IFH 841: What a Real Film Producer Actually Does with Marc Bienstock

Alex Ferrari 0:07
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.

Dave Bullis 0:48
So on this episode, my guest, as I said before, I've actually worked with him. I was his TA, and I actually think he is the first person I actually worked with on this entire podcast. I'm going through my mind right now, and I can't think of anybody else, so if I had missed somebody, please forgive me. Somebody email me and tell me, Hey, you had somebody else on but, but this person, I think, is the first person that I've worked with. This guy is a phenomenal producer. I mean, just phenomenal. I will link to his IMDb in the show notes, because he's not on social media, so that'll be the only link I have for him. This guy has produced some really, really cool things. 12 rounds two, reloaded. He's produced the remaining See No Evil 2 with the Soska twins the visit and split with M Night Shyamalan, with guest Mark Bienstock, Hey Mark, thanks all for coming on the show.

Marc Bienstock 2:51
Thanks for having me. Dave, glad to be here.

Dave Bullis 2:53
You know, Mark, you're actually one of the, like a handful of people that I've actually met in real life. Most everybody else on this show I've never actually met anywhere else.

Marc Bienstock 3:05
Well, I'm, I was a pleasure to meet you and and glad to be part of a small, small group of privileged folks there.

Dave Bullis 3:12
Oh, and we're gonna, we're gonna talk to about you, how we know each other, which is, I think it's a great story. But, you know, just to get started, Mark, and it's a question I ask everybody, and that is, you know, how did you wind up in the film industry? You know, did you always like movies as a kid and, you know, and you knew from a young age that you wanted, this is something that you wanted to do.

Marc Bienstock 3:33
I did always like movies as a young kid and, but I was also a huge music fan and, and so I, you know, I bounced back and forth between a career in music and in a career in film, and ended up at NYU, at the school the art. And was bouncing around there between, you know, visual medium and working in radio and, and, you know, in the film side of it won out.

Dave Bullis 4:03
So at what point Mark did you, you know, did you start knowing that you wanted to be on that producing side, you know, as a career?

Marc Bienstock 4:13
Well, well, funny enough, when I was NYU, I was directing. Actually, I directed and produced. So I directed a music video there that was a grant from RCA Records at the time, and that was a really, you know, monumental experience for me. And after that experience, I knew that, you know, I had to do it again. And then I ended up also producing a thesis film for a fellow student that was a grant from HBO. So I had both experiences, and they were both, you know, really satisfying. But when I came out of school, I initially, you know, went down the road of directing that was a little bit more interesting and enticing to me at first.

Dave Bullis 5:00
So, you know, she went down the directing road, you know, at first. And you know, when was it that you finally decided, you know, you wanted to be that producer, you know, just, you know, producing all these of these films.

Marc Bienstock 5:12
Yeah, great question. I decided somewhere in the mid to late 90s, I was offered an opportunity at an independent company to come in and run production there. And at the same time, I was finishing my second feature film, which is the TV movie and and that experience was was somewhat trying, and decided that I would prefer to be the producer for other directors that I never had, so you know. And at the at the, at the advice of many friends, they thought that that was a good move. So I certainly, you know, chatted with, you know, many people close to me who knew me well, and they all thought that that the choice of segueing and moving over, you know, and favoring more of the producer than the director was, it was a good choice. That's what I did.

Dave Bullis 5:59
You know, you that's something you and I talked about before, too, was, you know, when people would say things to me like, oh, you know, you're really good at this. I wish you would produce my movie. I know, I kind of took that as, like, I kind of was, like, insulted in a way about that. I know it sounds so weird, Mark, but I was kind of like, I want to make, you know, my own movies. I think it was a temple. I said this to you, you know, I I like, you know, I like movies, and I like everything about movies. I've pretty much held every job. But then I said, you know, it's like I said to you at Temple at one time. I said, I, you know, I want to produce my own stuff. You know what I mean? And I But it's interesting, you had that, that, you know, that that journey, and it's so people must have seen at some point that, you know, you were really, really good at producing, if they, you know, everyone keeps asking to do it again and again.

Marc Bienstock 6:47
Yeah, you know, I never, I never have people what they saw on me or why they thought that I would, I would be a good producer, you know. But I, you know, I had the opportunity and, and so I took it and ran with it. And, you know, and for me, my perspective was that not only could I hopefully be the producer for other directors that, you know, I never found for myself when I was directing, but also that I would, I would enjoy the collaborative process and learn from working with other directors and find, you know, as much satisfaction and supporting other directors and and breeding, like, into those films as I would into, you know, the projects that I directed So and, you know, and for the most part, that's been true.

