Invite

For anyone who can make it, a public meeting to discuss the film and give some background for potential investors. Among those speaking from his wide background in feature films is producer Tim Sanders (Whale Rider, Lord of the Rings FOTR, Perfect Creature). All welcome.

Believers

Good video hook-up with one of the UK producers on Friday. Pip Piper (Blue Hippo Media) is someone I count as a good friend. He's a tireless entrepreneur and relentless optimist. Pip has built his production house up from scratch, and is now recognised as one of the leading lights in film production in the Birmingham area.

It was Pip who optioned my novel back in 2002, and over the last seven years we've been through all the highs and lows together as the project has variously looked ready to go or else dead in the water. But together we've always believed that there's a certain mojo about The Insatiable Moon which will get us there in the end.

We're now working together on another project as well, about an American climber Gary Hemming who pulled off an amazing alpine rescue in France and became an overnight sensation, but ended up shooting himself.

Anyway, it was as always good to talk to Pip, who reaffirmed that we were going to be shooting Moon in November, whatever may happen between now and then. Those who carry the burden for a feature film need a few friends to keep the belief strong at the time when it flags.

Investor Docs

For those who have an interest, the pitch docs for private equity investors in the project can be found here...

There will be a meeting for anyone interested in finding out more about the film on Thursday May 14th at Ponsonby Baptist Church Hall, 43 Jervois Rd, Ponsonby (venue to be confirmed), at 6.00pm. There will be publicity materials, a promo film, and speakers will include BAFTA winning producer Tim Sanders (Whale Rider, Lord of the Rings), and film lawyer Matt Emery.

All welcome.

Navigating Troubled Waters

Yesterday's seminar in Auckland was called 'Navigating the SPIF' (SPIF being the Screen Incentive Production Fund). It was an excellent and well-organised seminar, with helpful and very practical information. The level of detail and careful manoeuvring required is scary - rather akin to sailing your way through the proverbial minefield. But then the rewards are great - potentially a $2m rebate on a $5m film.

Later in the afternoon it was a visit to the base of a television network to meet with a gatekeeper. I was trying to interest them in a licence deal, to show the completed film following theatrical release. And alongside it, of course, a joint application to NZ on Air for production funding for the film.

But the person I was dealing with wasn't too sure about the project, and whether it would find an audience among their viewers. It was a difficult session. As I said to someone afterwards, it's a bit like having someone tell you your baby is ugly, and you trying to persuade them of the child's good points. I'm not the world's best at pitching my own projects, and by the end of the time it seemed that the answer was a no.

I came out of the meeting depressed, got in my car and drove straight over a pothole, bursting the front tyre. Seemed symbolic somehow, but didn't improve my mood.

Anyway, this morning the development exec, having looked at the promo DVD I'd left, was having a rethink, with a slightly more positive attitude. So who knows? Ah, the twists and turns of the filmmaking business...

Ticking Along

Things ticking over as they should just now. A funding seminar run by NZFC and SPADA tomorrow morning, which aims to explain the mysteries of the SPIF (Screen Production Incentive Fund). New Zealand's SPIF offers an automatic 40% rebate on production spend in NZ, as long as the feature qualifies as a NZ film (points basis). The catch is that the threshold to trigger it is a minimum $4m QNZPE (Qualifying NZ Production Expenditure). This is the Catch-22 for most indies. There's some talk about lowering the threshold - be interesting to see if that is mentioned tomorrow.

Then a meet with a major television network re potential cooperation over the film. They've read the script and still want to meet, which is vaguely hopeful. But I've learned not to get overly optimistic about these things. They may just want to tell us what's wrong with our project, and add to the mountain of notes which have already been accumulated.

I've scheduled an equity investors' meeting for Thursday 14th May - now just need to sort out a venue and try to drum up some attendees. We've had a good initial response to the proposal, but then again $500k is a bit to raise in the current climate. Will post the documents about the funding pitch soonish, for anyone who's interested.

A List?

How much do 'stars' contribute to the likelihood of a project's success? Pretty much anything that comes out of the States will tell you they're gold. The money people love the A list, and therefore the producers love them as well. Convince a star to get on board and you're more than halfway there to getting funded. So much is filmmaking orthodoxy.

But does the same thing apply to indies? Certainly a few 'names' help to raise the profile of your project, and lift it a little above the also-rans in the eyes of the financiers. But funding an indie is such bloody hard work anyway, that it seems the inclusion of stars is a mixed blessing. After all, they come with costs. Mostly they expect good money, and their travel and accommodation better not be economy class! So the budget needs to be pumped as a consequence.

We've always had Rawiri Paratene on board as lead, and he'll do the part come hell or high water because he believes in it so passionately. We also have letters of intent from John Rhys Davies, James Nesbitt, and my all-time fave Tim Spall. Whether they actually come on will depend on budget level and schedule. I'd like to think they'll hang in even if we're at the lower end of the scale, but time will tell.

