So how does a film actually get made, who decides where it gets distributed and even more importantly who comes up with the money once everyone decides what to make in the first place? These were some of the questions posed, deliberated and thoughtfully answered this past Tuesday evening at ‘The Filmmaker Panel and Press Conference event as presented and moderated by Sally Golan’s production company Social Exposure Media which hosts monthly salon meetings to discuss high minded concepts in film and the arts.
Finding myself at the Thompson Hotel on the Lower East side I was intrigued at the gamut of audience that had arrived for this treatise, more telling though was the invited panel who would spend the next hour and a half collectively captivating us. The invited panel (see list below) were all selected from the indie film scene which at first hinted at obscure non commercial films, the truth of course was quite the opposite. As moderated by Jerome Stoeffhaas of the New York State Film Department it was heady discussion almost from the get go.
Invited panel list;
ALEX MERKIN – DIRECTOR – ACROSS THE HALL
JONATHAN SHUKAT – PRODUCER – PALMSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
TOM HELLER – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH”
JESSE SCOLARO- PRODUCER – THE MISSING PERSON
BRIAN DEVINE – PRODUCER – GIGANTIC PICTURES
CHRISTOPHER HORTON -HEAD OF AQUISITIONS – CINETIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
JEROME STOEFFHAAS – PANEL MODERATOR – NY STATE FILM OFFICE.
One of the ideas espoused was that in todays crowded market there was a need for more viable content for the newer sources coming being sourced- in one word it’s all come down to digital and it seems the life of the theater is certainly being challenged as new viewing forums are being conceived, developed and lassoed into the distribution aspect of showcasing films. This of course is good news for independent film makers as they don’t necessarily have to wait or hope to win indie festivals(although that always go a long way…) but now have the option of going straight to digital (such as Apple’s I-Tunes upcoming video department), cable and the overseas market.
Not to get too technical it came down to the idea that you now had distribution companies taking exclusive rights and producers vice to versa having more control on the back end- a relationship that for the longest time has existed the other way round…
I listened to tales of how an unknown director (Alex Merkin) directing indie video clips for underground bands was being accidentally discovered and by his sheer wit buying his airplane ticket to Hollywood, Los Angeles to meet with producers who thought he was working down the road. From there he got a short film made starring Adrien Greneir that would help propel his career forward.
Then the discussion catapulted back to Brian Devine who then spoke of what it actually took to get investors on board. A good story, yes, a star and what was that stars net worth or in other words how many tickets would that star bank but more importantly what type of well conceived economic plan could you come up with to show possible investors- after all they were the ones ultimately taking the economic risks of a production. What is the project worth, what does it cost and how much could one bank on international and domestic sales.
Raising money it seemed sometimes came to close personal relationships or placing a carefully considered cold call and pitching the movie idea. This is in fact how the film ‘Precious’ as produced by Tom Heller actually got made- not some studio signing off in some swanky lounge. Not an easy feat for an admittedly dark film which ultimately speaks of some hard truths and personal redemption.
While negotiating the guests I had the good fortune of talking with Ms. Sally Golan (who after months of emails we had finally met…) who brought a big smile to my face that her next acting/film project will involve the TV pilot- ‘Shitty advice for a dollar.” Silly, brilliant, time shall see- (it’s apparently going to be a single wide shot for 30 minutes at unfolding action) – but when Ms. Golan suddenly countered that this scallywag should get involved it suddenly made me realize that the terrain of making films and the media and distribution of those projects is certainly changing in a very digital world.
A very provocative evening and a clever thing for Ms. Sally Golan to have pulled off. I expect more of her in the future…
Also benefiting that evening was Shark Savers.org, an organization dedicated to ending the cruel shark hunts in Asia.
Youri Hazanov!! how are you?
“LisaAnton” Please comment only on the filmmaker panel, no one here cares about the work of Sally Golan as an actress.
I agree with you guys that Jesse Scolaro is a pseudo-producer… so Graymadd you have a point.
Lisa, I don’t know why you waste your time discussing Sally Golan’s work, or should I say lack of work?
How many events did she organize, 5? I looked on IMDB and she only acted in 2 movies!! One of them being a short movie..
Her “production” career is not that much bigger…
So on the one hand you have 5 events (2 of them I attended and they were very successful), and on the other hand unknown short movies where she doesn’t even seem to have the main role…
I say, organize more events Sally and drop acting, obviously you’re not good at it!
Lisa,
I can tell you exactly anything you want to know. Tell me anything specific you want to know.
About which movie? About the 3 of them? Give me your email and I will answer your questions specifically as I DID see these movies.
You seem just as a friend of Miss. Golan who doesn’t know much about the art of acting of producing, and is just trying to protect her friend.
That is nice of you but that doesn’t add any professionalism to Sally’s work.
I think you have no CLUE what acting really is, and I can tell to everyone here that YOU are lying.
Nice try supporting your friend with fake posts, but that doesn’t help.
What do you for a living Lisa?
Obviously nothing related to the movie business. I am a movie critic you see, this is my job, so I see all movies I need to see, even those that are not officially shown to the public or not officially out yet.
So I can only reiterate my judgment of Sally’s poor acting and producing skills, but am praising her events, as they were great.
You can continue with your fake posts “Lisaanton”, but anyone who saw Sally acting knows that she is not a great actress.
Alexandra,
If you really did see the movies she acted in and produced, tell me WHERE and WHEN and who else was in them? what were the roles? where were they shot? give me a scene?Because I highly highly doubt you did.. I really think you have something personal against Miss.Golan and that you are just trying to bash her. I can see right through your comments. If you don’t like her, her events or anything she does, then don’t show up. You make yourself sound immature by coming out and bashing some one like this. Would you like it if they did that to you?
I think you just went on IMDB, found out the names of the films she was in and just listed them!
you don’t have a CLUE what she did. And by the way, NO ONE saw 48 Hours in Purgatory because it was not even done yet!! so now I know FOR SURE you are lying and have something personal against her. Nice try though. and union was a short film also not done yet!! HAH this is too much fun proving you all sorts of wrong!!
Lisa, I understand you are a friend of Sally but did you see the movies she acted in or produced?
I liked the event, it was nice, so I can only agree with you about the comment of this “Johny Doe”.
But I must say in all honesty that I didn’t like the movies Sally played in, neither “Union”, neither “I am an Island”, same for the movie she produced “48 hours in purgatory”, unfortunately…
I know her personally also and told her many times that she should stick to organizing events, something she does really well, rather than acting or producing.
Lisa you are totally right, wouldn’t argue with you.
But, hey, how objective a “friend” of Sally can be about her work and skills?
We all know the answer.
Lisa, I understand you are a friend of Sally but did you see the movies she acted in or produced?
I liked the event, it was nice. But I must say in all honesty that I didn’t like the movies Sally played in, neither “Union”, neither “I am an Island”.
I know her personally also and told her many times that she should stick to organizing events, something she does really well, rather than acting.
i must say that i worked on missing person in post-production and jesse scolaro is a very negligent producer. he is one of those producers who talks quietly and thinks that makes him professional. but he does not do the work and most of it is about him looking like he is big shot. there are unfortunately a lot of those producers now. meanwhile the people who work with him usually don’t even get paid because they actually have to put their fees into finishing the movie. while jesse takes budget home. it is pretty laughable to see him on panel. not sure who graymadd is, but he is right on money about jesse scolaro. scolaro is a joke.
LISA
Why should I take it up with Jesse Scolaro in non public format when Jesse Scolaro is pretending in public that he had anything to do with producing Missing Person. It is important to say in public format that Jesse Scolaro did nothing but nearly kill The Missing Person.
It is important that filmmakers not see Jesse Scolaro on panel with Missing Person listed as credit and think he had anything to do with it getting made.
Sally Golan actually not only puts on FANTASTIC events but has a real understanding of the business and what it takes to collaborate and make people feel incredibly welcome. No snobbery at her events at all! A joke? She is far from a joke… I have met Sally Golan at five of her past events and she makes constant introductions, smiles from ear to ear and takes the time to listen to you. She is a fantastic actress as I have worked personally with her. It is only a matter of time until she is on the big screen. She is younger then most of her peers and is beyond her years. Rare. I look forward to more of her events and think SOCIAL EXPOSURE MEDIA is seriusly KICK ASS!! GO SALLY!
First off, Graymadd, you sound pissed at Jesse and you should take it up with him personally instead of online… shows how immature you are. Keep your mouth shut about other people because word gets around. Oh and hey “Johnny Doe” you sound like a real hater, I don’t think you have ever even been to one of her events. Clearly you were one not invited and are pissed about it!!! You sound like one of those lame types who sits home on a saturday night bashing movies and people online.. pathetic. Sally is a friend so I would shut the fuck up.
This event was a joke. I would never waste my time again for this kind of event, and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. This whole Social Exposure company is a scam.
You have a point.
My first question is however, why did they even bother to come to this stupid event?
I felt like it was a waste of time, and Sally Golan in an incompetent producer and event organizer, not even talking about the acting part.
I worked on production and know a lot of people who worked on the post. Jesse Scolaro took a large percentage of the budget for himself(even though he was not a producer who raised any funds) and then Scolaro did not come anywhere close to getting the movie finished(it took others cutting their fees entirely just to afford a final cut, forget about blowing up to film.) Apparently Scolaro cut really cheap deals for everyone, so that the post houses were not inclined to do decent work. When the movie played at Sundance it was the wrong cut of the film. When the movie went to theaters in New York and Los Angeles, it was a version of the film that was 50 percent darker than it was supposed to be. People asked for their tickets back it was so dark. As a member of the production I can tell you I probably saw Scolaro once during the 21 day shoot.
Wow, OMG. EXPOSED!!! i love the Indie drama!!! They say credits can be deceiving. So who are you? Do tell.
Jesse Scolaro did not produce The Missing Person. Everyone who worked on The Missing Person wants to kill Jesse. Including Michael Shannon and Noah Buschel. That guy has no business being on any panel. He does not know how to raise money, take care of talent, or even screen a movie properly.