IFH 242: Indie Film Producing Masterclass – How to Option a Screenplay with Suzanne Lyons

Welcome to the indie film hustle  podcast episode number 242 when I was a kid. There was no collaboration. It was just you with a camera bossing your friends around but as an adult, you have to appreciate the talents of the people who you surround yourself with and knowing that you can never have made any of these films by yourself.

Steven Spielberg broadcasting from the back alley in Hollywood. It’s the indie film hustle podcast where we show you how to survive and thrive as an indie filmmaker in the jungles of the film. And here’s your host Alex Ferrari. Welcome to another episode of the indie film also podcast. I am your humble host Alex Ferrari.

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It’s really quite revolutionary with black box. Baker’s can concentrate on making great content while block box takes care of all the business BS just visit w-w-w Today’s Show is also sponsored by Studio unknown Studio known as a crack team of audio post professionals known for Quality sound on any Indie budget whether you need a lush surround sound mix or a quick Festival submission pass Studio known can help you with all of your posts sound needs.

From sound design and mix to fully and even a custom score contact Studio known and mention the indie film also podcast and you’ll get 50% off one day of ADR or 10% off your complete post sound package. Just go to Studio unknown today guys. I have a treat for you. I’m gonna do a two-part sneak preview of Suzanne Lions indie film producing master class, and I really wanted to share some of the amazing knowledge that she has in this.

With you guys by giving you free lessons for you to hear. So today’s lesson you’re going to listen to is how to option a screenplay, which I know it’s very mysterious to a lot of people listening out there or trying to make a movie and they want to go out and try to get a screenplay to produce that movie instead of trying to write when themselves and Suzanne lays it all out for you guys.

So at the end of the episode I will give you a link to get access to the indie film producing Master Class. But until then enjoy this new preview with Suzanne Lions. So what we’re gonna do and what I did here I’m going to bring this over here outside don’t have to keep open about

is for thing. First right? Like I said, what we’re going to do is take one little piece out of time. We’re going to option the screenplay and what some of you are thinking already is. Oh, I can’t I can’t it’s my best friend. That would be like weird. I can’t ask my best friend to sign off on this God Almighty, you know, that’s just rude or it’s my brother.

I’m gonna have my brother like sign. Contract agreement. That’s that’s weird. Right one of my friends didn’t take the class didn’t need to said I’ve been around the industry for a long time having produced. I’ve been another aspect but I don’t need it. Don’t need it two years later. She called me from can saying in some of you read the book.

I think the stories in the book here to um, um, Susan and she was crying there’s a sales agent who wants to. I don’t have to take on the movie to sell it all that’s what you’re crying all congratulations. She said no, the problem is she said they asked for the chain of title information, you know the option and then transfer of that right of them of the ownership and she said and I don’t have that and I said, what do you mean I said, I think you were making your movie two years ago as I recall.

This was all like, oh Matt that option would have been done two years ago. Well, no, she said it was my best friend. I didn’t want to you know, bother her with signing something well turned out. In the director had a fight shortly after and she said the movie could burn in hell for all she cared and that’s about 10 years ago and its continuing well to burn in hell right?

Because no chain of title. No movie ain’t gonna happen. She doesn’t even have the relationship with the best friend anymore. You know what I mean? So it’s not even like it was worth it. And here’s the thing guys if it’s your own Visa, I don’t care. I really don’t care it can. Happen or not or it can burn an alpha is long as they’re you know, whatever.

I don’t care if it’s your Visa. I really don’t the minute you start selling units and shares. You’re a business person. You’re opening your LLC. You’ve got your PPM you’ve got legal documents. And now I’m going to my dentist and getting selling him a unit. You don’t get to play the game of oh, no, it was my friend.

I didn’t want her to sign I have. Another person whose budget was 300,000 and those were investors just one or two. That’s a lot of money. I don’t care how rich that still a lot of money and didn’t take the class until after that movie and I got to tell you that movie will never be seen because she had no, uh clearance report ever ever ever on the script.