Dave Bullis 7:31
So, you know, Mark, that's a I actually liked, you know, we just said there where it's about, you know, you wanted to be the producers that other directors could, you know, other actors couldn't find. I think that's very important, because important. Because I think now you have that perspective of, okay, you know, as a struggling director, how hard it is to find a solid producer. So you know, what were, you know? What were some of the things you know, as you know, you've produced all these, all these movies, you know, what were some of the things that you did to make sure, you know, to make sure that you always were sort of on point, you know what I mean, like making sure that the director was always being helped. I if I'm sorry, I don't know if I've said that, right, but I did, you know, you know, I'm trying to get at Mark. I don't know, I don't know if I said that, right, sorry,

Marc Bienstock 8:14
Yeah, no, no, no, it's a good question. You know, it really varies and it evolves over time. You know, I think, I think, just like you know anyone in any in any profession, you know we be, hopefully, we become better. You know, our experiences make us better at what we do, and over time, you know we we evolve and become, you know, the best at what we do, or the best version of ourselves of what we do. So I, you know, for me, it's really about transparent and open communication with the director, especially in pre production and even prior to pre production. You know, once, once you're, once we're out there making the movie, so much is happening so quickly. So it's, it's really in pre production, have IT spending a lot of time together and having a lot of dialog and understanding creatively. You know, what the director wants for each scene, sometimes for each shot. And then, you know, how can I support that? And how can I have, you know, the team that we've assembled support that, and it's all about supporting, you know, the director's vision. And so what are we we're doing it with, you know, our crew, or we're doing it with our financial resources. When we do all the things that that in the world will support that vision,

Dave Bullis 9:32
You know. And you know, that's amazing, you know, Mark, because that is so true. Because you have to be supportive of one another, you know, you have to build that team. And I think this is another thing you and I talked about where, you know, everyone has to have a good attitude on set, because if you have one person who has who sort of has, like a bad attitude, it spreads like a virus. You know,

Marc Bienstock 9:52
Yeah, well, I agree with you. However, not everyone is required to have a good attitude. You hope everybody brings a good attitude and and, you know, I, I think that, um, you know, we all have good day from bad days. But yeah, hopefully for the most part, you've assembled a team of people who, you know, have fun, enjoy what they're doing. You know, believe in the project and and bring their best every day. And you know, and that it makes it, makes it a more pleasurable experience for everyone. And so you're right, if there's, you know, if there's a bad attitude that will affect everyone, and just like in, you know, in our personal lives, if you encounter you know someone who is aggravating that potentially can make you upset, and then you know you're aggravating to someone else, and so on and so on, so on. So you hope to put together a team of people that are that are all pleasant and polite and good natured people who are also really talented.

Dave Bullis 11:01
Yeah, that's, that's a great way to put it, Mark. And, you know, I wanted to, actually, you know. And as we talk about, you know, building this team, you know, I wanted to ask you, as you started off your producing career, you know, just looking at your IMDB, you know, you know, by the way, Mark, I've seen about, just about every movie you've produced, which I think I mentioned to you also, it's just a small world. I, you know, I actually remember going to Hollywood Video and renting bloody murder. I remember, I'm sorry, Mark?

Marc Bienstock 11:31
I said, Oh my gosh,

Dave Bullis 11:32
Yeah, I know. I actually remember. I remember the cover. I remember everything about it. And then when I met you, I was like, Wait a minute. I was like, hold on. And then I looked up your IMDB. So, you know, I've pretty much seen every move you've done. And, you know, as I want to talk about, you know, building a team. So, Mike, when you were first start, you know, starting out, you know, what were some of the you know, how were you first approached for projects? Or did you go out to find projects to produce? At that point,

Marc Bienstock 12:00
When I first started out, I was developing projects and, and, you know, looking for projects. And people were bringing projects to me and, and then I was also an executive at a at an independent company here in Los Angeles. And so we were, you know, projects were brought to us because we had the ability to partially finance movies. So that was a, you know, it was a really good place for me to be at the time. So, you know, opportunities presented themselves because of that, but we had to go out and find the other half of the money. So it wasn't, you know, it wasn't an automatic and then over time, I decided to spend less time developing material and more time making movies. And so I started to partner up with other producers who spend more time developing projects. And so, so now, you know, studios and other companies come to me when they have a project that is, I would say, you know, two thirds of the way there, and just about ready to get, you know, they're, they're seriously considering making the movie, and that's when they would bring me on. So my expertise now is, is about making the movie, where to make the movie, how to make the movie, the best way to make the movie, as opposed to developing the script.

