I know distribution can be tricky, but getting close to landing a deal with a distribution company. Do I need an agent to get me through the process or if someone can shed some light on what this process entails.

Thanks

RR

Best bet get a SALES AGENT. They have the contacts, abilities and skills. Go to oen of the m,arkets, take 60-100 copies of your film, hand them out (with a nice bit about the film and any press quotes) to anyone that's selling films like you. If your film is a low-bduget digital horror then make sure your not wasting time with Pathe etc. Look whose doing what you are and nab them.

Then go home. No much will happen at Cannes. Chase them up a week later.

Sales agents have the contacts, abilities and money to promote your film. Dont get me wrong you will loose but you'll gain far more.

25% will go to sales agent plus all expenses. Out of 100,00k profit you may loose upwards of 35-40k for your first year but the rest is money you would never have got!


Phil Hobden
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Thanks for the info Phil

Ricky
link removed

25% will go to sales agent plus all expenses
25 percent!!!!!???? That could potentially be a LOT! Think about the blood, sweat and tears that you put into making your film. Then think about some guy making a whopping 25% of profits just because he "knows people". If the movie makes 2 million then is it really fair for some dude to make 1/2 a million bucks because he knows some people? That's insanity! I would never "buy into" that system. If filmmakers are "buying into" this sales agent idea then they are FEEDING IT.

25 percent!!!!!???? That could potentially be a LOT! Think about the blood, sweat and tears that you put into making your film. Then think about some guy making a whopping 25% of profits just because he "knows people". If the movie makes 2 million then is it really fair for some dude to make 1/2 a million bucks because he knows some people? That's insanity! I would never "buy into" that system. If filmmakers are "buying into" this sales agent idea then they are FEEDING IT.

It is but thats standard. Also factor in the costs of YOu promoting the film at Mipcom, AFM and cannes, lawyers to sort the contracts, chasing up the money, delivery... when you look at it in those terms 25% is actually not much.

Also sales agents have contacts with people you NEVER will. They have relationships that take years to build. Also it's safe. The sales agent, if they get ripped off, have things in place. You do not. Your legal fees could be half of your 2 million alone.

We have made a lot of money from using a honest, hardworking sales agent. In my mind, and most people in the industry working on this level, it is the ONLY way to go.

All I can say is from expereince LefT For Dead would NEVER have sold how and where it did without a sales agent and I can give you 100 more films that are the same.

Phil Hobden
edit: Ad removed. Please stop advertising your film in every post.

Are YOU a lawyer or sales agent? Seems like a cap is needed for such a deal if you choose to go that road.
If you have something good then it will sell itself.

If you have something good then it will sell itself.

"Out of the mouths of babes" is another good quote. Also "if you build it, they will come".

That comment is one of the most naive comments on this board yet. Sorry to be so blunt, but that is soooo not the case. Phil gave you some good advice. He has had the experience of having a good film that would have been stuck and had NO distribution if it were not for the sales agent. (No, I am not a sales agent, either)

Let's look at it this way. The farmer has a great crop of vegetables this year. Really delicious. You, the consumer, are hungry. The truck driver can get the vegetables to you, but some little protester chimes in on how much the truck driver makes and what an outrageous price it is (whether it is or NOT) and the vegetables rot sitting at the dock because there is no distribution for them...and you starve to death because no one brought you the vegetables to eat.


After you prove that you can deliver a great film, the percentages will drop, but since you are an unknown quantity, you and your films are a greater risk, thus the higher percentages. It's just the free enterprise system trying to work. A lot of the new films they do take on DON'T MAKE MONEY', so it's a shared risk.

[QUOTE=WriteumCowboy]"Out of the mouths of babes" is another good quote. Also "if you build it, they will come". [QUOTE]

Sorry have to agree with you there. 25% is the INDUSTRY standard. It's the same for bigger films and film makers.

You may find someone to do it for less but from my experience (and without sounding like an arse) - which is considerable in this area (3 Cannes, 1 AFM) I doubt you will and if you do I doubt they would be that good.

