Attaching Actors To Your Film
Suggested workarounds for packaging un-financed projects
Pre-holiday we were talking about attaching talent to un-financed projects and that inspired a flurry of discussions in the FS Pro Group… so I wanted to impart here some of the intel that was shared in case it can help any of you.
To start, some people have been successful having their lawyers help with packaging talent and other elements. Not every law firm offers these services but some actually have official personnel dedicated to this task while others may be able to go direct to other clients in their firm or at least get you in the door with their agent, manager or personal contacts. So I consider lawyer is one possible tool in your tool box for packaging.
Another path to attaching talent could be via involving actors you’ve worked with on previous films, whether they be shorts or features, and offer them a role in your current production. You can see if they want to be involved in a producorial capacity by approaching their actor ‘friends’ directly. At least two projects I’m involved in right now are utilizing this approach and it’s actually working out really well. This may not be an option for everyone, especially if you’re just starting out but if you have a film or two behind you with actors you worked well with, why not give it a try.
There’s also the option of working with a casting director. The catch here is that not all casting directors are willing to work on un-financed projects BUT there are exceptions to this. Obviously if you’re willing to pay their fee, that’s a step in the right direction. Also if you have a previous relationship, or film that received awards of any type of pedigree…. something which proves you have potential to raise funding for this next film will give them confidence that they can approach their agency contacts on behalf of your production. One client is utilizing this approach right now and even though she has a micro-budgeted film, her casting directors from a previous film were eager to jump in and help on this one because they have faith in her as an up and coming director and want to ride the wave with her. Smart huh?
So those are three suggestions for upping your DIY packaging chops as we head into Cannes, where I know many of you will be looking to launch projects there.
On that note, I’ll wrap things up for today. If you have any questions about any of this, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below or email me at stacey@filmspecific.com. Have a great day and speak to you soon!
To your success,
Stacey
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