Inside the Actor/Director mind, New Doc Course & New Challenge" with "Producer Anthony Bregman (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, THE ICE STORM) shares his strategies for effective communication at every stage of the production process.
Key Insights
- As a producer, you are always selling; you convince investors to support your film, persuade key collaborators to join your team, get everyone on board to support important creative decisions.
- Communicate what is most compelling, urgent and distinctive about your project and the creatives involved and articulate the impact the film can have on the audience. And, always do your due diligence so you know who you're selling to.
- When selling to a buyer, you need to know what they're looking for in a film; this can include what's currently missing in their distribution lineup, potential opportunities for awards and recognition, and how much risk they're willing to take.
- Financing for failure means evaluating a film based on the scenario that it will fail, and calculating the investment based on the minimum amount of revenue the film can make. In the worst case scenario, it's the value of the film, if it doesn’t reach beyond a key demographic or core audience.
- Big stars are not a guarantee that a movie will work, but they can help to reduce uncertainty for distributors.
- Establishing yourself as a director or a producer also helps to mitigate distributor uncertainty, but this takes time.
- It’s tempting to try and scale up to large films as quickly as you can. Before moving into a higher-stakes situation, take the time to gain experience as a producer or director, so you'll be more prepared to take on the bigger opportunities and find success.
Anthony Bregman’s films include the Academy Award winning ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND; FOXCATCHER; SING STREET; ENOUGH SAID; BEGIN AGAIN; COLLATERAL BEAUTY; INDIGNATION; THE CIRCLE; THE ICE STORM; THUMBSUCKER; AMERICAN ULTRA; FRIENDS WITH MONEY; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; EVERY DAY; EVERY SECRET THING; THE WHOLE TRUTH; PLEASE GIVE; SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK; THE TAO OF STEVE; LOVELY & AMAZING; HUMAN NATURE; THE SAVAGES; THE BROTHER MCCULLEN; TRICK; THE EXTRA MAN; DARLING COMPANION; and THE ORANGES. more...