Dave Bullis 13:25
So, you know, you built your team. So I like that too, where, you know, it's almost like you had, you know, you were, it's almost like a building a network, right? You know, one person is sort of the person in there making contacts in this direction, and one person is another person making contacts in this direction. And I think you know that that teamwork there helps, you know you helps all the producers out, because they're each finding different ways to sort of find, find the money, whether it's investment, angel investors, you know, stuff like that. Am I correct?

Marc Bienstock 13:57
Yeah, in a perfect world, whether your fellow producers, or anyone else on the project, I always try and find, you know, and be in business with individuals where, where our skill sets complement each one up there, as opposed to being having redundant skill sets. So whether that is you know, what we each do as a producer, or who our contacts are, you know, so we're, you know, we're much stronger as a team if we all complement each other, as opposed to, we all do the same thing.

Dave Bullis 14:30
Yeah, that's a very good point mark. And, you know, just as we know, we go along, you know, following your your career, you know, you started doing some, you know, I you know, obviously, the sort of more, the more movie movies you produce. Excuse me, the more movies you produce. The you know, the bigger the budgets are getting. You know, was there ever a point where you got a budget and you said, Oh my gosh, do we how do we get this much money? Was there ever like a moment when you knew you sort of entered that next level and that you were making and you were. Like, wow, this is, I mean, it's just, you know what I mean, like, that moment, that aha moment you had, where you were just, you just knew this was it, and you were and you were just sort of doing this for the rest of your life.

Marc Bienstock 15:15
I think the aha moments have come when I when I've seen versions of the movies, when they're finished, not so much. I mean, it's always exciting to know that we have the finance and to be able to make a movie. It's always exciting to have the experience of actually making the movie and getting really close with that group of people you make the movie with, and then it's incredibly gratifying. And, you know, I think the aha moments occurs when you're sitting in a screening room and you're watching the finished product. And, you know, and that, for me, is what is ultimately, you know, truly satisfying. So, you know, the aha moment happened when I, when I recently saw, you know, split, which comes out, which will be released in January by Universal. So, you know, that was, that was the latest aha moment. And, yeah, so that's when it happens,

Dave Bullis 16:04
You know, I remember when we were, we were in Philly, and we were at the post production house. I forget the name of that post production house we were at, but we were out there. And I remember you were in the screening room, and you were saying that, you know, you made it. If you can get one of these in your, in your in your house, and you can just have everyone come over, and that's where you watch cuts of the film. And Right, right? And you're so, you're so right Mark, because that is true. You know that that's what sort of everybody is aiming for. That way you didn't come over. Hey, look, we're gonna kill all the lights, and we're just gonna, you know, watch a cut of this film. And, you know, actually, that, you know, I wanted to actually talk about, you know, you coming to PA to film. I wanted to ask, you know, you know you you first arrived, you know, when you worked on M Night with M Night shaman on the visit. So, you know, I wanted to ask, you know, how did you meet M Night, and how did you How did you two start working together?

Marc Bienstock 16:56
You know, we were, we were, you know, Knight decided he wanted to make the visit, and he was looking for a producing partner and someone who had experience working with budgets, you know, below $10 million and we were put together my agent and his business partner, and fortunately, we hit it off, and, you know, and we went and made a really good movie, and, and the rest is, you know, the, I guess, as they say, the rest is history.

Dave Bullis 17:26
So what? And when you were working on the visit, you mentioned to in that in the class, that it was like one of the first times where, you know, you were talking about the PA, you know, the PA film tax credits. And, you know, we talked about that. And, you know, one of the things was, you know, you never had before a writer who was able to get the tax credit because they live in the same state as the movie is getting produced. So I wanted it, right? Yeah. So I wanted to ask, you know, Mark, you know, in today's, you know, film industry, and with today, with everything that's going on, you know, do producers like, is like, are the tax credits like, the top three things that producers look for now when they're about to make a movie. Or I know they're important, but, I mean, I'm trying to ask is, you know, how important are they now for making a film?

