Michael David Lies's Lounge Discussions

Hello all, I'm presently doing a rewrite on our feature screenplay, a time travel thriller, 'Time Shifters'. Also, I'm looking for funding for our award winning short script 'The Tenth Door, to produce this provocative 15 minute film here in Pittsburgh.

Sounds really interesting, Michael. love to connect with you to create awesome films!

Dawn..Ill go and take a look

Thanks Robert :-)

by the way..for the company website when its finished...I will need a small group of bloggers on the tv, film, fashion and sports side of things. the company website will have the tv station on there that will play in real time, for those people who dont have a roku device.

I have a web series you maybe interested in seeing

Hi Robert, Please view the 2 minute film clip for our award winning 23 minute movie, EXPERYMENT6, on our website: www.alcyonepictures.com Let me know your thoughts. All my best, Michael D. Lies

Hee Hee, got a giggle from reading this thread and all the different opinions. Truth is I am an experienced produced writer and have some 15 treatments ready to go and have to manage my time to get these stories onto paper. I wouldn't try to get someone else to write them as they are my stories and are 100% owned by me. I assume the assisting screenwriter will receive a credit and be the first credit as writer ??? Dita... I would manage your time better and get to work like the rest of us. Very little is gained if you don't do it yourself. You are better off having control over your own work. Good Luck... Alex

Thank you for your input. Do you have more advice for a newbie screenwriter? Any advice is always welcome.

To add to my above comment. You have assumed correctly. The assisting screenwriter would receive the first credit as writer on the finished script.

Hey Dita, I thought that may have been the case. Try Writer Arena to learn the art of screenwriting. Here is a link to the site http://forum.writerarena.com/ I am also a moderator on the site. You can also go to the forum at http://forum.writerarena.com/index.php?action=forum Good luck.

Alex, Thanks for the additional info.

I'm not so interested in time travel per se, but I am very interested in the perception of time. I've recently written a short story about how someone starts to experience their own clock slow down, in that the world around them slowly starts to speed up- slowly at first, losing an hour each day, but accelerating until people around her talk so fast she can't understand, move so quickly she can't keep up, etc. The story is going to be published in an anthology on the theme of time, hopefully in December. However, I'm not sure this idea would work as a screenplay!

That's an interesting concept, Ben. It reminds me of something that we might have seen on the old "Twilight Zone" episodes. :)

Thank you Adam, for bringing up this interesting question! I'm not sure if physical time travel will be possible one day, but mental time travelin, even deep into ancient generations could be cause everything from the past is still present inside and in a way real. Maybe the question is, how to make it visible, how it can be seen and how interaction could work with mental past of others. I'm sorry because of my bad English. Best wishes to all!!

Dear fellow time travellers, I've finished a draft of the time travel script (called "The Price") that prompted this whole discussion and uploaded it to my page. I like the story, think it has a good hook and a fresh look at time travel. But. . .it's way too short! 72 pages when it should be 90 at least. I think the 2nd act needs more stuff in it, but am kinda stumped as to what that should be. Never had this problem before -- my stuff tends to come in at between 90-95 pages. So if you have any time to take a look and make suggestions, I would appreciate it! Thanks, Adam

with out time

ROI yes obviously...but they need a reason to invest in the first place & if they are investing all of the money up front than 10-20% isn't going to cut it. What percentage of the project are they investing in? Cast & crew are dependent on what their agents ask for. However, it all depends on how much you're paying them & how much they defer. If you have your business plan than you should also have a full budget outlining who gets paid what. So you'll need to use that for reference.

Go with the 20% of the revenue share after they recover their initial investment...

You say that you've done this, yet you are asking this 'impossible' question! OK, I have a question for you: How high is the sky, and deep is the ocean? Do you actually have a track record? If you've produced other films created with investor capital, how did they fare? How soon was the money returned? What was the profit margin? If you do NOT have a track record, its still possible but not too likely! For openers, your business plan must be laid out with all the specifics! Otherwise no one will even bite! Good Luck!

Have the 2 investors made money in films before. if they have then your are halfway home. Remember investors think as an investment. filmmakers think as an art. think first as a business otherwise investors won't take it seriously unless they are related to you and have lots of extra cash.

Thanks for the input Chris Johnson and Bob Willems. I have been offered an interesting deal here. The investors want FIFO, then 20% of revenue. I'm not taking on any debt for this project. They are looking at the 30% in tax credits. I just got a voicemail from a money manager that can put together the private placement. There is however, an interesting wrinkle, since each of the investors are experienced in film investing, they have asked me to meet with another production company they have both invested in before to discuss a partnership. Apparently this company has a distribution deal in place. I have the meeting set for Wednesday. I'll see what they are offering. On one hand, I want a deal. I need to create something to show what I can do, and I need this project to make a profit. On the other hand, I don't know how much I'll lost in partnering with an established production company. What would you look for in a partnership deal?