Wisdom From The Stage 32 Film Finance Summit - Part 1: Focus On What Audiences Want

Stage 32’s Film Finance Summit rocked. The panelists were “unfiltered and unhinged,” said one of the Stage 32 moderators, Amanda Toney. Another Stage 32 moderator, Harrison Glaser called them, “unvarnished,” and personally, I loved the speaker’s honesty and transparency.

With three panels on producing, finance, and distribution, the Summit took a complex and open look at the state of the film and TV industry in 2021. I’ve remixed the wisdom from all three panels together in a 3-part blog series of articles under the following sections:

1. This intro and what audiences want
2. Attracting talent, investors, and buyers/distributors
3. What finance and distribution deals look like today

Finding An Angle For Selling Dramas

“No one wants to buy your pandemic drama. We all want escapism”.

- Kristin Harris, VP of Distribution and Acquisitions at Good Deed Entertainment

One of my favorite moments happened when Kristin Harris (all bios below) proclaimed the quote above. She talked about how people want what we’ve been missing during the pandemic. We miss traveling and going out and meeting new people. So Kristin gave an example of a drama currently in cinemas, Ma Belle, My Beauty. It’s about a polyamorous romance in the South of France with beautiful people.

Almost everyone in the panel agreed on how difficult it is to get an indie drama sold right now. Kristin secured a good distribution deal for the drama Ma Belle, Ma Beauty because she loves to find diamonds in the rough. She describes her favorite types of finds as “films overlooked by someone else that are not an easy sell, but make you feel something, and there’s an angle.”

She could see that the audience for Ma Belle, My Beauty was one that she could realistically reach. “My audience is reliably going to film festivals, tend to be educated, the cinephile queer audience tend to be early adopters,” and her strategy was to expand out from there. She said her distribution company is “finding success with the right niches - genres that work and appeal to specific audiences where I can be smart and targeted about how I'm releasing”

Kristin Harris, Good Deed Entertainment (LOVING VINCENT, SUMMERTIME)

It Starts With Producing

It’s beautiful how all the three summit topics connect, flowing in and out, but it starts with producers committing to a project, writer, or director and saying, “I will help get this made.” Of course, connections to the audience, financiers, and buyers start right then. A good producer wants stories that connect with audiences they can viably reach to get the return their stakeholders desire.

Community panels and Stage 32 help you connect with people who can get you through this cycle that keeps folding back in on itself. I believe the panelists from all three panels said something unique and thoughtful about why they love Stage 32, and most have made deals here. Kristin’s company even acquires “short film content to put on our channels to celebrate the community. We get stuff from Stage 32”. In addition, Stage 32 curates finished films for distributors to review. With this folding cycle and the tremendous help at your fingertips in mind, let’s dive into…

What Audiences Want

"There’s so much competing for our attention - podcasts, video games, social media. You have to make a project a little more undeniable.”

- E. Brian Dobbins, Talent Manager and Producer, Artists First

E. Brian Dobbins (Emmy-nominated Producer, Black-Ish, Cheaper by the Dozen / 20th Century 2022)

When producers pitch films to actors and investors and pre-selling to distributors, it feels like the studios and money-people are in charge. But Brian said, “The studios are always chasing something.” And what they are chasing are the audience's wants, needs, and desires. It’s our job to be the “people taking risks and act as fresh voices that speak to the audience,” said Brian, “It's our job to give them something that they are not expecting.”

In the next blog post on the Summit, I made a list of genres the money people are looking for right now - when you read it, keep in mind the paragraph you just read. Know that everyone is cheering you on to create unexpectedly advanced content even though the suits seem to ask for the same old stuff.

Comfort Content Is Hot Right Now - Even If It’s Scary

Right now, “most people want something that is comforting and doesn't take too much mentally and emotionally,” said Jeanette. The drama from politics, the pandemic, and all the other crazy things we hear about has audiences tired and ready to zone out.

When they watch TV or go to the movies, they want to know what they are in for. Kristen noted audiences want “consistency in genre films - be careful with pacing.” Audiences still want horror movies right now but don’t need any surprises they didn’t ask for - thank you.

Casey Sunderland - Agent, Media Finance CAA (Creative Artists Agency)

Great Stories Are Always Hot

Casey Sunderland, Agent & Media Finance, CAA, noted - and I agree - that over and above specific genres, audiences, talent, financiers, and buyers want “great stories.”

Where Audiences Watch

Of course, audiences are staying home, so streaming demand is high, and theater demand is low. And what producers and distributors should be thinking about are creative places to distribute.

Tiffany Boyle, President of Packaging & Sales at Ramo Law, and other industry experts said that they’ve had success with creative routes like drive-in theatrical, selling shows to social media sites like Reddit and Snapchat, and that AVOD is picking up. Canopy, Tubi, and Pluto are all places shows can find audiences besides channels, subscription streaming, and theaters right now.

Tiffany Boyle, President of Packaging & Sales at Ramo Law

Building A Filmed Entertainment Audience

How to reach an audience is of chief concern to producers, financiers, and buyers right now, as everyone is less risk-averse in this untamed, unexplored landscape.

Chris Moore, Oscar-nominated Producer and Founder of Producers Union, said, “It's about talking directly to the audience these days,” referring to getting investors interested in your content. Kristin said that she is looking carefully at what producers have “done to build a platform before meeting with distributors” and that it’s essential for filmmakers to take on audience-building.

A piece of information everyone seems to agree on and that Chris put perfectly is that “talent is so important right now because talent gives you marketing. If you're The Rock and you have 220M people, they're going to greenlight your movies”.

