Olive And Mocha

The road to making a movie is never the same twice.

This is a truth that is both frustrating and awesome. On the one hand it sucks, because there’s no trusted road. There’s no college course you can take or internship that will guarantee your movie will get made.

On the other hand, lots of different kinds of people have made it happen in lots of different kinds of ways. There’s no rule about who can or cannot make it happen. And if you’ve ever read Robert Rodriguez’s book on how he did it for $7,000 then you know that sometimes pure gumption can get you pretty far in this life.

Some movie makers have trust funds and some movie makers have Wall Street buddies and some have credit cards, some have lucky breaks and some just freaking beg, borrow and steal. The question is what kind of film maker are you?

“Olive and Mocha” is still trucking along. We will be contacting investors soon, but there are so many moving parts that need to be locked down before you can ask people to give you thousands of dollars.

~ What’s your marketing strategy?
~ Who’s your director?
~ Do you have any talent attached to the project who can help a better return on investment? Who can help acquire distribution?

Casting:

I originally wrote one of the roles in the script for myself. It’s an amazing role. I would be great in it. But, I’ve had to ask myself the very hard question: “Am I willing to step down from this role if it means we can get someone with a bit of notoriety to fill it instead?” That’s a very hard question to meditate on. On the one hand, this movie will get made for $2o0,000. At this small of a budget, maybe now is the time to take the risks you wouldn’t be allowed to otherwise. On the other hand, a good producer will do whatever it takes to get her movie made. And if that means taking a smaller role and watching someone else play your dream role. Then maybe that’s what needs to happen.

Budget:

My line producer has mentioned that he thinks this movie will do better if we raise more money. He’d like to shoot on a $400,000 budget. Now on the one hand, I could rewrite this script and cut out some of my best jokes to free up some money. We’ll be acquiring a number of key elements for free. My co-producer’s dad’s got a RED camera. I own my own Camaro. Friends have generously offered their music for some free publicity. My husband and I do all our own marketing/graphic design work and on and on. So it’s possible that if we squeeze hard enough, we can get some water from this rock.

But on the other hand, $400,000 would mean I don’t have to gauge my script. We could have a longer shooting schedule to allow for more takes, and on a comedy set, improvisation is welcome and an asset.

On the one hand $200,000 is a lot easier to raise than $400,000. In fact, it’s twice as easy. And at $400,000 it will take you twice as much to pay your investors back. But on the other hand $400,000 might allow for a better looking movie which might help you to acquire some better distribution. Of course there are no absolutes either way, and with Sundance honoring the ULTRA LOW BUDGET with it’s own category in its festival and blockbusters like Paranormal Activity rockin’ the bank, it seems everywhere you turn these days Hollywood types want in on your micro budget film. $200,000 = easier to fund but harder to make. $400,000 = harder to fund but easier to make.

Rewrites:

On the one hand it’s made my script so much better to get all this feedback. In the beginning (and you writers can attest to this) no one would read my script. I couldn’t even get some people I WROTE PARTS FOR to read the script. My best friend wouldn’t take the time to read it. But now that we’re making it… loads of very talented and professional film makers have given me some extremely helpful and constructive criticism. The script has tightened up on every level and I’m very proud of how close it feels to being a movie I would consider one of my favorites.

On the other hand… the notes never end and probably won’t until the film’s in the can. The line producer needs certain things taken out or adjusted for budget, any potential directors have notes and needs, and roles may need to be expanded or contracted if any big name talent is interested in attaching themselves. The brightest side about this other hand is that because I’m the writer, adjustments are free and can come quickly. BONUS!

Director:

I would prefer to try and raise money with a director attached to the script, but directors have people and agents and careers that all demand certain things and these things take a lot of meetings and conversations and emails. I would love to start asking some talent to look at the script, but it’s hard to put the script in front of people until I have a director because I don’t want to cast out from under them. On the other hand, some name talent might help attract a good director.

Getting the movie up and running is like a huge jigsaw puzzle and one day these two pieces fit and the next day a different set do.

The best thing that I am doing for myself right now is letting go. I am really concentrating on the idea that the best people for the job will fall into place and trusting that what needs to happen will. So far so good.