By Robert Goldrich

SANTA MONICA, Calif. --

Discovering a great script and/or director is not enough, according to Mark Ankner, partner of global finance and distribution at WME. While finding a project is “one of the biggest thrills,” said Ankner, “a great film is all about the producer. If you have a great script, you need a great producer to see it through.” That’s why Ankner gravitates to seasoned, well connected producers, which is especially important for content involving new directorial talent.

Ankner’s comments came during a “Working With Talent Agents” discussion session at the American Film Market’s Production Conference earlier this week (11/7) in Santa Monica. Ankner’s fellow panelists were: Jessica Lacy, partner/head of International and Independent at ICM; agent Maren Olson of CAA; and Rena Ronson, partner/head of UTA’s Independent Film Group. Discussion moderator was Kevin Iwashina, founder and CEO of Preferred Content.

Platforms like Netflix and Amazon represent a game changer in the art of the movie deal–particularly Netflix which debuts films on its service with simultaneous albeit limited theater runs as was the case, noted Ankner, for Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation. UTA’s Ronson related, “When you are selling to Netflix the production and finance team are looking from a financial perspective, and its beneficial to them because they are going to buy out your upside; this is very attractive and rare; from a creative point of view you believe in a film’s potential in the theatrical marketplace, and sometimes it’s more of a struggle to decide to go with a Netflix or Amazon, but  sometimes it is a really easy decision.”

Ronson cited Christopher Guest as another good example of a filmmaker with a direct-to-Netflix deal.

ICM’s Lacy added that for filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch and Spike Lee, Amazon–which is releasing features theatrically–”stepped up to the plate with the level of budgets these directors needed.” 

To help spark buyer interest, festival exposure can prove pivotal. CAA’s Olson noted that agents “want to be in the conversation about which festival to debut in.” Strategic considerations relative to selection of festivals to submit to–or whether to enter to begin with–are among the added value talent agencies provide to filmmakers. 

Those strategic considerations also apply to the many films that never hit the festival circuit. Ronson estimated that with 65-plus movies a year, she can’t take them all to Sundance, Toronto or Cannes. Screenings outside the festival arena and other strategies prior to purchase and release have to be devised for each individual project.

As for how they find viable content, Lacy cited such sources as Sundance Lab and IFP projects. And of course, there are properties within the talent agency themselves such as books and scripts from the talent roster. And agents are adept at packaging talent to bring those projects to fruition. Still, Ronson cautioned, “Typically coming into the agency asking just for help packaging is really a dead end; you need to be thinking about who in that agency you are interested in working with and use us for what you need us to do.”

Ankner related, “If you are a producer, you are probably an entrepreneur at heart; if you are an entrepreneur at heart, it is probably hard to give up control; but it is very important to collaborate with the agents and be open minded.”
 
The WME exec added, “It’s all about a relationship; we can only read a certain amount of scripts per week; I really stress working through established people (managers, executives) who have established relationships with agents to help you work through the process and navigate the process and determine which project is right for you now.”

Asked about documentaries, Ronson shared, “Documentary financing is usually done outside agencies; we usually see them when they are beginning or halfway through production; they aren’t usually the big splash sell. You are doing it for the passion of the project.”

However, Ankner noted that WME will finance select documentaries, adding that networks are exploring the docu space as they look to replace reality-based TV. Content such as Making a Murderer and O.J.: Made in America are changing the conversation about documentaries, garnering critical acclaim and commercial success.

