The Name Game Monday January 15, 2001 By: Reed Martin With name talent the key that unlocks financing for so many independent films, how do filmmakers get these stars in their movies? Reed Martin finds out. First- and second-time filmmakers who have successfully begged, clawed and scratched their way to raising $300,000 to $3 million in production funds often find themselves facing yet another seemingly impossible hurdle: getting recognizable "name" stars to appear in their movies. Low-budget film economics, increased competition in the marketplace, and a looming Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike have merged to create a perfect storm into which would-be auteurs must now set sail. And while some neophyte directors won't have a problem visualizing a split-diopter framing during a Steadycam shot, nearly all of them will find the casting process an exasperating challenge of neurosurgical proportions. "You put the wrong actor in your movie and that's it, it's over," says Dan Ireland, director of the $1.3 million The Whole Wide World and the $2.5 million The Velocity of Gary. "Casting represents about 70 percent of trying to get your film to be real and true and getting your audience to believe it." Of course, many filmmakers don't have the luxury of waiting around for the "perfect" actor for each part. Casting can be a rushed process - many roles must be filled in a compressed period of time - and one often influenced by investors expecting Blair Witch-level net points. Finding a cast that satisfies the financiers and makes a lead role come alive is no easy task. Still, there are ways for even first-time filmmakers to hook up with name talent. "You can't palm your script on an actor in a restaurant or on the street - that doesn't work," says Hakim Bangash, whose Orchid Ventures co-financed You Can Count On Me and several other high- profile independent films. "As impossible as this may sound, you really have to go through a personal connection. If you can somehow get your script to an actor through a personal connection, you actually have a reasonable chance that the star will actually assess your project, 100 percent more than if you go through an agent or a manager. There's no comparison." While most struggling screenwriters and directors cannot afford to join top-secret, ultra-expensive health clubs where recognizable actors do their crunches and lat-pulls, the dedicated, stop-at- nothing filmmaker should be able to cover drinks on the town, even for months at a time. "Every star from Julia Roberts on down can be gotten to," says Bangash, who also invested early in productions like Sling Blade and New Jersey Drive, among others. "It's as simple as going to parties every night of the week until you finally meet that someone-who-knows-someone-who-knows- someone." Recognizable actors will read unsolicited material from unrepresented writers or directors but only if it is delivered by a trusted source, notes Bangash: "It's a lot like the venture-capital business. Venture capitalists don't look at business plans unless they come from someone they know through work or from a friend." And while top A-list actors probably only accept offers from well-heeled agents, studio presidents or world-famous directors, many in the B+ category are amenable to joining projects that come in over the transom. "One of the dirty little secrets of Hollywood is that everybody below the A-list has a lot of trouble finding work," says Ira Deutchman, former president of Fine Line Features and current CEO of Studio Next, a New York based DV production company. "Actors on the second or third tier can make a decent payday by playing the second lead or maybe the sidekick to the villain [in a Hollywood film], but the fact is these roles are not all that rewarding artistically. Agents and managers are savvy about that and they would much rather have their non-A-list clients working than not working." Producer Adam Fields, whose credits include Ravenous, Brokedown Palace and the upcoming Sundance Competition entry Donnie Darko, which features Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze, says that low-budget producers will have a better chance of landing top talent if they keep their demands reasonable and schedule their shooting days carefully. "What was great about Donnie Darko" says Fields, "was that we were able to limit several parts to a week and shoot in a way that was as actor-friendly as possible. 'Come on do this, we'll shoot you out in four or five days. It will be fun.' And once you get one actor, there's a snowball effect that happens: 'Look, so and so is doing it. And they're working for scale. Oh, okay. If they're in it, now it's validated.'" Filmmakers who don't have the patience to schmooze and hustle until they meet a major actor's fifth cousin can instead use $20,000 to $75,000 of their production budget to hire a casting director with solid credits. While many top casting directors are hired to work on Hollywood films after the A- list talent has been secured by the studio or by producers, they often play a vital role in securing talent for indie films in exchange for a producer credit or a fee proportionate with the film's total budget. "Casting directors try to get an actor to read a script either with or without an offer on the table," says Ferne Cassel, the casting director on Demolition Man, Boxing Helena and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, among others. "Ideally [a good casting director can get an actor to read the script] without an offer because sometimes the script is going out before the production has any money. That's where casting directors are very helpful to filmmakers - they have relationships with agents who can get scripts to actors." Still even though an agent may know and trust a casting director, it doesn't mean he or she trusts a first-time filmmaker or producer with a valuable actor client. "A lot of agents today will ask to see production funds in escrow, especially on a small movie where they don't know the people involved," says Cassel. "They are just trying to protect themselves: if you're going to take an actor off the market by having him or her commit to your film or if you're going to go out with his or her name attached to raise funding, the project has to be real." Furthermore, Cassel adds: "Casting directors can't keep going to the well with an agent, saying 'Please read this script, I love it.' These days, a project has to be further along." Increasingly, agents at William Morris, CAA, ICM and other powerful agencies want to know that an independent film is indeed prepped and ready to go should their client decide to pull the trigger. However, when talent is being used to secure production financing, this penchant by agents to close actor deals at the last minute creates the classic "chicken-or-the-egg" scenario that first-time filmmakers find so frustrating. Substantial cash-money is needed to go into pre-production and producers must generally spend equity investments or borrowed capital before a deal with name talent can be agreed upon and signed. The unscrupulous Bobby Bowfinger tactic of asserting that certain name actors are interested when in fact they are not, is a risky proposition. "You can't do that any more," Cassel says. "You'll get a cease-and-desist letter from a lawyer. In some cases, we will talk to an agent and that agent will express some early interest [on behalf of their actor client] but then if you go around trying to generate 'buzz' or money with that, you'll also get a lawyer's letter." The best that filmmakers can hope for after an actor actually reads the material and analyzes an offer, is to receive a letter of intent. "All it says is that he or she has read the script and 'schedule permitting' will agree to be in it and play such-and-such a role," says Cassel. "But you have to ask if you can use the letter to get more financing in place. And because of the 'schedule permitting' clause, the actor can always back out. Who knows what their schedule will be like once the filmmaker has finally cast all the other parts?" Still, a letter of intent does show other actors and potential big fish investors that a filmmaker is one step closer to realizing his or her dream. And in today's competitive climate, many investors, filmmakers and film executives see recognizable cast members as insurance few independent productions can do without. "If you ultimately want to sell the movie, you're much better off with any sort of name talent than without it," says Rick Sands, Chairman of Worldwide Distribution at Miramax. "This is a risky business. Every year a lot of films never get sold and a lot of people lose a lot of money. Having a name makes it an easier sell for a company like Miramax because there is value we can achieve around the world that we can't necessarily in the same movie without a known actor or star." Indeed, international revenue is where both low-budget and splashy Hollywood producers are generating much of their production funds. "Independent film has now penetrated the world market - a big ancillary market with international video deals and international TV deals," says Tom Bernard, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics.