I get a lot of questions about the process and thought I would include some of my rare journal notes, random thoughts, rants, comments, etc in this section. If you have a question or comment, email me, Daniel Millican. From time to time, I may have a pinch hitter fill in.

What I call the 6 Phases of Filmmaking:

And also...    
 

 

DEVELOPMENT

Go to Patsy Wesson's Entry

Excerpts from "The Double D's of Filmmaking" by Daniel Millican. copyright 2003, serendipitous films, inc.

As mentioned before, Development is the crafting of a script, the setup of your business structure, and the raising of money. A good writer and a good entertainment lawyer make the first two easier, so that leaves the part which I get asked the most about by first time filmmakers—fundraising. If you are an accomplished filmmaker, then don’t read any further—you obviously know how to find money.


An outstanding Game Plan is imperative to raising money. Like football, your potential investors will want to know you have a goal, a plan, and a team of outstanding players.


This game plan is communicated through a prospectus or Business Plan. This document should not put people to sleep—it should be easy to read, colorful and professional. I have read so many business plans on films that would put lawyers into a coma. Your business plan should be every reason why someone would invest. The Offering Memorandum by your lawyer will be every reason why they shouldn’t. If you need help putting a business plan together, then get the help. Check out Michael Weise’s book The Independent Film and Video Guide (www.mwp.com) or www.filmprofit.com.


The Catch-22 to begin with is that money is needed in order to set up everything to get money. Your lawyer will want to be paid to deliver to you the documents you need to go to investors. I have been told by an attorney that 9 out of 10 filmmakers who actually have a little bit of money to get started never get all the way to the fifth stage (post) let alone distribution—so offering your attorney “points” or some other promise will most likely get rejected. Find a relative or two, or a good friend or associate and get some development money so you can set it all up. A lawyer can set up all your business entities for somewhere between $5,000 and $9,000 and a good business plan with real numbers and projections should cost around $2,000.


With your killer business plan, approach people with money that you know, and more importantly, know and believe in you. If you are a first time filmmaker and don’t know anyone who will give cash to get started, then it becomes infinitely more difficult. If you can’t find a way, then stay home. This path is full of trials and tribulation—you have to overcome and problem solve or you’ll never make it to the top of the mountain.


So for those who have found some money, go back to your current investors and get referrals from them. Once you get some of their referrals on board, get referrals from new people. My biggest investor in “The Keyman” ended up being a referral of a referral. Every lead should be followed. This is just like sales—it’s a numbers game. You have to call 100 people to get ten appointments. You have to go to ten appointments to get two yes’s. (That’s a terrible closing rate, but let’s just go with it). So if you end up needing ten investors, you may have to call 500 people and 50 appointments.
By the way, a lot of films set up two different offerings—a development offering and a production offering. The development money is used by the filmmaker during this period and is at much higher risk. The production money is put into a protected account until enough money is raised to be able to produce the film. Generally, the development offering is paid out at a higher rate than the production offering.

September 2001 -- I have been outlining the script (using Write Brother's Dramatica for the first time) and begin the actual writing. The first draft takes 6 weeks and is finished in a small hotel room in Milan, Italy where I am attending MIFED film market. My style is to power through the first draft and then spend a lot more time erasing it all, piece by piece and re-writing. I actually enjoy the rewriting. I do most of it through 2002 at Spring Creek Bar-B-Que. I am one of those attention deficet types who needs lots of noise and activity to concentrate. My office is much too quiet.

Also at this time, I enlist the help of Patsy Wesson as a producer. I need someone who knows story structure and Patsy showed during the last film that her comments and suggestions were right on. I needed someone to bounce the script off of and Patsy was a great choice. I end up leaning on Patsy as a sounding board for all the big decisions during this phase.

September 12, 2001 - meeting with Dan at TGIF @ 11:30. This was the first of countless handwritten entries in my day planner (as Dan has yet to convert me to Palm Pilots) to discuss "A Promise Kept". It was at this meeting that Dan asked me if I would like to help him produce the movie. My passion for the movie industry is writing and producing was an aspect of the industry I was not familiar with. Just to be a part of any project Dan is involved with more than sparked my curiosity and desire to be a part. I left the meeting excited, flattered and curious, yet a bit apprehensive as to the ultimate responsibilities of a producer for a feature film. I promised Dan I would seriously consider the offer and get back to him with an answer.

