There was a great deal of speculation here [and here and here and, of course, here] and elsewhere late last week with the announcement that Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner were starting up a new self-distribution model called Truly Indie.
Over the weekend, I traded emails with Truly Indie's Kelly Sanders in an effort to get more specifics on the program. Herewith, 7 questions, 7 answers:
1. Indiewire reported that 100% of the box office
take will be returned to the filmmakers, but the
Variety article quoted Mark Cuban as saying "most
of a pic's box office profits will usually go to a
project's producers, though each deal will vary".
Can you give us a general idea of the breakdown
of a typical deal?
KS: 100% of the box office is the standard.
2. The press accounts have mentioned a one-week
guarantee. Is there a provision for what happens if a
film does very well. Can it be held over? Does the
same deal with box office return hold true if it can?
And if not, can the filmmaker do a move-over to
another theater in the same town, either at his/her
own expense or with Truly Indie's help?
KS: The film will compete for screen time just like
every other title and if it holds it will be treated as a
standard booking with the split of receipts being
equitable to that of other films with grosses in the
same range.
2b. Does that mean that a hold-over week would
see a more traditional split between filmmaker &
theater, say 25-30% reverting?
KS: The holdover would see a more traditional split,
percentage would vary depending on the grosses,
the same as all bookings.
3. After the five or 20-city run has ended, can the
filmmakers go on to play additional cities where
Landmark doesn't have a theater? If they do this,
would Truly Indie be involved in any way or does their
assistance end when the 5/20-city run ends?
KS: The filmmaker retains all rights to the film so they
can take any additional bookings whether during or
after Truly Indie dates. At this time we are booking for
only Truly Indie theatres. We are reaching out to other
theatres and expect to expand our network in time.
4. How many films do you think Truly Indie will try
to release per year? Will films be staggered so that
individual releases don't compete with one another?
KS: We do not have a set number of films that we are
looking to release. It will depend on the submissions we
receive and accept. Remember that films may end up
playing any combination of theatres depending on their
goals, so the dates and locations will be a cooperative
effort between the filmmaker and ourselves. At this time
we do not have any films overlapping.
5. Will the release be staggered - for example week
one in New York, week two in Chicago, etc. - or will
you open in 10 or 20 cities at once (if possible)? [I
ask this because it clearly benefits national press if
it appears you are having a national release.]
KS: This will depend on the filmmaker. Some filmmakers
will want a simultaneous release, but we have people who
are interested in sending people (actors/director) into
different cities to appear during the screenings so for
them staggering is best.
6. There was some speculation that the 50-150K paid
by filmmakers to get into the program would not cover
publicists, advertising, prints, etc. It seems to me
that all of these things, along with a staff to coordinate
them, are covered in the program. Can you elaborate?
KS: The program covers everything needed for a one
week theatrical release, including press screening and
pitching to critics, it includes the following ad campaign
per city - 4" pre Sunday ad, 7" Friday ad, 1/8 page ad
in the weekly and directory listings, it includes exhibition
of trailer/one-sheet. It does not include the creation of
a one-sheet or trailer which is the responsibility of the
filmmaker.
7. Finally, one of the biggest expenses that some
filmmakers have had to deal with has been the costs of
striking a print, making trailers, etc. Are these things
covered under Truly Indie - and will the theaters be a
mix of film and digital projection or exclusively digital
rooms.
KS: Truly Indie does not pay for prints or trailers. Those
must be supplied by the filmmaker. The filmmaker does
have the option of screening digitally.
Thanks to Kelly & Truly Indie for giving us additional information. I will write my own thoughts about Truly Indie a bit later.
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