May 25, 2012

Grassroots Moviemaker: Second Wind for Rufus

The progress goddess pays us a visit

by Timothy Rhys | Published March 5, 2009

Being a moviemaker isn’t rocket science. When you’re a rocket scientist you have formulas and equations with which to solve your problems; you have colleagues who can show you the exact path toward becoming a successful rocket scientist. And when you get there, you have a salary. I thus contend that making movies is far and away more difficult than a cozy, sterile pursuit like rocket science.

Making movies is dirty, unpredictable, sleep-deprivation-oriented work that holds no guarantee of compensation, or even spiritual fulfillment, for that matter. An independent moviemaker (and aren’t we all “independent” these days?) blazes his or her own trail, and must do it anew each time out. A moviemaker has hopes and dreams hanging in the balance, waiting for the Funding Fairy to smile upon him, sometimes for years… Meanwhile, scripts get stale, crews go their separate ways, actors find other projects and moviemakers are left to wonder why they didn’t just become novelists, poets, musicians, or (insert artform which doesn’t take piles of money and armies of technicians here).

Well, the Funding Fairy has yet to flit her way to our house, but her comely sister the Progress Goddess did pay us a visit last week. That visit came in the form of a phone call from the principal of a distribution company. He had read the script a while back and called to ask what the production status was. I replied that it was “quo.” As in nothing was happening, a status that hadn’t changed appreciably in the four-plus months since we lost our initial investors.

He then asked me what ammo I was using to make potential new investors feel secure in this “challenging” economic climate. Before I could even stammer a lame response that would have something to do with the genius of the property and my track record of actually making money on my two previous movies, he offered a few large howitzers for my munitions supply. What does an investor want, he asked, rhetorically. First, an investor wants to be sure the picture will be completed. Second, an investor wants to know that a distribution company has agreed to distribute the film in both foreign and domestic territories. Third, an investor wants to see high and low projections for sales. And if he is comfortable with all of that, he wants to know if his money will be the first money paid back.

Before I told him I couldn’t afford a completion bond, he offered to provide all of the above for Rufus Rex. It was hard to believe, but the next day he sent me high-low projections for all territories worldwide. And he said he’d put everything else in writing for me before my next investor meeting.

As dad used to say, “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip,” so I didn’t fall to my knees weeping with joy or anything, but there’s no doubt that having the howitzers in my corner can’t help but make my case a bit more persuasive.

As I look out my window this afternoon here in southern Maine the sun is strong and the snow is starting to melt. This Sunday we go back to Daylight Savings Time. A month from now the Red Sox play their home opener. Two weeks from now spring officially begins. Our new president’s economic stimulus package will soon start thawing out the banking system, and after a long winter of being spurned by the Funding Fairy, I have a feeling that our high-profile visit from her sister means that she’ll soon follow.

Even if the ice weren’t melting outside I can sense that things are heating up, and though I may be fuzzy on the physics I’m confident that this is way more fun than rocket science. So stay tuned and strap in—this bumpy grassroots moviemaking ride is just beginning…

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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

Comment by Digital Film School on 3/05/09 at 5:26 pm: This is so true!
Comment by tippwery on 4/08/09 at 12:50 am: This is a great job.Thanks for providing an Custom Essay on it.I thus contend that making movies is far and away more difficult than a cozy, sterile pursuit like rocket science.
Comment by rezv on 4/11/09 at 2:38 am: Making movies might be dirty,But I hope everyone is going to love ones work unless they cant do it.That was good write up by the author.
Comment by Jack on 4/19/09 at 4:56 pm: Thank you for your good article.