Film Courage: We're hoping that we can help some people that might be watching
this who are stuck in getting a project made find a roadmap to maybe get unstuck.
I realize in current times things are kind of in limbo but any suggestions?
R. Ellis Frazier, Director, Producer, CEO at BADHOUSE Studios: I'd say
one of the things you want to do is keep working I said it before earlier meaning keep the train
moving down the tracks and if you're if you're just getting started and you feel stuck you may
have to do some kind of compromises I've had to do a lot you may not make the film exactly that you
want the guy may say you may have walking around with a budget of a half a million dollars for two
years and a guy comes and tells you I can give you two hundred thousand just do it you have to keep
you have to just you have to keep making things and and and take the good parts of what you make
and move that forward make it better make take the lessons take the experience take the connections
take the pieces and put it in your reel but don't allow your idea of how you saw things playing out
stop you from making something that is possible to make just film it now I'm not one of those
proponents of the people that say well just go out and film anything with your iPhone or anything I
think it creates a little bit of a glut in the in the system and it makes it harder for for the
buyers and so forth to really distinguish go through before they're going through
20 films now they're going to two thousand but if you feel that that your something's
not working and you just you have to reimagine it lower budget action scene different ending
go to a distributor and and figure out what they want I'm looking for a shark movie okay
go that direction and figure out where I like the script but it's the beginning and the
ending doesn't work for me you have to submit and submit to the laws of supply and demand
until such time as you can have more control over that so just keep
doing stuff keep saying yes even if it's going to be hard even if it's risky say yes so I'll do
it if you got this much I'll do it because you don't want to I'd rather be struggling
trying to make a two hundred thousand dollar movie work than sitting at the coffee shop with with the
$500,000 budget trying to figure out who wants to if they who wants to do it if somebody says
yes to that do it so don't don't get out of your own ideas and just let the
let let the supply and demand inform what you the laws of supply and demand inform what you
do and take the risk have to take the risk this is not going to there will be laws in
this business you're going to lose you're not going to hit home runs every time it's not going
to happen and what you're going to strike out sometimes but you’ve got to keep swinging at it
and yeah that's why that would be that would be my advice and make sure that you listen
don't get caught up in how you see it listen even if they tell you I don't like this ending I don't
you need two more action scenes in it you need to put this actor in it and not your friend from
acting class you have to listen to that stuff just keep going would do whatever it takes and
any opportunity that's that comes your way grab it and take the risk you have to there's no other way
is that something that you did in the beginning you waited thinking that you could only make a
certain film at this budget and then the rich uncle friend of the friend whatever presented
itself and you said okay yeah yeah at first I was like well the budget needs to be this
and you first you do budgets and then you go find the money for the budget now now they
tell you how much they have and you reverse engineer that that's just the way it works
and then you just in and you and it usually it's to the penny It's never enough so so
you can get caught up in okay well I did a budget and the budget's 3 million
well that movie's not worth 3 million and if somebody tells you that you have to listen to them
they say that word movies worth $850,000 I'll give whatever you need paperwork or
whatever to get that you can do it other than that let me know do it just figure it out
go somewhere and do it figure out a way to get it done but the last thing you want to do is
I can't remember who told me but as if you're not in making movies you're not in the movie
business you got to be making movies so just keep going just make the movies do what it takes
and and take the risks how did you get the names attached for your first film
that's the line and they really like the script Andy that Andy Garcia liked it or
casting director showed it to him it's really a really interesting role has a nice twist to it
we probably offered a little bit more than we should but you're going to have to do that at
first until a director knows you director is like a party it's like people if you're if you're a
popular director everybody wants to come to your party so your Clint Eastwood or or David Fincher
you don't have to beg an actor to they'll say I'll have this guy to start this out if you're unknown
they're going to be like well who's this guy how good is the story so so what where you want to
get to director wise is to where people know you a little bit and say oh okay Frazier's doing a
film okay I mean I have a version of that in the smaller actors but you want to get the the actors
that have bigger cloth that can get you the bigger budgets and then you bring your other actors that
you've developed on the smaller films along with you someone he talks yeah money it's if you don't
it's it's money in the script you know the key to any green light is the actor in 2022 so the actor
signs on if Brad Pitt and and Tom Cruise sign out of your movie people will throw money at you
it's there what's the hard thing to get and they know it so so you want them to get to know you and
and it becomes easier once you work with them a couple times or once you work with them once and
they trust you it just becomes a phone call do you go to the distributor first or the investor first
to the distributor first okay yes and they know these just they know the investors because the
investor wants to see investor if it's traditional finance and not like I said the rich uncle if it's
a traditional investor they want to know they'll want to you have to present your collateral the
collateral was given to you by the distributor so who you really go to first is the actor you attach
the actor first or you can go to this distributor and say I'm going to place an offer to this actor
can will you back it they say okay just whatever that movie will be worth this much okay that
will inform how much you could pay the actor and still make your film say then once they say yes
then you can take that paperwork or they take the paperwork to their financier and begin the cash
flow of the film so sounds easy but it's it's got a lot of every like it's kind of chicken and egg
in certain areas but if you the thing is if the actors that if you and they know you and you have
a good reel then it becomes a lot easier that's why you have to keep working and keep your network
strong and keep your real strong so that you can you can keep working and people get to know you
and then they and then you build a reputation of being good to work with that you do good work that
that people have good time with things like that and that you do what you say you're going to do
things like that so the answer is absolutely go to the distributor first and or the sales agent
and then or then go to the actor and then go to the finance but for a first-time filmmaker is that
something that's done a lot is Dell approach a distributor when they have really no track record
well a lot of times you're going to say send the script and it'll get lost in a pile
so you're really best to go then with a package if you can
meaning package meeting with an actor say if this actor and here's a script of this actor
can we do it so and then and then so questions how do you get the actor without having a firm
offer it's like I said chicken and egg happening here all the time so that's why
you just have to figure out how to be a good bet be safe for your and for your distributor your
distributor and your investor be a safe bet that means you're just going to have to keep going down
and down and down on on the cost so that until it makes sense for them to there's a trigger number
that have you and same with the actor the actor is a trigger number to say yes then the distributor
has a trigger number to say yes and then your so and then your budget has to be that way so so in
other words it's not going to be fun the first couple films but I mean it'll be fun but it's
going to be it's going to be rough you have to put in your time and then the next time it's a little
bit easier you can call that same actor again hey I got another thing going on and what's up can we
do it sure see then you don't have to jump to the same loop but you that would have never happened
if you hadn't done that other movie the sacrifices will need to be made and I think it's important.