Sunday, June 20, 2010

Cannes Film Festival...or Whose First Phone Call Are *You*?

I recently returned from screening my film "All Dressed Up" at the Cannes Short Film Corner. It's an amazing opportunity that I recommend to anyone in the industry - making and screening a film on the festival circuit has opened my eyes, taught me a lot and clarified a lot of the confusion I had about how the industry works.

One of the most important lessons of Cannes for me was the international sales market. The majority of independent films are financed at least partially through "foreign pre-sales" which essentially means that distributors in Europe and elsewhere contribute to the budget of the film before it's actually made, and then once it's made, they'll get to screen it and make money off ticket sales. At this point, I know most actors out there have a glazed look in their eyes - sales, distribution, financing, blah, blah, blah... what does this have to do with me? I'm an actor, I just want to get hired on a film, do my thing and go home. And hopefully the film will make a splash and people will know my name and then I'll get to do it all again. True, that would be awesome. But how do you get hired on that film in the first place? Let's delve a little deeper into this world to see how it can help us.

What foreign sales agents want to tell potential distributors is that the "elements" of the film - the director, the actors, the script, locations, etc., are going to make a film that makes people want to buy tickets. Because if people don't buy tickets, the film can't make money, and then the distributor doesn't make back the investment.

So what kind of actor makes people buy a ticket to a movie? A name actor - someone they've heard of. Is that you? Well, probably not if you're reading this blog. It certainly isn't me. YET. So, it stands to reason that if you want to star (or be a major supporting role) in one of these films, you're going to need a name. How to get a name? Oh, the billion dollar question...

A while back I wrote a column called "Stop networking now." In it, I basically asked you what would happen if you could never meet another industry professional again in your life. What kind of career could you build just knowing the people you already know? A lot of people answered - not much of one. But now I want to push you further. I want to ask you - of the people you "know" in the industry, how many of them consider you their first phone call? When my 300 or so industry contacts need a funny young Caucasian actress, how many of them call me first? That number is pretty small. Maybe three of my contacts. So, I could:

(a) get a box of tissues and just start crying right now, because that's not very many, and my career is doomed. Or,

(b) I could cultivate relationships with those three people, collaborate on projects with them, while simultaneously strengthening the relationships I have with people for whom I'm *not* the first phone call, working toward being that first phone call and getting to the point where my name actually does mean something for foreign sales.

I think I'll choose option (b).

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Success in LA is a think-outside-the-box forum for actors, writers, producers or anyone who loves positive thinking and actual doing. If you enjoyed this column, please share it with someone!
-Rebecca Jupiter
So, you've been in LA for a year or more - you found a place to live, you bought a car and you even signed with an agent.

Now what?

This blog is about taking your career to the next level - thinking big, thinking outside the box and working collaboratively to achieve success. Success in LA.