OK, let’s be honest here. I’m shooting for the free subscription. Yeehaw! But I do have something to say…

Small independent films (esp those w/o stars) have not fared well at Markets, of late. So how are the little guys supposed to generate ROI? Is the day of the true indie (i.e. not “Indiewood") over? Will digital distribution save the day? Or does success lie in fiscal formula? The latter question is one that has plagued me for some time, given the mixed financial success I had with Quality of Life (http://www.qualityoflife-themovie.com).

There is a shared philosophy among some indie filmmakers that makes sense, in theory: positive ROI is much more feasible if you keep your budget under $500K. Makes sense, if you do the math (some direct DVD sales from your website, a domestic distribution deal, tv sale, and scattered international territories).

Genre is obviously huge. Topical docs are selling well. Horror always seems to find an audience. But, when I take personal creative inventory, I find myself languishing in in no-man’s land! My next film (neither doc nor horror) is budgeted at $1.5M (including some marketing and distribution costs). Without stars (or miraculous breakout hit) the numbers just don’t add up. And, to be honest, I’m not really trying to break even here. I want to clear enough coin to pay back investors + profit (so they are inclined to invest again), including myself (so I can have some time to develop my next project).

I could ramble on about this for hours, but would love to hear people’s thoughts…