Award-winning Producer\/Writer\u00a0Jerome Courshon\u00a0breaks the biggest lies of distribution and gives awesome pieces of advice for indie filmmakers who want to get a distribution deal.<\/p>\n
Myth: I\u2019m a director, a filmmaker, a creative person. I don\u2019t have to worry about the business stuff.<\/strong> Distribution is business, and distributors don\u2019t care if you\u2019ve made the greatest indie film\/art film\/documentary of the past 20 years. The\u00a0more<\/strong>\u00a0you can become a \u201csalesperson\u201d and marketing maven, the\u00a0more<\/strong>\u00a0success you will have on your quest for distribution or sales.<\/p>\n What Orson Welles famously said about the film business is still true today: \u201cIt’s about 2% moviemaking and 98% hustling.\u201d<\/p>\n Myth: Distributors are asking me to send a DVD screener.\u00a0They\u2019ll acquire it!<\/strong><\/p>\n Truth:\u00a0<\/strong>All major distributors track the movies that have been listed in the trades under their production columns. If you were in those columns, you\u2019re going to be phoned. Do\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0send them a rough cut. Do\u00a0not\u00a0<\/strong>send them a final cut. Do\u00a0not\u00a0<\/strong>send them the movie. You must \u201cunveil\u201d your movie in the right place at the right time, such as a\u00a0top<\/strong>\u00a0film festival, to get the theatrical buyers to\u00a0really<\/strong>\u00a0want your feature. Movies do not get picked up for theatrical releases that have been sent on a DVD to a distributor. So when they call asking to see a screener, you\u2019ll say \u201cIt\u2019s not ready, but I appreciate your call. Check back with me in a month or two.\u201d<\/p>\n Myth #3: My movie was selected for the Sundance Film Festival! All I have to do is show up and I will get a deal!<\/strong><\/p>\n Truth #3:\u00a0<\/strong>Your work hasn\u2019t even begun yet.\u00a0You will have to work, strategize and position your movie, before it premieres, as a very desirable movie that distributors must have. You have one shot at the top festivals for a theatrical deal, so don\u2019t piss it away. Unfortunately, most filmmakers don\u2019t know or understand this. They get a slot at Sundance or Toronto, don\u2019t assemble a team or promote their film properly, and then come away without a deal and are entirely lost as to their next step.<\/p>\n Myth: I was rejected by the top festivals, so now I\u2019m submitting and getting accepted by the next tier of festivals. This is cool. All I have to do is show up to my screenings and I\u2019m treated like a rock star. Distribution, here I come!<\/strong><\/p>\n Truth:<\/strong>\u00a0Yeah, okay, if this is you, at least you\u2019re having fun. But you\u2019re\u00a0not<\/strong>\u00a0going to get distribution this way. There is a\u00a0real<\/strong>\u00a0purpose to the festival circuit beyond the top festivals that most people, even Hollywood veterans, simply do not understand. The obvious purpose is, of course, exposure. But there is actually a MORE important purpose: Building a Pedigree.<\/p>\n What is a Pedigree?<\/p>\n
\nTruth:<\/strong>\u00a0There are of course some people who get lucky and either have a producing partner who does all the business & marketing (and is good at it), or they have the money to hire the right people to do everything.\u00a0However for most this isn\u2019t the case, especially if one\u2019s film career is in the early stages.<\/p>\n