Happy New Year! My goal this year is simple: I want to make movies! Also television, but that’s harder (you need a “showrunner” and they are hard to get).
After working with Screen Archives in November to sell off some FSM duplicate CDs from my dad’s basement, I’ve decided to sell off portions of my own collection.
The truth is that I boxed up the majority of my CD collection when our kids were born in 2014, and in eight years I’ve barely found the need to open up the boxes.
I’m truly sad to part with stuff that’s meaningful to me (including a lot that I helped to produce; my name is on them), but it makes me happy to think of them going to a new home where they will be appreciated.
One thing that slightly concerns me is that most of this stuff was actually comped to me for review and publicity purposes when I was running Film Score Monthly. If I sent somebody something valuable as a gift, and found them turning around to hock it...well, it’s not a good feeling. So I’ll be reaching out to these folks, and hopefully they’ll understand.
At the moment, I need what we call “development funding” for my movies. The actual production costs (which can be very large) will come from inside the film industry: the producer (me) attaches stars, and on the strength of the actors’ commercial value, various financing and production companies come aboard and pay for the movie—yay!
But getting to that point where you can attach the stars—well, it’s expensive. You need to finance:
A detailed budget.
A prospectus for investors.
Legal costs (incorporation).
A consulting producer.
A casting director.
Various and sundry marketing materials.
I probably need between $25K to $50K to get started on three movies:
1. Vineyard Haven—an indie I want to shoot in June in my hometown. Pitch video:
2. The Demonologist—this is a cost-contained horror film I wrote, and would hire somebody else to direct.
3. Sky Fighter—the feature of my sci-fi short film:
How much can I get for my various and sundry CDs and collectibles? Maybe a few thousand. I don’t know. But it will let me get started on the budgets, at least.
What I’m thinking of doing is a Kickstarter where you (the collectors) buy vouchers for $50, $100, $200, or whatever it is. Then you can review the list of what’s available and pick out what you want, first-come, first-served.
Uh...does this sound okay? I’m seriously asking!
I know I’ve got some super rare stuff in my collection. I have the unreleased Varèse Sarabande Bill Conti CD, Blood In, Blood Out, for one thing. Maybe a few ultra-rare valuables like that I’ll auction? I don’t know, it’s kind of overwhelming.
But I need to do this! I feel the need...the need...to PRODUCE!
So I hope I can find some good stuff at fair prices that you guys want.
In case you’re wondering, I did start a wefunder last June for my film company, and it got $7K worth of pledges.
This is not donations—it is an SEC-approved investment in my productions!
This is still open so if you want to invest in my films—please do!
I need to get this up to $25K for it to actually “go through” and for the money to change hands; until then, it’s just a pledge. (If we did reach our magic number, the platform would contact you to confirm you really want to put in the money.)
So why not put in $100? I truly do think I can pull this off!
If you don’t think I can’t do the impossible—I was the one who drove down Mulholland in the fog with the complete music master tapes to Star Trek in my tiny Subaru (thank God I made it) after picking them up from Neil Norman’s house. We made this 15CD beauty, with our friends at La-La Land:
Because I am plugging the wefunder today, I have to put in this boilerplate:
We are “testing the waters” to gauge investor interest in an offering under Regulation Crowdfunding. No money or other consideration is being solicited. If sent, it will not be accepted. No offer to buy securities will be accepted. No part of the purchase price will be received until a Form C is filed and only through Wefunder’s platform. Any indication of interest involves no obligation or commitment of any kind.
So I’ll be spending the next week, at least, under the stairs making listings of CDs to sell.
If you don’t hear from me, somebody call the fire department! (Disclaimer #2: That’s a joke.)