This is a three-part series concerning independents and their relationship with distributors. Part-I is DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS: How To Release, Part-II is the DISTRIBUTION DEAL: Negotiating Successfully and Part-III is DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES: Securing A Distributor).

PART-I: DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS
How To Release

You've secured the GREAT SCRIPT, shot it on budget, have the final answer print and it's great. Your job is still not done. You have one more step. Get it to the consumer. To do this you either self-distribute or get a distributor. Let's talk about distribution patterns.

The distribution game is complicated. It is contract driven and every phrase in the contract depends on the previous phrase's interpretation. Thus, an experienced entertainment attorney (i.e. Mark Litwak, esq 310-859-9595, Nigel Sinclair, esq 310- 777-7777, Robert Siegel, esq. 212-307-7533) is needed to assist in your exhibition agreement with theater owners (if self distributing) or distribution agreement with distributors (if securing a distribution deal).

Whichever way you choose, there are some basic phrases (release patterns) that you should understand:

• SATURATION RELEASE

• PLATFORM RELEASE

• LIMITED RELEASE

• MARKET-BY-MARKET

• ART HOUSE RELEASE

• FOUR-WALLING

• NON-THEATRICAL

SATURATION RELEASE: This is solely done by the major studios who have the massive P&A (Prints and Advertising) money to book a screen in at least 1 out of 2 multiplexes in each city. This results in print release of anywhere from 1,500-2,500. Only expect this to be done with a big budget feature that has the potential of grossing over $100 million with a $10-$15 million release cost. Distributors: Warner Bros., Paramount, MCA/Universal, Disney, etc.

PLATFORM RELEASE: Also a major studio release pattern with big budget films with the feature being released in 3 stages. The first stage, for 1-2 weeks, is 10-20 prints each being released in a single large theater in one of the top 10-20 (NY, LA, Boston, Chicago, etc.) markets in America. Stage 2 has the film opening wide a week later, an additional 15-30 prints (150-600) in each of those 10-20 major markets. Stage 3 has the film opening wide on all the smaller cities (markets #21-200 with the same 150-600 prints) around America during the next 4-6 weeks. Distributors: Miramax, New Line, MGM/UA, etc.

LIMITED RELEASE: This is when a film opens in just a select few theaters in the major markets of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and thenif it is well received at the box officeit makes its way into a smaller scale of a platform release. Recent examples would be The Crying Game or Slingblade from Miramax or New Line. This release pattern also applies for medium to big budget films that the distributor has discovered, upon completion, that it is not as good as it hoped. However, the distributor, due to contractual relationships with Pay-Cable (HBO/Showtime) and Home-Video buyers, is forced to open in major cities, a minimum of one week each, in order to guarantee the eventual sales to these ancillary markets. Distributors: Regency, Polygram, Savoy, Gramercy, etc.

MARKET-BY-MARKET RELEASE: Usually it's a good-to-excellent small film that a mid-size distributor has picked up the rights to but does not have the capital for a Saturation Release of 1,500-2,500 prints. This distributor will make 20-40 prints and play it in one region after another over 12 months until North America (USA/ Canada) is eventually saturated. Distributors: Samuel Goldwyn, Fox Searchlight, Trimark, Mandalay, etc.

ART HOUSE RELEASE: Foreign films, small film noirs or anything made by Merchant-Ivory are in the classification distributed via art houses. The point is that in every large city there is 1-2 art houses (small old cinemas) seating 100-200 rather than Multi-plexes seating 1,200-2,000. The Laemmle, Lumiere and Landmark are examples of these theater circuits. Thus, you need only 7-10 prints to get exposure and then, depending upon boxoffice acceptance, go on a small market-by-market (order 10-15 additional prints) campaign sometimes called a "roadshow" with 15-25 prints. Distributors: Strand Releasing, Fine Line, Mandalay, etc.

FOUR WALLING: For the total film entrepreneur. This occurs when you circumvent a distributor and go from town-to-town renting, literally, the 4 walls of the theater direct from the theater owner, bringing your own print, placing your own ads, and sitting in the box office collecting every penny (if any) for yourself. You cut out the middlemen. In the '70s this was done with the famed Billy Jack series and in the '90s this is being done by Warren Miller with skiing and surfing movies.

NON-THEATRICAL: For films that go directly to the video, foreign sale, cable, hotel/motel, pay-per-view, broadcasting (TV), foreign television, multi media, web and net markets for revenues. (note: this will be a detailed article in my MovieMaker column two issues from now.)

Bottom line is you'll need a distributor, unless you're either four-walling or trying an art house release, and the more you know about the way distributors release films, the better you can be when it comes time to negotiate your distribution deal. Happy filmmaking!