October 25, 2001 - meeting with Dan @ Khaki's in Arlington @ 11:30. I arrive at this meeting loaded with questions for Dan concerning the role of the producer, the responsibilities of a producer; how much time would be involved, etc. After answering all of my questions; Dan may have thought he had me convinced that I could do this job. But I wasn't so sure. My self-doubt vs. my overwhelming desire to be a part of this film were playing tug-o-war and I wasn't for sure which side was winning.

December 12, 2001 - meeting with Dan @ Cheddar's - 12:00. Cheddar's became our normal hangout for what would be a series of meetings for discussing the script. It became accepted practice for the one who got to Cheddar's first to go ahead and order as Dan always orders a Coke and Chicken Fingers and my staple lunch became Tea, salad and a cup of tortilla soup.

Actually, there was that one time I ordered Chicken Fired Steak (no gravy). Variety, the spice of life.

Page by page, Dan and I went over the script - discussing character names, typos, possible twists and turns, etc.

I will never forget one meeting as we are discussing the fact that Ben needs a child - a daughter - to add depth to his character. We discuss the girl's age, what she would look like, and so forth. Dan makes a comment about needing a name for this character and without hesitation I said "Cassie". Dan liked the name and hence evolved a lovable, identifiable character in which Emma Nicolas would audition and later capture the role. There are many instances like this one that will forever be lasting memories for me. I am so blessed to have been with this project from nearly the beginning and had the good fortune to see it through development, pre-production, production and now into post-production.

The name "Cassie" was just one of many countless contributions by Patsy.

February 2002 -- We hold a reading at a good friends house using actors volunteering from the Linda McAlister Talent Agency. This second draft I thought was pretty decent. Hearing it convinced me I still have a ways to go. Back to Spring Creek and the lean brisket.

Spring 2002 -- Another reading, this time of the 5th draft was held at my office. Again by a lot of Linda's people. I also noticed a short that was at the Deep Ellum Film Festival that had an interesting actress. The short was Indefinitely and the actress was Alaina Kalanj. She graciously came to the reading.

Also during the spring, I head to LA and start interviewing for a Casting Director. Patsy Wesson and I meet Lindsay Chag at a coffee house. I was a little gun shy because most people in LA don't communicate-- the less you say, especially in writing, the less chance you can get fired or worse. I guess I had better stop typing now. Anyway, to fast forward, Lindsay was nothing short of greatness. She communicated with me everyday, multiple times if needed and was a powder keg of energy.

Summer -- It's getting close to fish or cut bait time. I have been trying to raise money and have some. Should I start casting and go for it and hope the rest comes? Very scary proposition. I pray. I talk to those I consider my mentors-- professionally, emotionally, creatively and spiritually. It's time to go. New idea for an HBO series-- "Make Your Own Greenlight."

I mentioned that I met with Lindsay Chag. During the summer, we decided to contract her to direct the casting. Once we got started in August, Lindsay got busy. She read the script (over and over as I would rewrite it) and she compliled lists for us. Patsy Wesson and I and later Jeff Rodgers would take each name and go through IMDB and study. Eventually Patsy and Jeff made their recommendations to me and I sent back a list to Lindsay who would then tender an offer to the actor's agent or manager.

September 2003 -- I head to LA again. This time to meet with actors. Farrah Fawcett's people are interested in her playing the role of Eve. I meet with Farrah and she's very nice and a very good actress. We decide to go with her. A month later, her people contact us to tell us that for personal issues, she has to pull out of the project.

I also get to meet Joey Lauren Adams for the first time. Joey is extremely nice and I was honored that she had even read my script-- let alone want to play the role of Daphne. We are glad to have her on the team.

A also met with a couple of different choices for the lead role of Ben Simms, but for various reasons, none of those actors worked out. I had given a lot of thought to Sean Patrick Flanery. I remembered him from the Young Indy series and check out some of his recent movies. Boondock Saints and Suicide Kings really showed some strong acting ability. I felt like he would be perfect... He had the right look and ability and I think audiences would immediately empathize with him.

With the departure of Farrah, I flew out to LA to meet with Mimi Rogers in October. I was looking for an actress that had an inner strength to go with an outward beauty. Mimi was a nice blend of the two. Now the three leads were set.

My son has been taking Kenpo and one of the modern day heroes of Kenpo Karate is Jeff Speakman who has been the lead in about 8 other movies. We worked hard to get in touch with him and he read the script and immediately wanted to come on board when I flew out to meet with him. With Jeff coming on the team, I knew we had something special now. About that same time, we became fully funded and ready to enter the next section: Pre-Production.

The next step is Pre-Production.

Everything on this website is copyrighted 2003 by serendipitous films, inc., bedford, tx.