No script clearance. There are Coca-Cola cans flying everywhere. There is every product known to man. There’s license plates. There’s people. Last name who’ve done bad things. There’s everything that you cannot do in a movie and you know, that’s so I’m thinking once again if that was her visa and some of you are thinking oh Susanna CGI, you know just go into post.

Well, that was a few years ago. Not as easy. But even then we’re not talkin about One Coca-Cola and sitting there we’re talkin about, you know, ten of them moving around and you have to read just read through the movie, right? But that’s somebody else’s money like it’s a business. Um, so this is really important without this piece without the first piece in your binder.

There’s no movie. Okay. So let me tell you a couple of stories about that. It’s the option uh agreement. Yeah. I don’t care what your mom wrote the script. I don’t care. I don’t care. I don’t trust her. Same thing if it’s your own, okay, good one good one Natalie. That was really good. Uh, the question Ellie was saying is what if it’s your own what if you wrote the script you still have to do the optional greement?

Okay, uh, you still have to because it’s part of delivery, which we’re going to get to in a second as well. Um, so this one here that I did is I did too today you’re going to have to in your binder. This one is one that I’ve done for a whole ton of. Low budget movies easy peasy or even take modified easy-peasy.

So let’s just look at it a little bit. Now. This price is a little high. I was paying $5,000 for the script which I don’t do obviously until first day of principal or the first day of free usually the first day of pre just because then, you know want to make sure that I can then start the transfer but what I did is I and I even offered a couple of points which was a lot of points, you know ordinarily out.

Do that many points because a lot of times and you’re saying oh Suzanne you’re being so mean and you’re being so stingy. I’m not I just want you to know I am the most generous person. I know I always stand in generosity graciousness and abundance when I’m doing agreements and when I’m doing my business plan, that’s always where I stand and Kate was the save my partner was phenomenal and in this respect, but what I’m saying is a lot of the times you’re dealing with new writers and new directors.

So you really giving them really a check for $200,000 because this is going to be their chance to be on the screen or on the DVD or on the VOD or whatever, right? So I would not feel too badly where you want the money to go guys is on the screen you really want it on the screen, especially this angles for law.

You don’t have a lot of room to play around so I probably would do more like two and half percent or two percent and you know for the director I’d made me, you know, like 200 2500 and. Probably 2,500 or whatever. Uh, so it’s not about that the only movie you’ll probably money you’ll ever see is in the back end.

So you got to keep as much as you can because you also need to keep as much as you can because you might need that that name actor and that I’ve done up, you know for name actress. I’ve done up to 7% of the back end of the it was a big name. I needed that that was in the pre-sale days back years ago where we did pre-sales.

I needed his name to sell the territories in the pre-sales. Sometimes you need that neighbor nowadays. You need to just to sell after the path, right? Yeah close you scale the uh the back in participation based on the total budget of the dog as well as the talents celebrity status or know what I’m saying is lot of times in the lower budget got your you know, it’s their first opportunity anyway, so it’s not like they necessarily be expecting, you know, a 5% you might need that 5% for your lead actor when you scale it up or down based on the total budget of the film.

No, not necessarily. I’m not necessarily and not sometimes if the right now I’m working with Mark Smith. That’s a different story. Yes. It’s you know, it’s going to be a lower budget. I did a Mark Smith, you know, he did. Well, they’ve got three Academy Awards the Revenant and he’s working on with JJ Abrams right now in another project.

But the one I’m working on right now is with with Mark. So even though you know the budget might be lower. It’s not a JJ Abrams. He’s not going to get the same back end as JJ would be giving him on that studio film for example, or. He got on the Revenant and he knows that so it’s kind of like you might need to say that in our case.

I probably need to tape it for the actor or the director. It’s a real this particular one. I’m doing with Mark is a very director driven so it you know, so just be careful with that. Honestly I have on my god. I’ve been with people who have given away 10% not net gross. Their production designer try to remember the meeting.

