Met a couple who have successfully self distributed a feature.... Still have a garage full of 35mm prints and a dozen years or more later get a great monthly check in DVD royalties from Wallmart. (Can I tell them how much Sandy/John/Patty? I need to update this!...*smiles*)
So my strategy is to make the film affordably with two stars working scale and self distribute to Med Schools in auditoriums (since ours is an extreme healthcare/healthspan movie). We'll use affordable projectors and there will be no prints! Grassroots niche publicity and local ads via student governments, like Big Fat Greek Wedding did to The Greek Community. Then platform out to a big distributor.
My friend Terry sells at fests and to distributors directly, foreign and domestic, before and after shooting. It can be done. With over $five million you need a completion bond. And those are big crews and stars. So we can do that too. Once we get the investment, we won't need to do platform, because then we get the stars we get traditional distribution. But we may want to self distribute and platform for a bigger deal....
We could then sell online and use iVod and sell DVDs in stores as long as DVDs last. Maximum ownership and value to investors. Theatrical is only 20% of profits. It's the best way to see a movie, and necessary for big foreign sales. So theatrical release is a big expensive ad for 80% of the other distribution channels. And theatrical is over 1/4 cheaper now with out the expensive prints (will check that figure again, going off brainstuffs). The only big distribution expense layouts now are advertising and the exhibitor (theater) nut. So no more prints! More profits for us.... Consequently, the "industry" congloms are trying to make independent investors nervous. They're working to control online grassroots ads with flow control. So theatrical is important -- and a conglom deal. But if you've got a hot script and stars, this is the best time ever to invest in a movie. And probably tons better than stocks and bonds in the near term. As far as I know, you can still get free online and school publicity ads and tour the nation in a van and platform out to a studio release and a big deal.
"... the international box office!... Fueled by emerging markets like China, Russia, and Brazil, movies took in $8.2 billion dollars internationally this summer (2011), up a gargantuan 41 percent from summer 2010, when movies earned $5.8 billion abroad.... the main factor is simply that moviegoing has become much more popular internationally in recent years. America is now just another market in the worldwide box office. -- by Grady Smith, Sept 08, 2011 Entertainment Weekly
Netflix was boycotted by some independent moviemakers because Amazon gets you 90% of DVD sales. And Netflix pays very little. As far as online though, this is the new information I will be seeking from producer colleagues. I think iTunes only gives a small percentage. Need to research this again. Please email me these numbers if you have them. <a href="mailto:john@daedaldream.com">john@daedaldream.com</a>
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