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+1 Marc.  As I am often asked to wear  my producer hat and plan and prepro films (I don't usually work in sound on ones I ultimately produce), I absolutely do ask the prospective film maker to show me their resume and reel.. or at least the CV.

In the past, I made the mistake of taking a couple of gigs without also speaking with past colleagues of these film makers.

If I had done so, those jobs would have been much less painful.

On low to medium budget, I do at least ask "so, what has this creative and producing staff done before now?" 

 

And freebies.. are done for friends, when I can afford the unpaid time.  Paradoxically, I am more likely to agree to work for free on a short with no likelihood of ever turning a profit, than on something that claims it'll make everyone rich.

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In the past, I made the mistake of taking a couple of gigs without also speaking with past colleagues of these film makers.

 

I always do a Google search and/or check out IMDB first, before I'm about to embark on a project with somebody I've never heard of. Sometimes I run into some surprises. It's scary what's out there on the net.

 

I seem to recall famous internet entrepreneur Sean Parker having a business card that just had his name and the words "Google Me" on it -- no email, no phone number, nothing. 

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I had accepted a gig for a cut of the film once..  I then told them that we'll need to put this ALL down in contract, I want final cut of the film, points on the revenues, input on various sessions and marketing, and we'll need to hire an accountant to open up their books every 2 months after the film gets released..

 

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone..  Then they hung up.  Apparently, that whole, 'were all just equal partners in this film biz awesome thing'.. wasn't so awesome, when I wanted my share of this partnership they were offering me..  huh..

 

-Richard

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I had accepted a gig for a cut of the film once..  I then told them that we'll need to put this ALL down in contract, I want final cut of the film, points on the revenues, input on various sessions and marketing, and we'll need to hire an accountant to open up their books every 2 months after the film gets released..

 

I believe the correct expression is, "I want X percent of the unadjusted rolling gross from dollar one." This would be "Tom Cruise money": $1 of every $10 ticket at the theater goes directly to Tom. 

 

Very, very few people get this kind of deal any more. And the sad reality is that very few indie films make money, certainly not for the first couple of years after they're made. 

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Some used to! There's a great book out there that just came out, Lynda Obst's Sleepless in Hollywoodand it's basically a story about why and how the 1990s philosophy of filmmaking changed so radically in the last ten years. The "percentage of the gross" deals are a big part of that conversation, and some people used to get it... but not anymore. I somehow don't think Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Will Smith, or Jim Carrey (to name a few) are in the stratosphere today like they were a decade ago. 

 

What I was told is that there are filmmakers who do get a percentage of the gross, but only after the proceeds hit an astronomically high level. Jim Cameron told Howard Stern in an interview, "I made so many compromises to get Avatar made, I would have barely broken even if it had 'only' made a billion dollars. I gambled that it would do more than that, and won." At the moment, it's made $2.7 billion, so I think Mr. Cameron did OK. 

 

I bet the number of people who get gross profit points could well be less than a dozen nowadays. 

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