Chris Moore (Oscar-nominated Producer, GOOD WILL HUNTING, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA)

Growing an audience and creating a marketing plan for your filmed entertainment story is a pretty specific topic and not one that the seminar covered. However, it came up many times as a critical component for standing out to investors and buyers. Below are some great resources on the topic from Stage 32.

As I mentioned above, Stage 32 packed the Summit so densely with wisdom I had to break the content into multiple articles. Here are two more articles covering the following topics:

1. Part 2: Attracting talent, investors, and buyers/distributors
2. Part 3: What finance and distribution deals look like today

About Ami Mariscal

With over 15 years of experience in arts and entertainment, Ami loves producing great stories and creating magical experiences for people. Ami has worked in casting, camera, and production on A-list films, TV shows, music videos, games, and commercials. As a social entrepreneur, Ami's mission is to lift up humanity with stories. Living out this mission, Ami has helped business owners double their profit, non-profit leaders expand their impact, and entertainment entrepreneurs improve their well-being, brand, and income. Now she's developing original transmedia stories and managing the blog of StoriesThatLift.com.

Stage 32 Profile

LinkedIn

Stories That Lift Facebook

www.AmiMariscal.com

Short Biographies of the People Mentioned in This Article

Amanda Toney, Managing Director for Stage 32 and Producer

Amanda has spoken at events worldwide on the business of entertainment. As Managing Director for Stage 32, Amanda has curated over 1,200 hours of online education. She has spearheaded partnerships with organizations such as Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film, American Film Market, SXSW, PGA, WGA, DGA, AT&T, and Tito’s Vodka. As a film producer and EP, Amanda has worked on films and TV shows including What Lies Ahead, Metaphorms (Raindance Film Festival), and Dolphin Girl, which premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Film Festival. She has also helped incubate Chick Fight through Stage 32.

Casey Sunderland, Agent and Media Finance at Creative Artists Agency

Casey Sunderland is an Agent in the Media Finance department at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Sunderland works in the Los Angeles office and specializes in packaging, sourcing financing, and selling distribution rights for independently financed films. Sunderland graduated from Colgate University with a degree in Economics and Film & Media Studies.

Chris Moore, Oscar-Nominated Producer and Founder of Producers Union

Oscar-nominated Producer of movies including Good Will Hunting and Manchester By The Sea and television shows such as Project Greenlight and The Chair. He’s founding the first official Producers Union and serves on the National Board of Directors for the Producers Guild of America.

Brian Dobbins, Talent Manager and Producer at Artists First

As an Emmy-nominated Producer and Executive Producer, Dobbins worked on TV shows including Black-ish and Grown-ish and films Cheaper By The Dozen (2022), The Sea of Trees, and Beats. For the past 21 years, E. Brian Dobbins has been a highly esteemed Talent/Literary Manager and Producer at Artists First, where he now serves as Co-President. He began his career at United Talent Agency and subsequently left to work in development at HBO Pictures. Currently, Dobbins has Multiple projects for TV and movies in development.

Harrison Glaser, Director of Education at Stage 32

Harrison Glaser’s work for Austin Film Festival and Stage 32 has allowed him to champion undiscovered storytellers and amplify their work for nearly a decade. During Harrison’s tenure as AFF’s Film Competition Director, over 100 films he programmed went on to secure distribution; six short films were later nominated for Oscars, and one film won the Academy Award. He also serves as a professional moderator for many different film-related industry panels, both online and offline.

Kristin Harris, VP of Distribution and Acquisitions at Good Deed Entertainment

Kristin Harris is a seasoned entertainment executive who spent the past 15 years in the independent distribution space. She has held key acquisition, development, and production roles at Starz Media, Overture Films, and Cinedigm Entertainment Group. Kristin currently serves as VP, Distribution, and Acquisitions at Good Deed Entertainment, where she oversees all aspects of the company's distribution arm and manages the release slate, which includes Spirit Award Nominee TO DUST and the Academy Award-nominated LOVING VINCENT.

Tiffany Boyle, President of Packaging & Sales at Ramo Law

Tiffany has helped hundreds of films, TV shows, and documentaries come to fruition. Tiffany served as a Co-Executive Producer and brought in financing for films Something Else (Tribeca 2019) and Arkansas starring Liam Hemsworth and Vince Vaughn. She led the sales and packaging for Tragedy Girls (SXSW 2017) and Freaks (Toronto IFF 2018) and brought foreign financing to Ashes in the Snow (Los Angeles FF 2018).

Webinars By The Experts Mentioned In This Article

How to Secure a Long and Successful Career in Today's Entertainment Industry

• Taught by Chris Moore

Navigating Today's Distribution Landscape To Successfully Release Your Film

• Taught by Kristin Harris

Packaging & Selling Film & TV: How Producers, Filmmakers and Financiers can Navigate Today’s Climate

• Taught by Tiffany Boyle

Marketing Webinars on Stage 32

Advanced Digital Marketing For Your Indie Film or Production Company

• Jennifer Winberg, Branding & Digital Media Expert (clients: FOX, Disney, Sony, Lionsgate)

How to Use the Power of Social Media to Market and Promote Your Low Budget Film or Project

• Jennifer Winberg, Branding & Digital Media Expert (clients: FOX, Disney, Sony, Lionsgate)

How to Find Distribution and Grow Your Audience Creatively

• With Liz Manashil, Creative Distribution Expert, Former Manager of Sundance's Creative Distribution Initiative

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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