I’m sitting in where I couldn’t breathe for like five minutes because I couldn’t believe it. Um, I remember I was sitting was my own office because I was doing a private eye I was doing a private of one of these was like four or five people and I was so I was going over this section and he said, well, there’s not that many points left and he said we’ve already brought on some of our team.

So I said like who God like 10% like what you bring up? Well, you know for our production designer Suzanne, like, you know, he’s he’s really good. Going oh my God on a $200,000 movie and then he told me it was gross and then I went through. Do you know what he had over pointed it like there was no more points like there.

Yeah, like he was in the he was in the negative points because 50% of the points sometimes 60. So be very careful are with your investor. Usually it’s a 50/50 right he had given away. Some of the investors back in so just be careful because I know sometimes we’re laughing the chicken our head but you know, it’s like sometimes it’s like oh shit.

I shouldn’t have done that I or whatever like get caught ourselves and something not as crazy as that, but you know, so just be careful with that. Here’s the yeah documentary when you spread the risk, whatever Could Happen lever that.

Wild way that you set yourself with documentaries story of documentary Jonathan thing. Is there a way to protect yourself with a documentary story and Jimmy and what way the person who the life story I guess script obviously then even option that script right right story. And is there any way I would still do the right the like Kay did the like it like a book option, you know?

Right, right. Okay. I did I did that one too. Okay. I actually have a sample of that. I brought some different samples of things today. Um the life rights. We did that one time when we were doing a lifetime movie. So we did um the uh, uh, we got the rights from the woman, um, amazing amazing story and it was from Versa.

We were exclusive. Yeah, and you’ll know more about your dealing your Mentor is the producer was going to be the producer on that from did you get in touch with. Okay, I gave you her information. Okay, um, is that clear? So yes a very good because the other thing is what if it’s a book oh in this is great book, you know what I wrote the script for it.

I have that going on right now. Um, and you know, I got the script for it, but now I need to go and get the the rights to the book. Well guess what happens the agent for the book writer said no. Thanks just like that gone. I hope you guys enjoyed that sneak preview. You want to get access to the course just head over to producing master class and I tell you it is an amazing amazing course and I’m next week.

I’m gonna put out one more sneak preview covering another topic, but Suzanne really goes deep into all this kind of stuff. If you are even thinking about making an independent film or a micro budget film this really really has a ton of information in it as well as all the contracts all the agreements that you need in PDF and inward uh files so you can adjust them and change them to your own production.

It’s worth thousands and thousands of dollars. So it’s really really a great deal. So just head over to producing masterclass and check it out. Also guys. I have an announcement. I am currently writing a book and I’m throwing that out into the universe because I need you guys to hold me to it. And uh, and now that I put it out into the universe.

I have to finish this thing. It is a beast of a book and I can’t tell you what I’m writing about just yet just know it is going to uh, hopefully rock you guys world. I really am excited about it. So I hope to have that book done by the Year’s End and release it by the Fall or winter. Uh, and we will be talkin much more about that, uh in the coming months as well, but I just want to put that out there.

And it’s an update on a corner of eagle and desire. Uh, we have submitted to a few festivals. We are going down the festival circuit. The see if we can get any attention from the festivals before we start releasing it seeing if we can get any action on it. Um and just see what we could do with it.

But uh, there will be a new trailer coming out soon for that as well that I’ll be working on over the next month or so, so you guys can see a little bit more of the movie because I’ve been getting a ton of emails about where where can we see it? When can we see it? I want to see it. I want to buy it.

Soon my friends soon. I promise you. Uh, but thank you again so much for all your support guys. And don’t forget to head over to filmmaking podcast sign up and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and leave us a five star review, please it really does help out the podcast a lot. Thank you again so much and as always keep that house will go.

Keep that dream alive, and I’ll talk to you soon. Thanks for listening to the indie film hustle podcast.