Category: Entrepreneurialism - The Guerrilla Rep

What Screenplays are Producers and Studios Actually Buying?

2/26/2020

If you’re a screenwriter, you have two options. Produce it yourself, or option your work to a producer. In order to option your work, you need to understand who is going to buy your movie. Unfortunately, there’s more bad and incomplete information than there is good information out there. Recently, a client of mine forwarded an email he got back from a contact in Hollywood who worked as a script doctor. This email epitomized that bad information, so I thought I’d redact any contact information and publish it for others to learn from as well. (I did check with my client first, and he was good with it.)

Here’s what the script doctor said Hollywood wanted. Their responses in title, mine in the paragraphs following.

18 Steps to GROW Your Filmmaking from Shorts to Features

2/19/2020

Every filmmaker wants to see their work on the big screen. However, given the state of the indie film theatrical market, very few filmmakers can pull it off outside of the festival circuit. Especially for their first films. It requires a lot of skill, and an idea that appeals to a wide audience, ideally an audience you already have an in with. So how do you scale your films to that point? Well, this blog can get you started.

How (And Why) to Treat Your Production Company Like a Small Business

2/12/2020

Last week we talked about the 4 major types of Media Entrepreneurship, so this week I thought I’d expand on the most common production company that my readers seem to run. That’s the small production company that they hope to scale into something bigger. Here’s why your production company is a small business, and how to treat it like one so you can see it grow.

How to Finance your Indie Film/Media Project in 2019

12/26/2018

The year is starting to wrap up, so now’s a good time to plan for how to make your career skyrocket in 2019. If you’re not developing a film, you should be. But if you read last week’s blog outlining why we’re likely going to be looking at a recession in 2019, and what that means for the film industry then you might be understandably nervous as to how you’re going to get your work done. So here’s my advice to you.

How to Write an Independent Film Business Plan Part 7/7 - Pro Forma Financial Statements

10/31/2018

In the final part of my 7 part series on writing a business plan for independent film and media, I’ll be going over all of the financial statements you’ll need in your business plan. This is a section that you’ll want to write before you write the financial text section of your plan, as it will have great impact on that section, and potentially other sections of the plan. Each document should take up only a single page.

How to Legally Structure Your IndieFilm Production Company

3/7/2018

I’m not a lawyer, but I get a fair amount of questions about the legal structure of a Production company and a film. So I thought I would write a blog about how I’ve learned to structure each individual entity, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of each choice.

Generally, you’ll want to have one legal entity that exists as your production company, and one legal entity for each project you produce. Generally, your production company will be a general partner in each project, and when each project has run it’s course, the entity will be dissolved. If you’re producing episodic content, you can probably get by with one entity per season.

5 Do's and DON'Ts for Selling Your Film on Social Media

2/14/2018

I sell a lot of stuff on social media. In fact, that’s probably how you’re reading this blog right now. Since I’m very active, I also get a lot of people trying to sell stuff to me on social media. This blog is an amalgamation of some of what I’ve found works on social media, and some of the stuff I’ve found does more to harm your brand than build it.

5 steps to Vet your investors.

6/7/2017

Just like all filmmakers and Entrepreneurs are not created equal, nor are all “Rich Guys.” Many will jerk you around, and not actually deliver on what they promise. So how do you know if your potential investor is legit? Well, here are a few tips.

The 7 Main IndieFilm Deal Points

5/3/2017

A lot of people are afraid of the complexity of deals with sales agencies. They have a reputation as being very dense, and difficult to understand. While there is truth to this, there’s also a general layout every filmmaker should understand. Many of the pitfalls for distribution can be avoided by knowing these 7 major deal points. That said, you should always have a lawyer or a producer’s rep look over your contract.

The 9 Ways to Finance an Independent Film

4/26/2017

A lot of Filmmakers are only concerned with finding investors for their projects. While films require money to be made well, there’s are better ways to find that money than convincing a rich person to part with a few hundred thousand dollars. Even if you are able to get an angel investor (or a few ) on board, it’s often not in your best interest to raise your budget solely from private equity, as the more you raise the less likely it is you’ll ever see money from the back end of your project.