Film Distribution Master Class with John Sayles

On March 22, 2008, Scribe Video Center in west Philadelphia hosted a 3 hour Film Distribution Master Class with renowned independent film director, John Sayles and his longtime producer, Maggie Renzi. Sayles, who has made 16 narrative feature films since 1980, opened by discussing his philosophy that “movies tell stories as part of a social conversation with the audience.” From this perspective, distribution strategy begins by defining one’s target audience (i.e., “who is the other side of the conversation?”), and identifying where one’s target audience gathers/interacts socially (in order to determine how best to market to them).

In between films, Sayles makes his living as a successful Hollywood screenwriter. His freelance writing credits include produced films such as “The Spiderwick Chronicles” and “The Howling.” Sayles stated that as a writer, eventually, your fictional characters “should speak to you the way real people speak to you.”

On Sayles’ last most recent film, “Silver City” (2004), a film which dared to criticize the current president before it became fashionable, the traditional distributor effectively pulled the plug on supporting the film after unfavorable opening weekend reviews. Consequently, Sayles and Renzi decided to self-distribute his latest film, “Honeydripper.” Filmmakers should be aware that making a deal with a theatrical distributor does not necessarily guarantee a successful theatrical release, as factors such as the marketing campaign (incl. P&A budget) and the willingness of exhibitors to keep the film on screens are also very important.

“Honeydrippers“ enjoyed a world premiere screening at last year’s prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, and then the film opened last fall in limited theatrical release first in Atlanta (which has an extremely robust AA film community). John and Maggie have spent the intervening months on the road touring the music and film festival circuits with the “Honeydrippers All-Star Band” from the film, and showing the film in select limited theatrical release in selected cities in the US and Europe.

Following her attendance at this year’s Cinemart in Rotterdam and the European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival, Maggie is enthusiastic about European co-production financing as a viable component of the investment strategy for Sayles’ next film. The last 2 films they have shot with their own money (about $5 million per film), against the traditional wisdom of using “other people’s money.” FWIW, Sayles is quick to assert that his independent way of doing things has meant that he has never had to make a movie that he did not want to make.

Recoupment of film investments is difficult under the best of circumstances, which is why the current trend for private equity investors is to diversify by investing in slates of multiple projects (making it difficult for filmmakers to raise funds for 1-off projects). As I have heard it explained, essentially the prevailing strategy is to hope to minimize losses by breaking even on most of the films in the slate (through pre-sale distribution and co-production agreements), while counting on hitting a “home run” with at least one film to put the investment package into significant net profit.

An early $1 million advance on “Honeydripper” DVD sales from Screen Media funded a limited $1 million P&A budget, a paltry amount considering that these days most successful studio independent films, for example, spend at least $15-20 million on prints and advertising. And, of course, studios spend many times that amount on P&A to promote blockbuster/tentpole films. Consider that even a quirky low budget (est. $400k) indie 1-off hit such as “Napoleon Dynamite” needed to spend $10 million on P&A to achieve a $45 million box office return.

However, notwithstanding the mainstream quality of the film’s uplifting “birth of blues rock and roll” story, recognizable stars such as Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton and Lisa Gay Hamilton, and critical recognition (awarded “Best Independent or Foreign Film” at Hollywood’s annual 2008 NAACP Image Awards), ”Honeydripper” has not performed well so far at the box office in limited theatrical release (presently only about $250k US B.O). Maggie expressed a strong interest in exploring new alternative, low cost, grass-roots exhibition venues such as community organizations, churches, etc.

Maggie stated that all the time and money they have spent promoting the film over the past six months has likely operated mostly to enhance the “long tail” (i.e., sales life of the movie after theatrical exhibition in broadcast/cable television outlets and dvd sales). Although “Honeydripper” had the unfortunate timing to be released concurrently with the Oprah Winfrey-supported “The Great Debaters” starring and directed by Denzel Washington (distributed by The Weinstein Company), Maggie believes that “Honeydripper” will enjoy a long broadcast run on BET and other cable channels, and a robust DVD sales life.

Sayles made what is essentially a service deal with Emerging Pictures to self-distribute “Honeydripper” theatrically. In the Philadelphia area, the Bryn Mawr Film Institute is part of that company’s Emerging Cinemas network of digital cinemas, an exciting exhibition growth vector for burgeoning indie filmmakers. Digital exhibition saves the post-production costs of making 35mm prints. Best known is perhaps the Landmark Theatres chain of digital cinemas, currently 58 theaters in 24 markets. Locally, the Ritz Theatres are part of the Landmark chain.

Speaking to the many emerging filmmakers in attendance, Sayles mentioned his belief that today the quickest route to directing feature films is probably directing commercials and/or music videos. With the explosion of new media outlets such as YouTube, Maggie advised that the winning formula is to keep it “short, cheap, and funny.” Because of the fickleness and trendiness of the market, Sayles urged writers/filmmakers to have multiple stories to tell. He mentioned that it took him 11 years to get his adapted screenplay “Eight Men Out” finally made (with stars like John Cusack, Charlie Sheen, David Straithairn, D.B. Sweeney, etc.), so he made several other films in the interim.

For more details on Sayles’ and Renzi’s self-distribution/marketing strategy, check out the film’s website at: (http://honeydripper-movie.com). I highly recommend checking out “Honeydripper” if the opportunity presents itself, an enjoyable experience for all audiences.

See you at the movies!

Michael
WinGateFilms
www.wingatefilms

Tags: film distribution, filmmaking, Honeydripper, John Sayles