Marc Bienstock 18:08
Yeah, tax credits are very important for film and television. You know, if you look around the country, there are a number of states that offer these. You know, Georgia being one, and it's one of the most popular spots. Atlanta has become one of the most, you know, popular cities for film and television, and that's because of the incentive they offer. New York and California now offers a very competitive incentive. So and Pennsylvania has one, and New Mexico and lots of production in Vancouver and Toronto. So so you know, to give you an example, if you have a $10 million budget, and you go to an incentive state, and the incentive is 25% and let's just say, for you know, the sake of argument, you're getting 25% of your $10 million so now the cost of your movie, which was 10 million, The net cost is 7.5 million. So if you're an investor, you you want your movie, or you want your TV show to go to an incentive state, because the hard cost, the recoupable cost, is less 25% so you made a movie for 10 million, but you only need to recoup 7.5 million. So from a business perspective, that's an ideal scenario, and that's why the incentive states are so popular,

Dave Bullis 19:26
And also to mark, you know, as I've had other producers on, you know, they talked about, you know, just the different concerns now, because, you know, everything is changing, you know, with Netflix and and and the foreign sales are, some are still there. Some are, aren't they're saying that, you know, because of that, it's a little bit different now with how you package and pre sell your movie.

Marc Bienstock 19:48
Yeah, it's, you know, the world has changed, and so there's no more DVDs or video so home entertainment and all the ancillary dollars that, you know, investors look for studio. Goes, look for You know, those revenue streams have changed, and they constantly are changing, you know, not domestically as well as, you know, in the international market. So, yeah, you it's always changing. It's never easy. And this is why, you know, you think of incentive dollars as really free money. Someone's giving you money. They're saying, Come to our city, we'll give you this much money, and you don't have to pay us back. So, you know, that's, that's why it's attractive. And you, you know, you minimize your exposure,

Dave Bullis 20:48
Yeah, and, you know, and that's something we were talking about as well. And, you know, in the in the class at Drexel University, because, you know, it's more important than ever. And you know that's something too, because PA, you know, they do have a tax credit, but, you know, like we were saying, everyone goes to Pittsburgh because, you know, the the union fees are a lot cheaper. And also, and like you mentioned, to Philadelphia, there's, like, only one, one, you know, crew that usually does pretty much every movie. And you know they, and you know, if they're out doing one another movie, it's kind of hard, unless you have to bring other people in. And like you were saying, all that stuff affects the budget,

Marc Bienstock 21:25
Right, right! Absolutely. I mean, everything there, you know, everything has an impact on the budget. But, you know, in all, in all fairness to Philly, and I love port Philadelphia, you know, Pittsburgh has been very busy, and it is predominantly because it's less expensive to produce a movie or a television show in Pittsburgh than it is in Philadelphia, for a number of reasons, however, and so that's why there's more crew there. So if Philadelphia were to become financially competitive, then the crew base would grow. But right now, you know, it can't support a larger crew base, which was why there's only, you know, one to one and a half you know, crews, you know, in Philadelphia, yeah.

Dave Bullis 22:07
And I remember that, you know something we were talking about. And actually, you know, just to, you know, I keep alluding to this, so I'm just gonna say it'll get to how we met. So, you know, Mark, you and I met. It was right as you were getting ready for pre production for split and you had, you had agreed to work for, you know, because I think you came in to, I think you approached Drexel to maybe come in and teach this production class. Is that, how did Drexel approach you? Or did you approach Drexel?

Marc Bienstock 22:36
I spoke with the film commissioner in Philadelphia and expressed my interest in in teaching at the universities in Philly so temple and Drexel and and a number of other universities. And then it was, it was just a matter of aligning my schedule with their semester. And Drexel was a turned out to be a terrific bit. And, you know, and then also, you know, Temple, just for a lecture, because their semester had already started. But so I was, you know, something that it was, it's my way of trying to give back and and I recall when I was at film school and thought how I would have appreciated and benefited from the experience of a producer coming in and, you know, and speaking about what they do and offering some insight to their experience and how they do it. So, so, you know, it was something that I wanted to do, and Drexel was kind enough to present me with an opportunity.

Dave Bullis 23:38
And it's also too because, you know, you're actually a producer out there doing stuff, you know. And because people could, right now, we could go on Amazon, we can go into Netflix, we can find your movies. And, you know, that's, you know, saying to before was, that's why your experience is, you know that you know that a list level, because you've actually made, you know, movies that have been in, you know, in the theaters, movies that have been number one at the box office, you know, all this stuff. And I think that right there that is irreplaceable, you know, experience. So when you come into a classroom like this and you talk about, you know, how you did this, and in the process it that is, that is absolutely key, because, you know you have again, because you're at the top of the mountain. And you know what I mean, and that that, that's why I'm so glad that you actually, you know, did decide to do that whole class at Drexel and do that one day at Temple. Because, again, not only did, I mean, I learned just ton, just how, you know, talking to you, and obviously I was in the class with you as your TA but again, you know, I think that is an amazing, amazing opportunity for all those students involved.

