American Film Market Dailies

California Congresswoman Judy Chu, Amy Lemisch, Paul Bales, Lisa Romanoff & IFTA CEO Jean Prewitt at the AFM

The American Film Market (AFM^®) presented the Pitch Conference at the Fairmont Hotel and kicked-off the inaugural AFM Producers Forum at the Le Merigot Hotel today, Saturday, November 09, 2013 in Santa Monica. 

The AFM Pitch Conference provided attendees a first-hand account to the essential rules and tools of pitching from the experts. Moderated by Stephanie Palmer, author of Good in a Room, panelists included Tobin Armbrust, President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions, Exclusive Media Group and Cassian Elwes, Independent Producer/Agent. 

The AFM Producers Forum featured four sessions including: How to Leverage the AFM to Move Your Projects Forward & Get Distribution, Get Paid! Enforcing Agreements, Auditing and Dispute Resolution, Understanding the U.S. Rating System and Producing in China.  The sessions featured panelists included: Stacey Parks, Independent Film Consultant, Film Specific, Rob Aft, Compliance Consulting, Joan Graves, SVP and Chairman, Classifications and Rating Administration, MPAA and Peter Shiao, CEO and Founder, Orb Media Group

Below are some key quotes from panelists during the Pitch Conference and the Producer's Forum:

Stephanie Palmer, Good in a Room:

On three rules of pitching:

“Lead with genre… In a verbal pitch, genre gives context to the listener. Focus on as few main characters as possible, and identify patterns of feedback.”

Tobin Armbrust, President of Worldwide Production and Acquisitions, Exclusive Media Group:

 “Don’t presume you know where Hollywood is trending. The passion is what comes through when you’re pitching.”

“Most of the time pitches don’t sell.  If you’re a writer, always write.  You should never be discouraged if you can’t sell something as a pitch.  Plenty of projects never get made.”

Cassian Elwes, Independent Producer/Agent: 

On passion needed in pitching - “(Laura Ziskin) had been trying to make the movie (The Butler) and studios were passing on it.  Since she was a studio filmmaker, she didn’t know how to raise money. She was dying from cancer and her last thoughts, her last breaths were spent on how to make this movie. That’s the level of passion we’re looking for.”

Stacey Parks, Independent Film Consultant, Film Specific

On how to find the financiers at the market:

"It's tough.  But I'll let you in on a secret.  Casa Del Mar – they hang out there.  Go at happy hour and walk around.  When pitching, you have to lead with (the project's) value."

On if you need a sales agent:

"You need a sales agent for foreign. You can't just email them, but if you can, retain your U.S. Rights . . . . U.S. is the biggest VOD market.  You want to go through aggregators not sales agents.  They take commission, they don't charge fees. Kino Nation just launched in beta – you don't even have to talk to anyone – you just upload your film and they have direct access to iTunes." 

On aligning your domestic and foreign release:

"It's best to hold off on your foreign release until you secure your domestic deal.  You can leverage it."

Joan Graves, SVP and Chairman, Classifications and Rating Administration, MPAA

On the ratings system:

"The rating system never said it will protect children.  It is up to parents.  That is the secret of why it works so well." 

On challenges:

"The ratings system works mostly off guidelines but language is one issue that has rules.  If there is more than one "F word" or it’s a sexual use, it's an R.  This frustrates filmmakers, but we conduct market research to get a true read on parents across America.  It's a real issue – the results show they don't want the "F word" at all.” 

On who gets their films rated:

"Only members have to be rated, but 75% of submissions are from independents"

On trends:

"Now studios decide years in advance what rating a film will have – it's in the filmmaker's contract.  Once the film gets to the MPAA, if it doesn't meet the rating, they will have to recut.  So we have started to offer to read scripts and counsel filmmakers in advance."

Peter Shiao, CEO and Founder, Orb Media Group

On why projects in China go through so many reviews through cultural commissions:

"People can lose jobs or there can be multiple people viewing"

On any genres being blacklisted:

"The adult industry.  Everything else has been negotiated.  Used to be supernatural films could not have ghosts unless it was tied to tradition.  Horror films have been approved up to a limit.  Friday the 13th would not be."

On the value of 3D:

"3D is a huge market and is still a premium.  Audiences don't care about the technology they just like the 3D experience"

Photo credit: Getty Images/Mark Davis.