. “The specialised space is such a good space right now,” he says. n
s
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88