So I had a meeting today with an exec producer, who shall remain nameless of course. He had produced a ton of material for television and had done a couple of successful feature films. This was my first serious meeting of this nature.. I was always wondering what it would be like. He was a great guy and I liked him personally.
How does one go about convincing someone else that they should trust you with a huge amount of money to make a feature? I have crewed on a few features, associate produced one feature, directed a few shorts, but I haven't directed a full feature before.
I felt that the best approach would be to communicate my vision for the script (one in development by his company) - show that I deeply understood the material - demonstrate potential to bring a unique perspective to it.. etc.
Well, I think I partly succeeded at that but.. half the battle is not letting yourself be boxed in by labels (AD's don't direct! Nobody will care you've AD'd! you're too old! you're in the wrong town!).. I had worked out rejoinders to most of these (Coppola's first credit was as an AD! Scott Hicks (Shine) worked as an AD! David Lynch took years to make "Eraserhead" at age 31! Scott Hicks lives in Adelaide Australia!)
The funny thing is that Coppola's first couple of films were cheesy horror/camp for Roger Corman - terrible films by today's standars, but a great place to learn for Coppola and his peers. These days a director's first feature is practically expected to be perfect!
The "boxing" statements kept coming. I have seen this from other producers - they keep on coming up with reasons why you can't do something - usually why you can't direct - but most of the reasons are total nonsense. The real reason is that they are trying to evaluate whether or not you can make a great feature for them, and without actually getting that first one in the can, they have no idea.. although a few good short films and a few good crew credits don't hurt. But the thing is, for serious finance, all of the other potential directors have those credentials also.. so thus, my strategy of talking about the script - I understood it like nobody else. Perhaps the "boxing" is also to see if you'll fight back - to see if you believe in yourself enough to do it - if you've firmly decided internally that you're going to do it.
I have no idea if I'll get the chance to direct for him.. but it was an interesting meeting, and I'll know what to expect for the next one!!
How does one go about convincing someone else that they should trust you with a huge amount of money to make a feature? I have crewed on a few features, associate produced one feature, directed a few shorts, but I haven't directed a full feature before.
I felt that the best approach would be to communicate my vision for the script (one in development by his company) - show that I deeply understood the material - demonstrate potential to bring a unique perspective to it.. etc.
Well, I think I partly succeeded at that but.. half the battle is not letting yourself be boxed in by labels (AD's don't direct! Nobody will care you've AD'd! you're too old! you're in the wrong town!).. I had worked out rejoinders to most of these (Coppola's first credit was as an AD! Scott Hicks (Shine) worked as an AD! David Lynch took years to make "Eraserhead" at age 31! Scott Hicks lives in Adelaide Australia!)
The funny thing is that Coppola's first couple of films were cheesy horror/camp for Roger Corman - terrible films by today's standars, but a great place to learn for Coppola and his peers. These days a director's first feature is practically expected to be perfect!
The "boxing" statements kept coming. I have seen this from other producers - they keep on coming up with reasons why you can't do something - usually why you can't direct - but most of the reasons are total nonsense. The real reason is that they are trying to evaluate whether or not you can make a great feature for them, and without actually getting that first one in the can, they have no idea.. although a few good short films and a few good crew credits don't hurt. But the thing is, for serious finance, all of the other potential directors have those credentials also.. so thus, my strategy of talking about the script - I understood it like nobody else. Perhaps the "boxing" is also to see if you'll fight back - to see if you believe in yourself enough to do it - if you've firmly decided internally that you're going to do it.
I have no idea if I'll get the chance to direct for him.. but it was an interesting meeting, and I'll know what to expect for the next one!!
Last edited:
