Packaging Fees
It’s hilarious how nobody really has possession of what they’re offering in this town. It just happened to us in 2 projects. Our period piece and the thriller we’re working on, both from different angles, have this as their underlying, sometimes surprising driving force. For months, we have been moving a thriller script that we were able to position in the market and with a foreign sales company who fell in love with it. From there, we did our job and built a relationship with a very TOP studio producer who controlled the project. The italics are fully merited here, since in the end, this producer, who’s actually working on other big projects with the likes of Dreamworks and Warner Brothers, and who HAS a reputation, was fully on board with making us part of the deal, where we were negotiating a fee (what we live off) and a participation in the title. It all looked good, and we were excited. Then came these third party financiers, who were brought on board by an Agency that will remain unnamed who aggressively made the case that they wanted in for just about 70% of the budget. Multimillion dollars in equity that we or the “main” producer would be stupid not to accept. That deal is still in motion, and I had an earlier posting about our wrangling with the main actress we have attached to this project. Anyway, we actually get her commitment to the project and we’re like: Fuck yeah, we’re in. Right? Should be that easy. When we start plucking the petals of the deal however, trying to finalize OUR participation with everybody, we start realizing, that this TOP producer, didn’t even have the rights to the script. Doesn’t mean he’s done anything illegal, no, he’s acknowledged as a part of the package, but guess what, he hasn’t signed HIS deal either. So, how the fuck, could we expect to sign ours? Wow. It is the third party financiers who have the right’s to the script. Guess what, the agency brought them on board, and now, the very same agency that brought to the deal, is now PISSING them off, by asking them to include a “packaging fee” in the deal. What whores they are. Mon Dieu!
You see, the agency gets them the option to the script, circumvents the original proposal with the original producer, gets them to put money on the project, to make a “pay or play offer to the actress” and then STILL has the fucking nerve to tell them, yes, you’re financing this movie, thanks for your investment, but on top of that, you have to give another $200,000 for us getting you this project. The investor’s reaction you say? ”Fuck you.”
So our participation is now on hold, as the three tier scenario unfolds and the shitstorm wanes down. Gee, thank you guys.
On the other hand, (and looking much better thank you very much) we just signed a deal with our other co-producer on the period movie, which after much drama and delays, we realized that his whole hang up, was that he had told the European Media Company that was brought to the table by him (and which is why we signed) that HE HAD THE OPTION to the book that in reality only we had. In other words, he was SCRAMBLING for us to sign the agreement with him and didn’t want to divulge to us who even we were meeting with or who he was talking to for fear we would preempt something. He never had the actual right to move the project from us and still he did. However, he delivered (so far), but a close call my friends…
Can I get a WTF?