Marc Bienstock 24:41
Well, I appreciate that it was, it was really my pleasure, and, and I was, you know, happy to have the opportunity. And, and hopefully, you know, everyone got something from it.

Dave Bullis 24:51
Yeah, so, so how Mark and I actually met was, like, we have a mutual friend. You know Dave. You know Dave Raynor, and Dave actually asked me if I could if I was interested in helping out a producer at Drexel University. And it wasn't. I said, Yes. I said, you know, I'd be very interested to help somebody out. And then when we got our Deuce Mark, I actually looked you up, and I said, Okay, I will definitely help this guy. And because, I know, because, again, I was like, This guy is, you know, a level producer, and, you know, just being at Drexel with you, I think the class was awesome. And, you know, and also, because, again, you went over an entire movie. I think you went to the movie you talked about was the remaining correct, how you produce that whole movie, from start to finish,

Marc Bienstock 25:36
Correct. What we did is we, we simulated. You know, we re simulated the actual production of the remaining Yeah. So Stoney was kind enough to allow me to share, you know, some documents with the class. And you know, we went through it from start to finish, where we actually from the point of finding an intellectual property, securing the intellectual property, pitching the intellectual property, selling it, figuring out where to make the movie, how to make the movie, staffing, scheduling, budgeting, yeah. So we went through all that.

Dave Bullis 26:09
And again, that was so enlightening. And one thing I took away from that class mark, and I think I said this to you as well, but I'm going to repeat it for the listeners, and that is, you said in your producing policy is everybody gets one mistake. And I have kept to that. I was like, That is a great way to look at it could, because everyone gets one mistake. And, you know, it depends on what it is, but, you know, but, uh, that's a way to keep people at least honest, right?

Marc Bienstock 26:38
Well, it's, it was my lesson, and you know, their production is, is such an intense experience. When you're making a movie and you start shooting, you know, everything is very heightened because it's happening so quickly in such a relatively short period of time. There's a lot happening. And if you have 100 people working on a movie, and people make mistakes, and so the realization is, you know, just you just can't, no matter how prepared you are, no matter how hard you work, no matter what you try and do, it's impossible to prevent people from making mistakes. You can hopefully minimize that, but you can't prevent it. So it was really my realization at some point as a producer that we're all human, we're all imperfect. And so my Yeah, so my rule is, and I say it out loud to remind myself, you know, it seems reasonable that each person is going to make one mistake. So if you have 100 people, that's 100 mistakes over the course mistakes over the course of the movie. Now maybe some people will make none, and others will make, you know, two, or they'll be bigger or smaller, but yeah, that's the general rule to remind me that regardless of how frustrating it gets when people make mistakes, but this is just the reality of what we do. And so, you know, it's my job and it's my king's job to come up with solutions for those you know, those mistakes, those challenges.

Dave Bullis 28:08
So you know, as you talk about, you know, making mistakes and minimizing those mistakes. Mark, I wanted to ask, you know, what was your most your biggest challenge as a producer? You know, what was, what was, you know, did something ever happen on set that that was took a lot of creativity or or so. I mean, there's always unforeseen problems. But what was that biggest problem that you had to tackle, and how did you overcome that?

Marc Bienstock 28:35
I honestly, the thing that comes to mind is, is a really unfortunate experience, where it had to do with with, you know, individuals on set who were, you know, not in their white mind because they were under the influence of substances. And so that's an incredibly significant challenge, because, you know, those, those particular individuals were a more vital to the production, and we couldn't just, you know, dismiss them. So that was, you know, that was incredibly challenging, because it's not just solving a problem, but you're dealing with, you know, with the human being, and you're dealing with someone who isn't necessarily reasonable, and you have to try and reason with them, and you have to try and motivate them, and you have to try and get them right so they can participate in the movie and and hopefully not embarrass themselves or anyone else. So that was probably the greatest challenge. But other otherwise, you know, there are challenges on every movie, and often time, the beauty of those challenges are, there's, you know, you discover some. You know, more often than not, you discover something great from those challenges. And you know, if everyone is prepared, and has really thought about what we're going to do. When those challenges present themselves as a group, we can usually come up with some pretty, pretty good, satisfying solutions.