And no I'm neither. I'm an indei filmmaker that sold his first film, made a profit and will always go back to doing any future film the same way.

Ths is the best, easiest and most safe way of selling a film. Simple as that.

Phil Hobden
edit: Ad removed. Please stop advertising your film in every post.

25 percent!!!!!???? That could potentially be a LOT! Think about the blood, sweat and tears that you put into making your film. Then think about some guy making a whopping 25% of profits just because he "knows people". If the movie makes 2 million then is it really fair for some dude to make 1/2 a million bucks because he knows some people? That's insanity! I would never "buy into" that system. If filmmakers are "buying into" this sales agent idea then they are FEEDING IT.
As the others have said, you don't have to buy into that system. If you can get a good, experienced, connected sales agent to work hard selling your film for less than 25%....

Let us all know the name!

Frankly, that's what you're paying a sales agent for: for knowing people. You put all the blood, sweat and tears into making your film, a sales agent puts all their blood, sweat and tears into selling it. It's not easy selling a movie - even a good one.

If you are as good at selling as you are at making, then you can save that 25%.

For me, I'm a movie maker. I can't (and don't want to) spend the next nine months selling my last movie. I want to spent the next nine months making my next one. For me it's well worth the 25% to free up my time to create a new movie rather than selling the last one.

I agree 100%. There really is, at thislevel unless your film gets picked up by Paramount or Dreamworks, a better way.

Phil Hobden
--No Longer Posting Stuff He Shouldn't--

Well guess I should make it a little more clearer that Im looking at going straight to video, no theatre release etc..my concern is making sure I know what should and should not be in a contract with a distributor..

Thanks,

RR

Still... 'Left For Dead' is a straight to DVD film. We have no pretensions about Cinema Release AT ALL.

The same principle stands for straight to DVD, as well as theatrical, rental and even online.

I know I keep saying the same thing but a sales agent will get you the best deal possible for your film as again it's as much in your interest as theirs.

A Sales agent will, for their standard 25%:

** Get you Sales at the bets possible market rate (you will never be able to command $20k for a territory)
** Prepare the proper promotional materials including huge posters etc
** Sort out delivery, payment and ALL the legal sides.
** Receive all sales paperwork and track sales figures
** Sell the film at AFM, Cannes, Mipcom
** Post screeners and make sure that pirate copies don't get released (this is a major concern as
some 'buyers' are extremely unethical in their approach and if they can will copy your film illegally).
** Have insurance to protect against bankrupt companies and lost revenue

From an ego point of view, 'Left For Dead' at Cannes was also promoted along side films starring Chuck Norris, Lance Henrikson, Ben Kingsley, Christen Slater, the new film by Bernard Rose (director of Candyman) and various other films. This adds consideraqble value to your film as a product to have that association and again means more buck for your investment.

25% is a lot to swallow. But trust me on this we spent a lot of time researching the BEST way to sell our film and this was it. And knowone I know who ahs done the same think they could have done it better.

I'm not a sales agent or have any affiliation with sales agents, just a film maker with considerable expereince trying to help out others.

Take it for what you will.

Phil Hobden
-- Modern Life?--
'Find Us On Google'

sales agents!!!


I need a GOOD ONE!.. does anyone have a NAME and Contact number for a good sales agent?

by good one i mean one that you can trust.

hmm.. that may be impossible... ... however... i still need one. just the same

Okay some ones that I know are good (You'll find them all listed on the net)

John Curtis @ H30
Barbara Mudge @ Worldwide Film Entertainment LLC
Art @ Birch Tree
Michael Psat @ Cinemavault
Tanya York @ York Entertainment

Hope that helps... who are you with at the moment (if you dont want to publically annouce PM me)

Phil Hobden
--Modern Life?--

York Entertainment
Isn't York a distributor that is about bankrupt? Seems to me I remember hearing about a small distributor who couldn't get paid from that company.

All I can say is that York handled the US release of 'Left For Dead' and so far (knock on wood) they have been 101% fine for us. They've done a superb job on marketing and selling LFD....

Phil Hobden
--Modern Life?--

This is the first time I've ever heard York and surberb job in the same sentence.

I'm stunned to hear it. I have been so screwed over by them that I have blocked their e-mail address. At one time they were a good company to deal with. Maybe she's getting her act together again.

This is the first time I've ever hear Youk and surberb job in the same sentence.

I'm stunned to hear it. I have been so screwed over by them that I have blocked their e-mail address. At one time they were a good company to deal with. Maybe she's getting her act together again.

If everyone is talking about the York distributor in the Los Angeles area then yes, I have heard nasty things about the company. One guy was telling me that he was going to have to sue the female owner because he was not getting PAID! He was pissed! The true test of ANY distributor is do they pay on time?

One thing to keep in mind is that a distributor will TAKE CARE of their best selling suppliers. If they are teetering on bankruptcy they will stop paying the lowest people on the totem pole AND people who they believe don't have much more product on the horizon. I know ALL TO WELL how this shit works from my experience in CD distributiion. There are commonalities in business. Just because they kept one supplier happy doesn't tell the whole story by any means!

I have a page about CD distribution. Read up folks! Again there are commonalities in ALL forms of media distribution.
http://www.junkyardwillie.com/webpages/distribution_cd.htm

Maybe I got them on a good day! As I said, So far, they have done a good job.

Phil Hobden
--Modern Life?--

I have had nothing but a bad experience dealing with Tanya York and York Entertainment. I would be very careful with using her company. Recently she did this "bankruptcy" thing and alot of filmmakers didn't get paid. Contact me if you want to discuss it further.

The DVD market has been HOT. You have to scratch your head at a company that can't be profitable in this market.

well I wonder what was going on with Tanya York and that "bankruptcy" thing she did - I know there were alot of filmmakers that got hurt and not paid.

As I said for me the jury is out. We are due our first set of sales figs now so I'll see if we get any money out of them. I have had minor issues of attention to detail but for the most part they are easy to deal with and have done (again so far) everything we expected of them.

Guess we'll see!

A side note to the "25% is industry standard" comment.

This is incorrect only because there is not a "standard" percentage: it's all dependent on how difficult that sales agent thinks your film will be to sell.

You can get a very good domestic sales agent (AKA producer's rep) for between 5-30%

Good foreign sales agents are anywhere from 15-40%

I have just recently (last week!) secured two sales agents, one for each of my indie films that were both shot on DV and have no recognizable names but have decent festival attendance (just not the big ones).

For my horror feature I was able to get a low percentage because it is good enough that it will be an easy sell.

For my indie drama the situation was much worse, even with decent festival attendance. It is a very difficult film to market and sell, and therefore I had much less room to bargain. While we did settle in the middle of these percentages, it was still an eye-opener to see how different the situation was for these two films.

My advice is to see what numbers keep getting thrown at you, and then try to get repped for at the very least 5% less than the average. The worst that can happen is that they can say no. The beauty of this business is that a sales agent will not cool to your film most of the time. Product is product, and if they think they can sell your film today, they'll still want it next month. For these guys, it's all about filling up their slate so that they have enough product to bring to the markets...

Good luck,

-Jim

My experience has been in CD disrtribution. Without the help of any lawyer or manager I had Capitol Nashville and American Recordings contacting me. I wound up inking with a CD distributor that coincedentally owns DVD Planet and Deep Discount DVD.

Now there seems to be far less people trying to sell DVD movies compared to musicians selling music CD's, AND there's WAY more DVD distributors than CD distributors, AND DVD distributors seem to welcome unsolicited product. Yes? So how hard is it to buy a book like the Hollywood Distributor's Directory, send out mailers to every company that fits your criteria and find interested buyers?

Not at all. But the issues comes without a sales agent you dont have the legal backup and knowledge, the buying (or in this case selling power) or the international market attendances.

I happily took a 25% loss per sale on Left for Dead to ensure I didnt have to worry about all that shite!