Questions for Mr. Hollywood

Dear Mr. Hollywood,
I've just completed a movie we shot in S and HI8. I think it's commercially viable but I'm not sure how to shop it. All my friends think it's brilliant and don't think it needs any changes. What I want is to get a distributor who will cover the costs to convert it to 35 and make the prints. Got any good leads? -Ready to go in Toronto

Dear Ready To Go,
Congratulations. Another Doer, not a talker. I like you. You had very little money and combined it with a dream and shot it on whatever was available, in this case HI-8 or S and now it's done and tells an excellent story for 90-120 minutes. You've done a Hoop Dreams. Here's what you do to get a distributor. Make like it's not shot and you're starting from scratch. Call the film production chart editors at Daily Variety (Friday's issue) and Hollywood Reporter (Tuesday's issue) and get your film listed as if hasn't gone into production yet. The Acquisition Executives from all the studios (Miramax, New Line, Samuel Goldwyn, Fox Searchlight, etc.) will call you. When they call you and literally beg to see a rough cut tell them to set up a screening and to expedite matters you'll get them something to see on tape. Got the point? Instead of you calling them, if you do a little proper publicity (film production charts) they'll call you and you're in a much better position. To get a list of distributors you should either purchase the Money*Power Directory, The Hollywood Creative Directories or the Blu-Book. Remember, when they call, get arrogant. Arrogance works in Hollywood. Ask them, "Why should I let you distribute my film?"

Dear Mr. Hollywood,
Over the past six years I've done a documentary, three music videos, two shorts and two indie features. I've compiled a good reel and am now putting together my first larger budget. I've got a solid script in mind and I'm wondering how to go about attaching a star to the project. I'm not really connected, primarily because the projects I've done have been shot in rural areas. -Somewhat Remote in Wyoming

Dear Somewhere Remote,
God bless, another Doer. If you want to talk with agents who control big name talent about hiring them, then they only will talk to you if you can handle play-or-pay contracts. That means if you call an agent who handles Tom Sellek or Martin Sheen and you want them to commit their actor to your shoot for a specific period of time (1-5 weeks) for 6-8 months from now, then you must be able to pay their client a minimum of 10%-50% down on what you say you're promising to pay. If you shop their names with your package to the studios and don't get money to go into production, the agent and the actor don't care. They want the other 50-90% of the salary at the commencement of principal photography. Hollywood's an expensive game to play. Your best route for attracting name talent without paying big pay-or-play contract checks is to hire a big casting agent (who has access to name actors) for a fee and a smaller percentage of the actors' salaries if the film goes into production. Casting Directors are excellent ways to initially get around non-cooperative agents. Good luck.

Dear Mr. Hollywood,
I just finished my first feature and am looking for an editor. Several people are sending me their reels, but as I'm not able to afford the going rates for professional editors, I haven't seen much in the way of feature experience. How would you suggest I qualify the editors I'm considering? -Stumped in Post in Boston

Dear Stumped,
First off, in looking for an editor you stated you couldn't afford the "Going rates for editors in Boston." That's not true. I know for a fact that there were only 3 independently financed feature films shot in Massachusetts in the past 18 months. So in all of Massachusetts there are only 3 Opening Title Credit of FILM EDITOR given out in Mass. The point is that you are in the driver's seat in selecting editors and you can pay whatever you can afford, not what they ask, because you are one of those feature credits that will be made available to the 200-300 editors in Massachusetts. I recommend paying $500-$700/week while paying their assistant $250-$300/week. The total with equipment rental is about $9000-$12,000 for 6 cuts in an 8 week period. Be sure that when you hire the editor you see their demo reel on film, not tape, and make sure that they know how to edit for the movie theater (different splice rhythm) rather than the TV set and are comfortable with the old moviola and flatbed equipment as well as the newer electronic non-linear. If using an Avid or non-linear make sure that they know how to keep it in sync for theatrical throw and not TV throw and that they are super sure how to get an electronic edit list that the negative cutter at the lab can conform the negative with. Bottom line: Don't pay a lot. And be sure to get an old-time film editor and not some kid who just took a 2-week class on Avid and is called an operator.

Dear Mr. Hollywood,
I have a feature under my belt that won some minor festival prizes. I wrote a new script that I'm trying to get off the ground and I've been talking to producers to try to raise the financing. The problem is this has been going on for almost three years. I can't tell you how many "producers" have flaked on me. I've wined and dined many of these people, I've flown around the country, I've ruined my immune system by staying up all hours at smoky bars.. They call me a genius and string me along for months. Some of these people have impressive credentials. I'm ready to give all this up and become a novelist. I don't even have a question, I just wanted to vent. Thanks for your straight-on advice, just the same. -My Trust Fund is Waning in Sacramento

Dear Trust Fund,
No producer flaked on youin my opinion you're the flake. If these are real producers with real feature credits and you have the script and it's a GREAT script, they would have optioned it from you already. It appears that if you have been wining and dining real producers and they have read your script then the bottom line is they don't like your script. Thus, I think you should forget about the project and go on to a new one. If, however, these producers that you have been wining and dining are only bullshit (no real credit) producers, then start taking steps to secure the monies by yourself. Here's how to do it. I'll say it in one wordDENTISTS! Do your proper legal work. Pick up the Yellow Pages. Turn to the section called Dentists and call. State that you're an "Award Winning Filmmaker with an investment opportunity for them." If they are interested, send the script. Then call them back. If they like the script, (remember, they're dentists and they don't know how to read scripts) then rent a local theater or screening room and bring them in where you screen your allegedly Award-Winning Film and ask them for the money. Now let's get on with it before your trust fund disappears and you have to get a real job. MM