Dave Bullis 30:19
Well, you know, that's, you know, pretty big challenge. Mark, because I've, actually, I've never, I mean, that might be one of the worst, you know, challenges I've heard of producing, because you're right, you know, they're key, and you can't dismiss them. So, you know, yeah, that's unbelievable. You know, just as a side note, Mark, I had a friend of mine. He one of his biggest producing challenges was he was going to film a movie, and there was this old, like, wooden bridge that he was going to film on. It was just going to be like, you know, it was an old, tiny bridge, and he wanted to use it for a couple of things. They had a storm the night before, right? Well, the everything was washed away. The whole the bridge was just demolished. And he got there the next day with everybody, and it was gone. And he goes, well, well, here we go. So here we are now with you're trying to find a plan B, another friend of mine, he there was poor planning in the production. They got to the location the first day, and they realized he didn't have the key to the building to get in like that, which makes, I'm sure you know, as you hear that the second story, you're probably like, how do you make How do you not have the key Come on, but, but, yeah, he that that's just some of the producing stuff that you know. Other Other producing challenges that I've heard from friends. You're just thinking of the top of my head, but, but, but, yeah, it's if there's all you're right, if there is creative ways to solve challenges, except for that one with the key in the building, that I don't think there's any excuse for that.

Marc Bienstock 31:48
That's that's when you call a lock Smith, or you hope someone on the crew has has had a prior life as a as a burglar,

Dave Bullis 31:57
Exactly. Just, that's where you channel your inner Verner Hertzog, and just just figure out here, because he actually, he said in his pitch for his master class, he said he would teach kids, learning how to pick a lock is more important than anything else in filmmaking, and I think that's, that's where you have to challenge your sorry summon your Verner Hertzog for that.

Marc Bienstock 32:24
There you go.

Dave Bullis 32:25
So now you know, so mark, you know, as we were talking about the class, and we were talking, you know, we're talking about split, you know, you know, obviously you and M Night, you know work so well together on the visit that you know he eventually, you know he, when he was done writing this script for a split, he asked you to come back. I mean, when you read a script from, I know you mentioned this in a class, you read a script by M Night, you said you were just blown away, and you were like, wow, this guy's a writer. And, you know, now, that's something I've heard from other producers as well, too, where they read what script and they're just like, holy shit, this, you know, this is, this is this guy can do it. So, I mean, when you read the script for split, I imagine you were probably, probably even more blown away than when you read the visit.

Marc Bienstock 33:09
They're both. I mean, I love them both. I mean, and they're very different, but they I was excited, you know, to read the visit and and was excited to, you know, to be a part of that. And then was equally excited to read split, yeah, he's an incredibly talented writer, you know. I think it's, it's making movies are, are, you know, very challenging, you know, and it starts with finding a good script. And, you know, to find a good script, you need a good writer. And I think there's a lot of people that do it, and there's few people that do it really well. And really well, and he's one of those guys who, you know, he does it really well. He's a, he's a, he's a great writer, he's a great director. You know, I love working with him,

Dave Bullis 33:53
Yeah, and, you know, and you know, I actually have seen all of his movies, and, you know, I actually took a special interest in, you know, in the visit, and I am going to see split when it comes out, because, obviously, because of the connection, you know, of knowing you and plus, you know, actually, you know what's funny Mark M.Night lives, like, 35 minutes away from me, and it's like, you know, I it's just funny because he's still one of the guys that still lives in PA, he doesn't live out in La, and it's just funny, though, but, but, yeah, I also wanted to help him out, obviously, by supporting him, because, obviously, he's a PA guy like me, you know. And, but it, but it's, but it's always good, you know, to hear that, you know. Because you know, you're always, whenever I hear producers, whether they're giving interviews or, you know, or just, you know, didn't just talks with them. You know, that's what they're always saying. They want a script that speaks to them. You know what? I mean, they want a script that sort of, you know, really tells that story. And, you know, I don't know, one of the things Mark too, I want to ask you is, what are some of the things that you've noticed that maybe you know, M Night does, whether it be about the story. Or is it in, is it in the the actual description, and, you know, in the script, what are some of the things that he does that really sort of leap off the page at you and, you know, and others who read the script and make it so that way, like, Damn, we got to film this thing tomorrow.

