Pitching Projects At Sundance

+ red flags financiers should look out for while getting swept up in the frenzy on Main St.

Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute

Sundance is here and like many of you, I’ll be closely following the deal flow and curious what types of pent up demand there is for completed films since many buyers had to sit out the double strikes of last year. Here’s to hoping right?!

In my last newsletter I talked about a few Red Flags to look out during the film financing process but there’s also the other side of that - red flags for financiers to consider when taking pitches from filmmakers.

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Before I get into that though, there’s a few clarifications on my upcoming Funding Strategies Playbook course I want to mention….

• The course starts next week (not this week) right here on Substack but you’ll get the first lesson delivered right to your inbox.

• Lessons are in written form (not video) and will include downloadable resources as well as Q+A in the comments section - yes, fully interactive which I’m looking forward to being able to workshop ideas with you guys as they come up.

You can still register here for 15% off

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Let’s talk about a few red flags for financiers to consider (otherwise known as what not to do if you’re a filmmaker pitching financiers :)

For starters… for the love of GOD please don’t take seriously any ‘box office projections’ that are quoting Sundance releases from three, five, or ten years ago. Number one, box office revenue has no relative correlation to your recoupment nor does past performance of even ‘similar’ films indicate current market realities. Huge red flag if someone is pulling out a business plan with those types of projections.

The other red flag I see come up often is when ‘too good to be true’ cast names are bandied about as ‘attached’. Really? Can I call the agent and get confirmation of that? That’s the level of attachment you want from an actor…. if the financier was to do any due diligence and dial up CAA and confirm this attachment…. do they even know who you are or heard of the project?

Finally, those sales agent generated sales projections you’re presenting …. are they from a credible company using current market data that they can back up with current sales? As a financier it’s easy to be impressed by sales estimate charts but it’s important to scrutinize the numbers behind the numbers. Also, add up all the low end estimates excluding the US and THAT’s what the movie should be made for. (harsh reality check lol).

These are all topics I’ll be covering in the funding strategies playbook course in greater depth but if you have any questions now, please post them below. For those of you currently pounding the pavement at Sundance, I’d like to help you if I can :)

I’ll leave you with that for today and look forward to hearing updates from you guys below…

Stacey

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