In the UK, at least.
As some will know, we're trying to get a pilot TV episode off the ground. Hopefully it'll happen before I turn 60! Still unsure on funding approach right now. We have enough things in place to try crowdfunding (although a promo video would apparently be useful for this; right now I find this idea problematic).
In an ideal world (I guess everyone feels like this), a single Angel investor would step forward and pitch the whole budget in for a 50% slice.
I've been in contact recently with an individual purporting to be just that. It almost seemed plausible for a short while. Talked to him on the phone twice; pretty good patter, very confident, came across as a working class boy who'd made good, etc.
Then he told me he'd funded the pilot episode for E4 show Youngers. I noted this was a bigtalk production (long-established company; they did Spaced), so I wondered why indie funding would come into play. No refs to a pilot; just that E4 had commissioned a series from bigtalk. Still, it could be more complicated behind the scenes, right?
While still communicating with the guy, I contacted bigtalk to confirm or deny.
So he sends me a 1st draft 'pre-contract' document. Very shabby piece of work riddled with typos and contradictions. Essentially, the upshot is that it was requesting I remit admin expenses (solicitor, broker, whatever) -- depending on what part of the paragraph you read, I had to pay ALL of the £1900 (itself an improbably vast sum), 60% of it, or no more than £1000 of it. Yeah, really, all in one paragraph!
So I ran the smell test past him. I said, "How about we shave 1k off the agreed budget and you can take care of all the expenses very simply that way?" LOL. Of course that just wasn't to his liking. For some reason it was imperative that this 1k come from ME. Also I noted his company was all of one month old with listed assets of £100, with only one previous company extant 2008-2010 which liquidated without filing any accounts.
Oh, anyhow, bigtalk got back to me -- Youngers was fully financed by Channel 4. Quelle surprise.
I'd already written him off at this point, BUT -- I forwarded this mail to him and added "NEXT!!" at the bottom. Just for laffs. No reply.
If anyone receives similar offer, feel free to PM and I can confirm individual's name, etc.
As some will know, we're trying to get a pilot TV episode off the ground. Hopefully it'll happen before I turn 60! Still unsure on funding approach right now. We have enough things in place to try crowdfunding (although a promo video would apparently be useful for this; right now I find this idea problematic).
In an ideal world (I guess everyone feels like this), a single Angel investor would step forward and pitch the whole budget in for a 50% slice.
I've been in contact recently with an individual purporting to be just that. It almost seemed plausible for a short while. Talked to him on the phone twice; pretty good patter, very confident, came across as a working class boy who'd made good, etc.
Then he told me he'd funded the pilot episode for E4 show Youngers. I noted this was a bigtalk production (long-established company; they did Spaced), so I wondered why indie funding would come into play. No refs to a pilot; just that E4 had commissioned a series from bigtalk. Still, it could be more complicated behind the scenes, right?
While still communicating with the guy, I contacted bigtalk to confirm or deny.
So he sends me a 1st draft 'pre-contract' document. Very shabby piece of work riddled with typos and contradictions. Essentially, the upshot is that it was requesting I remit admin expenses (solicitor, broker, whatever) -- depending on what part of the paragraph you read, I had to pay ALL of the £1900 (itself an improbably vast sum), 60% of it, or no more than £1000 of it. Yeah, really, all in one paragraph!
So I ran the smell test past him. I said, "How about we shave 1k off the agreed budget and you can take care of all the expenses very simply that way?" LOL. Of course that just wasn't to his liking. For some reason it was imperative that this 1k come from ME. Also I noted his company was all of one month old with listed assets of £100, with only one previous company extant 2008-2010 which liquidated without filing any accounts.
Oh, anyhow, bigtalk got back to me -- Youngers was fully financed by Channel 4. Quelle surprise.
I'd already written him off at this point, BUT -- I forwarded this mail to him and added "NEXT!!" at the bottom. Just for laffs. No reply.
If anyone receives similar offer, feel free to PM and I can confirm individual's name, etc.