Marc Bienstock 35:15
That's a really good question. Well, I, I think it's, you know, I think it's really challenging for for writers to speak in in multiple voices. And if you're writing a screenplay, you know, it's a requirement. And and he, he does an excellent job, whether it's, you know, writing the voice of as in the visit, he wrote these two kids who were, you know, at a luttonce. And then he wrote two grandparents, and, you know, and in Split he has, you know, three teenage girls, and then he has an older woman who's a therapist. And you know, the main character has split personalities. And you know, these are all these voices are all really honest and really accurate. And that's not an easy thing to do, so that that really resonate. And then he's just a master with with story. So in addition to having these characters that you like or dislike for the right reasons, you know, he's he takes you on a ride. And you know, in the story is just as compelling as the characters and and you know, that's when you when you consider all those ingredients that's pretty complex. And it's not an easy thing to do. And it's goes the same as someone who writes, you know, a novel, it's, there's lots of writers, but there's, you know, few good, few good novels. And this is all subjective, but so he's, he's, he's, he's, he's just dripping, creating characters and and then, you know, and then giving them a story and a road to travel that we all want to go down with them,

Dave Bullis 36:51
Yeah, and exactly what you mean, Mark, you know, I had on Aaron Kaufman, who worked Rob Rodriguez, and I've had on, you know, Our mutual friend, an equipment queens, Cassino is, you know. And you know, they were saying similar things. You know, they will need when they read a script, and it would be like, you know, a certain, a certain script that stands out from them, you know. And you know, I mean, because you know how it is Mark, you know, when you send it to whomever, usually have readers, they go through. And, you know, probably have a pile out of 100 maybe one or two gets through. And, you know, maybe at the end of a month, maybe have 10 scripts that have gotten through out of a pile of, like, you know, a couple 1000. And those 10 scripts are all excellent, well written scripts, but maybe only one of them will actually speak to you, whether you're saying it to like a producer like yourself, or maybe you were saying it to an agent or even a manager. And like you said, it's all subjective, you know, maybe one person like Stephen King, the next person likes, you know, Dean Koontz, and you know, and you know, again, you just build those relationships up, and you know, then you find yourself in a situation like you, where you're now you're making another great movie, you know, with M Night, and I'm gonna Guess you'll probably go for another one after this,

Marc Bienstock 38:02
You know, I hope so. I think that, I think we had a good experience. And, you know, hopefully split will be well received, and we'll find ourselves back together again, making a movie sometime next year.

Dave Bullis 38:14
So Mark, when does split come out?

Marc Bienstock 38:18
January 21 split will will be in theaters everywhere.

Dave Bullis 38:24
And, you know, Mark, I know we're starting to run out of time, and I want to, I'm gonna, actually, I must have linked to the shownotes, everybody. So I'll link to the the date, and also link to the trailer. By the way, the trailer looks really good. Mark, I saw that when I came out, and I wanted, I just had a few Twitter questions come in. Do you mind answering just a few questions before we call tonight.

Marc Bienstock 38:42
Yeah, go for it sure.

Dave Bullis 38:44
What advice would you give to filmmakers you know, who are producing their first film? And obviously I'm that's a little bit of of my own verbiage, because obviously that question always comes in Mark whenever I ever ask these things. So I always take, sort of take and combine it. So you know, what sort of advice would you have for somebody producing their first film?

Marc Bienstock 39:04
The advice that I would offer someone producing their first film is to surround themselves with people that have more experience than they do. So if you can associate yourself with a producing partner who has made a number of films, you should do that so in any way you can. You know, if you can have you can find a mentor, and if you can't find a producing partner that that has more experience than you, then you just want to make sure that the other people that you're bringing on, whether it be your first ad, your production manager, all these other folks, you want them to have experience so you can benefit from their experience.

Dave Bullis 39:43
Yeah, very I like that answer, Mark, because, again, that's something I've always tried to do too. Was, you know, surround my genius. Surround is, is, uh, you know, the way I heard it way back, was, if you genius, around yourself, surround yourself with the smartest people, more experienced people, you can and you know where everything goes well, you know, you know, you can figure out, you know, all the things that we know went right. And yeah again, because that way they can guide you along the way. You know

Marc Bienstock 40:18
Exactly.

Dave Bullis 40:19
And another question came in through Twitter, and this is by Roger coach. Roger Coach B Films, and that is, you know, Mark, how do you find stories? Are they pitched, or are they through books? Or are they throwing, like, inspiring news stories,

Marc Bienstock 40:33
All of the above, you know, you look every which way. It's, you know, books are really competitive. Everyone chases books. So, you know, they're either writers who have ideas, they're written scripts, you read an article. So all of the above.