Pre-Sales Marketplace

Another AFM Production Conference session, “Producing for the Pre-Sales Marketplace,” featured such observations as:

• Panelist Eric Brenner, president of ETA Films, noted, “A movie that I used to be able to make for $15 million I now have to make for $7.5 million; alternatively, if you have an established director and/or cast, you can go bigger and make it for $35 million; in the independent world it is all about making a movie for as little as possible; it always helps to have a role that a great actor really wants to play.”
• Brenner further observed, “The market has gone down internationally over the last few years (the Euro and Pound are down, the DVD business is disappearing), and therefore as a producer we are much more creative now about where we shoot, et cetera.”
• Panelist Paul Bales, partner and COO, The Asylum, said, “I would rather always know that the budget I am making a film for is the correct budget, and the only way to do that is to go to the markets and speak with sales agents.”
• Panelist Tamara Birkemoe related, “It is always better to come to a sales agent with a director attached; but it all starts with a script for us; talent also helps but only if it is the right talent.”
• And panelist Caroline Couret-Delegue, managing director of Truffle Pictures, observed, “We still don’t know how Brexit will affect pre-sales, but the numbers out of the U.K. are very, very low at the moment because of the current exchange rate. The U.K. buyers are therefore being very cautious, and tend to not position themselves on a film as a pre-buy.” 

Highlights
Other highlights, news and developments at the American Film Market–which got underway last week (11/2) and wraps today (11/9)–have thus far included:

• MadRiver Pictures has acquired the rights to Manuel Gonzales’ debut novel "The Regional Office is Under Attack," and is developing it as a feature film with Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) to direct.  Jennifer Ames and Steve Turner will adapt.  The novel, which was published earlier this year, is an outrageous action-comedy about a secret organization of young female operatives who are tasked with protecting an unknowing Earth from a constant barrage of alien threats.  Fleischer and David Bernad of The District will produce with MadRiver’s Marc Butan.  Edward Fee and Riverstone Pictures’ Deepak Nayar and Nik Bower are executive producing. MadRiver recently completed James Gray’s Lost City of Z, set to release next year with Amazon Studios, and is in postproduction on Peter Landesman’s Felt starring Liam Neeson and Diane Lane. In Cannes, MadRiver Pictures partnered with Insiders’ to form a joint venture, IMR International, who handles international sales across all MadRiver and Insiders films. The District executive produces NBC’s Superstore, which just received a full-season Season 2 order. They also have Brie Larson’s directorial debut Unicorn Store in production.  Fleischer is currently working on helming the sequel to the box office hit Zombieland. Ames & Turner got their start writing on Boardwalk Empire.  They’ve since worked on Banshee and Bosch, and have sold shows to Cinemax and FX. They co-produced on Ash vs. the Evil Dead and are currently producers on Audience Network’s Kingdom. Fleischer is repped by CAA, Management 360 and lawyer Warren Dern.  Gonzales is repped by CAA, Management 360.  Ames & Turner are repped by CAA and Gotham.
• Academy Award® nominee Tom Hardy (The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road and upcoming Dunkirk) will star as the infamous Al Capone in Fonzo.  The film was written and will be directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle).  The film will be produced by Russell Ackerman and John Schoenfelder (Tau) for Addictive Pictures alongside Academy Award® nominee Lawrence Bender (Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill: Vol 1 & 2, Good Will Hunting, Pulp Fiction). Fonzo is currently in pre-production.  BLOOM initiated international sales at the American Film Market.  CAA and WME are handling US rights. Trank is represented by WME, Management 360 and attorney Mitch Smelkinson.  Hardy is repped by CAA and Lindy King at United Agents.  
• Inversion, Facing East’s $130 million sci-fi epic movie directed by Peter Segal, is set to begin principal photography on February 27 at Babelsberg studios in Berlin, and will continue in Shanghai and Chicago.   Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson (The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) is in final negotiations to star as senior Homeland Security investigator John Bailey. Chinese actress Liu Yifei (Once Upon a Time, The Forbidden Kingdom) has also joined the cast, which will star Travis Fimmel (Warcraft, Vikings). Inversion follows a street-wise American con man (Fimmel), and a young Chinese physicist (Liu) as they race against the clock to save the earth from a terrifying loss of gravity.  John Bailey (Jackson’s character) believing the two are the cause of the cause of the inversions of gravity chase them across two continents trying to stop further destruction.   The screenplay is penned by Academy Award® winner Paul Haggis (Casino Royale, Million Dollar Baby, Crash), Academy Award® nominee David Arata (Children of Men, Spy Game) and Bragi Schut (Season of the Witch).  Facing East’s Philip Lee and Markus Barmettler, alongside Michael Nozik are producing. Michael Ewing (Segal’s longtime producing partner), Jim Skotchdopole (The Revenant, Django Unchained) and Foresight Unlimited’s Mark Damon are executive producing.
• Rocket Science announced that Robert Redford (Pete’s Dragon, All is Lost) and Casey Affleck (Manchester By the Sea, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) will star in David Lowery’s (Peter Pan, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) upcoming crime caper, The Old Man and The Gun. Endgame Entertainment and SPK Pictures are financing the project with Endgame’s James D. Stern producing alongside Condé Nast’s Jeremy Steckler and Dawn Ostroff. Robert Redford, Anthony Mastromauro, Bill Holderman and Tim Headington are also producing. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in early spring 2017 in Ohio. Rocket Science handles international sales starting at AFM, with WME and CAA handling US domestic rights. Based on a 2003 New Yorker article by David Grann, The Old Man and The Gun tells the true story of Forrest Tucker (Redford), an outlaw with 18 successful prison breaks and a lifetime of bank robberies to his name. The screenplay, which Lowery has written, retraces Forrest’s twilight years, from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounds authorities and enchants the public. Wrapped up in this chase is a detective (Affleck) who becomes captivated with Forrest’s commitment to his craft.
• Crimson Forest Films in association with Hannover House (OTC:HHSE) have inked a deal at AFM with Arclight Films to acquire action thriller Lost in the Pacific for a North American release. The film is targeted to release on VOD Dec. 1 and DVD & Blu Ray Jan.10.  Lost in the Pacific was made on a budget of approximately USD $10 million and filming took place at Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in Malaysia. The international cast includes Brandon Routh, known for his roles in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Superman Returns, and Zhang Yuqi as the female lead. The film was written and directed by Vincent Zhou (Last Flight) and follows a group of stranded passengers on a transatlantic flight who soon realize that the island they are on has a dark and deadly secret and that none of them may survive. Lost in the Pacific further boasts a VFX team that includes visual effects supervisor Bruce Jones (The Italian Job and Star Trek), art director Ian Bailie (Atonement and Pride and Prejudice) and Scott Winig as DP. The visual effects team will work at Stareast Digital Lab and with United Exhibitor Partners.
• The American Film Market screened hundreds of films, including 71 world and 250-plus market premieres. World premieres included: sci-fi thriller What Happened To Monday (SND M6 Group) with Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close, and Willem Dafoe; the animated musical Charming 3D (SC Films International) with voices by Demi Lovato, Ashley Tisdale, and Avril Lavigne; Oren Uziel’s directorial debut, Shimmer Lake (The Exchange) starring Benjamin Walker, Stephanie Sigman, Wyatt Russell and Rainn Wilson; animated feature Ballerina (Gaumont) with voices by Elle Fanning and Dane DeHaan; and Swing State (VMI Worldwide) starring Taryn Manning, Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Angela Kinsey. Films making their market debut at the AFM include: coming-of-age drama Coming Through The Rye (Bleiberg Entertainment), starring Alex Wolff and Chris Cooper; Lady MacBeth (Protagonist Pictures) starring Florence Pugh; Rod Smith’s Eat Local (GFM Films) starring Charlie Cox, Mackenzie Crook, and Dexter Fletcher; James Franco’s In Dubious Battle (AMBI Distribution); And Punching The Clown (Octane Entertainment) starring Henry Phillips, J.K. Simmons, Tig Notaro and Sarah Silverman; Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest (HanWay Films) starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, and Bill Nighy; fall-festival favorite, Brimstone (Embankment Films) starring Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, and Kit Harrington; Anne Hathaway-starrer Colossal (Voltage Pictures); The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One (XYZ Films) starring Kellan Lutz; Fernando Trueba’s The Queen of Spain (Myriad Pictures) starring Penelope Cruz; and hand-drawn animation feature Ethel & Ernest (Little Film Company), with voices by Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn and Luke Treadaway.

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