How to Make Sure a Distributor Pays You Fairly

[anupraj]

Hi friends
I'm new to productions, and planning to make one DVD film,
but my biggest worry is what will happen if distribution company cheats,
ie: how to take account of how many copies have been sold and what should be the share of a distribution company?
Please help me to get rid of this problem.
And tell me the technique of distribution in detail, please please please.
thanks
anupraj ganguly
[email protected]

 

[MarkG]

I don't know about India, but from what my friends have told me from distributing their low-budget movies, you should get the biggest advance you can from the distributor and not expect to see a penny more... profit deals are all well and good, but 'Forrest Gump' never made a profit according to Hollywood accounting.

If you're established you'll probably be able to get more control over the distribution, but for a first-time movie going to DVD that's unlikely.

 

[goldfold]

Dont do that...

Dont do that...

Hey dude, don't do that. First sign a legal contract with them and then ask them for some token money. Read that contract carefully before you sign on it. They all crook, specially in India. I went through all of this. Happen with me, I waste lots of money to make a movie but did not sign legal contract with them so when movie was ready to go they tried to blackmail me. But anyway my advice to you, don't trust on them and don't take their bullshit offer like oohh we will give you royalty or we will give you certain amount of money every month bla..bla..bla. So very careful buddy...

 

[NoBudget]

Do your research!

If you are interested in signing with a distribution company...do some research and find other filmmakers who have used them in the past. Call them or email them and get their opinion of how honest they felt the distributor was.

If it is a low budget straight to video movie...you will most likely not get much. Try to get at least some kind of advance. It may be all you ever get.
Also, I recommend splitting up Foreign and US sales between 2 different distributors. That way you have better chances...at least one of them might not screw you...as much.

 

[Jared Isham]

This is definitely a topic that you should always begin to pursue in the development stage of your movie before even going into pre-production. Unfortunately, it is true that low budget movies almost never see any money in residuals. When I signed my contract I almost negotiated out of the contract because I kept asking for changes.

It is also a good idea to attempt to contact filmmakers who have worked with the company before. I did this for my project and I did not sign anything until I had heard an interview with someone from the distributor and had received good comments from other filmmakers about them.

One thing to be careful for is to watch out for how much money they spend on advertising, that is often where they get you. Make sure you put a cap on the amount spent and don't let them spend too little.

Some good resources are the book "The Insider's Guide to Independent Film Distribution" and even scan through Mark Litwak's website - he has some good articles on there and has about 4 legal books that could be of high assistance.

That is just what I have learned so far and all of my experiences have been domestic in North America.