Dave Bullis 40:52
And you know, that's great, too, Mark, because that's also the second question that always comes in, is people love to, you know, talk about, you know, pitching to producers. And then when I had, like you, and I've had Aaron, and I've had Cassian on, and, you know, that's usually the question is, you know, how do you guys get pitched? And you know that, I think so. I thank you for answering that question mark, because,

Marc Bienstock 41:15
Yeah, you should, you know, the one, the one piece of advice I'd offer someone who was trying to get something pitched, if you're not established and you don't have an agent, and you're trying to get someone's time, you know, keep in mind that people's time is, you know, is their greatest commodity. And so have a concise pitch, you know, have a synopsis that someone can read, whether it be a half a page or a page, and know that that synopsis is going to be attractive and get their attention and leave them wanting more. So, you know, be prepared and be able to do, be able to pitch quickly and, you know, and spark some interest.

Dave Bullis 41:55
And you know, that's why Mark, I want to say thank you, you know, for all your time and coming on the podcast. And you know, I know you're an extremely busy guy, and I just want to ask, you know, Mark, in closing, is there anything that maybe we didn't touch upon that you wanted to say, or is there anything else that you wanted to discuss to sort of put a period then to end this whole conversation?

Marc Bienstock 42:15
No, I think you've covered everything, Dave, you've done a great job. And I appreciate the invitation to be on your blog, and then I appreciate your assistance with the class, and this has been a lot of fun.

Dave Bullis 42:27
Oh, my pleasure I had, like I said, Mark, I had an absolute blast with that class. And by the way, the smart students in that class, they were always they were always trying. I was going to tell you this, and I'll tell you this now, they were always coming to me and they were asking me questions. Like, you know, how's mark? Is he a real nice guy, you know, this and that? Because they were always like, I think they were a little intimidated you at first, and you know, as they sort of got to the through the class, they all, you know, they all knew, Okay, Mark's a good guy and and basically at the end, the smart students all network with me. And you know what I mean, like, they made sure to get my contact info right, because I because, because somebody said, Well, you know, they said to me, Well, if you're with Mark, you must obviously know somebody. And I said, Yeah, I know a lot of cool people, but yeah. And then they said, Oh, you do your own stuff too. And I said, Yeah. And I said, I have a pretty crappy podcast that I do. And you know, they said, All right, so, but you know, it's just, it was just funny. And I applaud those kids, because that's how you got to do it. You got to hustle and grind. And those kids understood you have to network wherever you can, and don't just blow past somebody because you don't think they're, you know, maybe you don't think that there's somebody you should network with. Or maybe, you know, they don't, you know, you know, you know how some, maybe some, you know, just they didn't want to network with me or what have you. But that that was the key Mark, is that they, they so the smart kids understood that.

Marc Bienstock 43:49
Remember, you you know, you never know where someone you know, who you meet today will be tomorrow. So it could be someone who's at top today isn't at the top tomorrow, and someone who you know is only halfway there today will be at the top tomorrow. So you know, best to to be kind to all and and speak to all, because, you know, there's all those relationships will benefit you in some way.

Dave Bullis 44:14
Yes, I completely concur, Mark. You know, that's why I try not to burn any bridges. I try to be, you know, I'm always as nice as possible to everybody. And, like you said, everyone gets one mistake and then, and that's it, and because we're trying to minimize problems. But you know, Mark, you know, where do people find you out online? Say that again, Dave, where can people find you out online? I mean, do you have any, any online presence or anywhere you want to send people just to either contact you or maybe for the movie.

Marc Bienstock 44:43
I I don't have an online present other than you know, people can search in on LinkedIn. But other than that, I do not have a I don't tweet, I don't post, I don't Instagram, I don't Snapchat. I. It. Well, I won't do any of it, but I appreciate those that do. So, yeah, so I have a LinkedIn account. That's it. And I'm sure, you know, folks want to get in touch me or seek me out. That's the way to do it. And otherwise, you know, go see split,

Dave Bullis 45:19
And I will link to the trailer and the website for split in the show notes. Mark Bienstock, I want to say thank you so much for coming on, and it's so great to talk to you again.

Marc Bienstock 45:29
Thanks, Dave. Appreciate it

Dave Bullis 45:31
Anytime, my friend, I wish you the best with split and let's talk again soon.

Marc Bienstock 45:35
Sounds good. Be well.

Dave Bullis 45:36
Take care. Bye. Bye!