budget Star Wars fan film

[Aspiring Mogul]

This seems to be a high-quality fan film, and I did a bit of digging around, and it seems the producer/actor launched an Indiegogo campaign, raising $35,000 + for the 18-minute film.

Any thoughts on the short? I'm especially interested in the budget estimate, and, if it costs $$35 K to do an 18-minute film, then it could cost $90 K to do a 45-minute episode, which would be, with commercials, the equivalent of an hour-long episode on TV or a streaming service.

 

[indietalk]

There you go again worrying about this guy

 

[mlesemann]

There you go again worrying about this guy

Exactly what I was thinking.

Don't spend 3 seconds thinking/worrying about him. Not your problem.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

OK.

(Pause) I sure hope he doesn't .... never mind.

 

[directorik]

I understand why Mogul is interested in this guy.

He's taking a long, careful, research filled route to do a project and
continuously looking into what other filmmakers are doing. Am I
right, Mogul?

It's always good to delve into what other filmmakers are doing, how
they raise money, how they spend that money. I understand how, as
a businessman, you focus on value. And that's often the disconnect.
Most of us here focus on the creative, you focus on numbers.

You and I have had some head-butting, haven't we? But there is also
the willingness to learn by both of us. I know better now how you
process things than I did when we first met.

That movie was made for nothing but passion. No thought of making
any money. So, to me, he got great value for his money. That movie
looks great. You (Mogul) would love to get a contract to make Superman
films and Jamie very much wanted to play Obi-Wan so you can relate
on that level. He was never going to get that gig so he made his own.
Not a wise move financially, but he fulfilled a dream.

 

[Aspiring Mogul]

I understand why Mogul is interested in this guy.

He's taking a long, careful, research filled route to do a project and
continuously looking into what other filmmakers are doing. Am I
right, Mogul?

Rik, you're right, because you know me well.

You and I have had some head-butting, haven't we? But there is also
the willingness to learn by both of us. I know better now how you
process things than I did when we first met.

We have butted our heads, but that's how we learn, right? As Hegel would say the thesis and antithesis leads to the synthesis.

That movie was made for nothing but passion. No thought of making
any money. So, to me, he got great value for his money. That movie
looks great. You (Mogul) would love to get a contract to make Superman
films and Jamie very much wanted to play Obi-Wan so you can relate
on that level. He was never going to get that gig so he made his own.
Not a wise move financially, but he fulfilled a dream.

Correct. But I also have a passion for storytelling or I would never have gotten into this forum ... or gotten to know you. What fascinates me is that many people in the business have told me that it would be an honour to work on my project for free. I almost never see that in any other industry, which is what attracts me to film.

My approach is that I have certain benchmarks to meet, before I can start, so I am, as you say, taking the long road, because I have to meet these benchmarks. To give just one of them, I have to finish my journey in my current career before I can embark on the next one, so, if I left my position, I would be unfulfilled, because I didn't get one of the goals in my life.

 

[indietalk]

I'm sure part of it is being a lawyer as well. You can't turn that off when you watch a film. You wonder if the song they used is cleared, or the trademark, etc. Like how doctors pick apart Grey's anatomy, etc. My question is, does that become distracting?

 

[mlesemann]

part of it is being a lawyer as well. You can't turn that off when you watch a film.

My dad was a lawyer and a judge. He loved watching movies, and liked a fair amount of TV as well. But he could never ever ever watch anything about lawyers, judges, or the criminal justice system because he was picking apart the flaws within the first 5 minutes.

There aren't many movies about foreign exchange and trading rooms, so I don't have to worry about that so much.

 

[ShortFilmSensei]

Well, I know before Disney absorbed the fan-base... Star Wars was one of the more flexible fan film franchises. I think Disney is trying to maintain that feeling by allowing people to still continue making fan films. However, I don't see that lasting long. They will forget when they see dollar signs. Superman is a very rare franchise to see made into a fan film. I don't really know why... Batman seems to get more attention I think because of the practicality (plus he doesn't fly). I would be curious to see how you proceed with the project.

I wanted to potentially make a Red Sonja fan film one day, but there is a lot of legal red tape behind Conan characters.

 

[JMee1000]

Aspiring Mogul,
Not sure what you’re looking into with these fan film projects or when you “continue my dream” - but if you like the Sci Fi genre, I’m involved with a filmmaker who has optioned a series of Sci Fi books and our current script is scoring high with AI (top 5 scripts since uploading it in August). Given your law degree, I’m certain we can find a niche for you among us. If this might interest you, look at link below. Our title is Dreams of Allon - rating from AI includes the comment high commercial potential.

ScriptBook

marketplace.scriptbook.io

DM me please and include what state(s) you are licensed in? Is your license currently active or able to be? Legal expertise? If not entertainment related, brief explanation of what type of role in film you’re seeking.