If anyone here is actually a filmmaker we will look at your trailers. How we choose to do business is up to us.
You are using the term "filmmaker" as it is understood by the industry! There are some IndieTalk members who work in the industry but most are amateurs with little idea of how business in general and the movie business in particular operates. To pay due respect, some/many of the amateurs here do have some talent, or at least have some talent in certain filmmaking areas but generally they are working with little or no budget and approach filmmaking as a hobby (albeit a serious hobby), as a labour of love and achievement rather than as a commercial enterprise. This approach, plus the extreme budget constraints, causes problems for those who upon completion of their film then attempt to make some commercial gain from it.
Due to this approach and the massively growing number of filmmakers who fall into this category, there are an increasing number of people/distribution businesses willing to take advantage or even outright scam them. So it's not entirely true to say they are being paranoid or that a healthy dose of scepticism is counter-productive.
These statements raise more concern.... you request specifically films that have a star, then say you would like to help those struggling for distribution. Why would someone who has a star in their film need to go through you?
Spielberg's "Lincoln" with Daniel Day-Lewis and a host of other "A" and "B" list stars struggled initially to find distribution. So even one of the most bankable directors in the history of film plus "A list" stars does not automatically guarantee distribution, let alone an unknown director with just a "C" or "D" list star the OP is referring to! There are countless films made every year with "B", "C" and "D" list stars which go straight to DVD/VOD and never get commercial distribution. So why do the OP's requests raise concern?
oh man.... dat BS radar..... IT'S OFF THE CHARTS!!!
For heaven's sake, Why? In my experience of the industry, distributors, film/TV execs and even commercial filmmakers themselves are all incredibly secretive, particularly about many business aspects of the industry. The OP has said
nothing whatsoever out of character compared to pretty much all of the commercial distributors I've ever met or worked with in my 20 years in the industry. In other words, if your BS meter is pegged, you need to seriously re-calibrate your BS meter because it will be "pegged" for virtually every serious commercial distributor! Based on prior experience of your posts I fully expect a smart-alec response and for you to ignore this advice, which of course is your prerogative, but you will severely hamper your chances of ever getting commercial distribution, even if you make a film with enough commercial appeal.
Like it or not, the film industry, like most other commercial industries, is a buyer's market. Executive Production like most other distributors/agents is not only entitled to demand certain content and insist on a level of confidentiality but within the industry it is actually expected to do so!!! In other words, what the OP has posted demonstrates more understanding and actual experience of the industry than most of the other postings I've seen on IT from newbie distributors/agents. And for some bizarre reason, this is "pegging" your BS meters!? If you have any interest in entering the commercial filmmaking world, then you're going to have to gain some actual understanding of the commercial film world, not just rely on assumption. If you don't have any interest in professional/commercial filmmaking then this thread is not for you, stick to amateur filmmaking and butt out! Unless you've got any actual evidence the OP is scamming, all you are doing is making yourself look ignorant, petty and jealous by alienating a potential avenue for those who are serious about getting into the industry.
None of what I've written above is any guarantee of course that the OP is legit, all I'm pointing out is that everything the OP has said so far is entirely in-line with what a legit distributor/agent would say.
G