More importantly to us, and I'd say to all indies, is that the people involved understand the story and have some commitment to it. Magic is hard to come by, but you give yourself a better chance if the people at the heart of the film share a common vision of what it's about.

I'll keep you posted on how the cast shapes up as we roll toward November...

Who Also Stand and Wait

There's no quick way to learn patience... but anyone involved in the screen industry needs a ton of it. In some other industries decisions are made in a nanosecond. But in the film world everyone is hedging their bets, looking over their shoulders, scared to decide in case the make the wrong choice.

Currently I'm waiting for:

1. A New Zealand distributor to get back to me after reading the script (six weeks and counting).

2. An Australasian distributor to read the script (four weeks).

3. The NZ Film Commission to read the script (only two weeks).

4. Budget and schedule to be completed.

5. Recoupment template from NZ Film Commission.

6. Various documents from the UK producers.

7. The end of the world, which may well come first...

The frustrating thing (forgive me if I've mentioned this before) is that you're constantly waiting for and dependent upon the decisions of others. The upside is that filmmaking is a team effort. The downside is that very few films survive the process.

Did somebody say interminable?

Easter reflections

Four years ago, I was spending Easter with friends at Lake Ohau - a beautiful spot in central South Island wilderness. I'd just had the dismaying news that Gillies Mackinnon had decided not to take on the role of director for The Insatiable Moon. It was another setback in a long line of them.

Undeterred, I wrote this to him:

"We've had a concern in this project from the very beginning to gather people who had a heart and vision for the story, so that there might be some sort of genuine artistic relationship between the core players. I, and I know the producers, are convinced that you would be the ideal director for the story. There are few people who have the right instincts and approach for the constituent elements of this film.

"I'm convinced that you belong on this venture, and that if you were willing to give it a go, it would be hugely rewarding for you in many ways. I can't argue with your reasons for saying no... But I don't want to pass too easily over the possibility of your involvement. So I'm trespassing all sorts of boundaries by asking you to reconsider your decision. Life is a strange mix of encounter and opportunity - I'm not quite ready to give up something which seemed so right a few days ago. Perhaps you might find one more quiet moment to check your own instincts."

In the meantime, we were out walking one Easter night, and watched the full moon rising over the lake. In the foreground was a sign proclaiming 'Mackinnon Drive'. We joked about the moon over Mackinnon.

But eventually he turned us down a second time. It wasn't until much later that a very tenacious Pip Piper went back to him yet again. And now he is attached to Moon as director. I always had a gut feeling that he was the man for the job.

The making of a film is a mystery as well as a process. Here we are at Easter yet again, and once more the moon is full.

Sailing...

Very good meeting last night with Mladen Ivancic, Graeme Mason (both of NZFC), Tim Sanders and moi. We met down at the Viaduct on the Auckland harbour on one of those perfect autumnal evenings when the air was warm and still, and the boats bobbed obligingly on the water.

As it happened it was new CEO Graeme's first day in the job, so we had the privilege of pitching our project to him before anyone else (unless the taxi driver pitched him on the way in - dang). I have to say he's as sharp as a tack and first impressions are that he will do very well in his new role.

We talked over various aspects of where we've got to with Insatiable Moon and what funding avenues were open to us. The upshot is that we received as much encouragement as we might expect from people who need to be very careful what they say. Graeme has taken the latest draft of the script away to read.

And yes, it looks like it's head down bum up for the next little while, as I begin the tedious task of compiling the documentation which is necessary for an application to the board sometime later this year.

All in all, though, another positive step along the way.

Mexican standoff

UK producers Pip and Rob had a meeting yesterday with a major film finance company in London. The initial discussion went very well, so there is definite interest there. They also met up with lead actor Rawiri Paratene who is currently doing a season at the Globe Theatre.

With all such negotiations, everyone is looking over the shoulder to see who is coming to the party. Eventually it depends on someone making the first move. Very Mexican standoff. But this is a further positive, and something we will be able to use in our discussions with NZFC on Monday.

The other key piece we need to get in place is a distribution deal for New Zealand - we have the script out with a couple of players, and as usual, are just waiting for them to come back to us.

Then the question will be whether to apply for status as an official copro or not - more paperwork, so need to weigh up the benefits as against the work required.

But things are moving along...

Getting the Dosh

Discussing funding scenarios in preparation for a meeting with NZFC. One of the bizarre things is that it's sometimes easier to get the finance for a higher budget film than a lower one. In New Zealand, for example, SPIF funding (which is an automatic 40% rebate of NZ spend) is only triggered at a spend level of $4m.

We're hoping to get from the upcoming meeting an indication of whether it's worthwhile going for production funding at the NZFC's June meeting. The deadline for that would be late May, around six weeks away - just before I head off to the UK to meet with the producers and director over there. Given that I'm the one charged with the screeds of paperwork for any application, it feels something of a potential burden.

Meanwhile, the UK producers have a meeting with a substantial film investment company in London on Thursday evening. So things are delicately poised - as usual waiting for other people's decisions. No good being a control freak if you want to be involved in features...