Another slow week (to be expected) as we wait for our director candidate to read the script and get back with notes. He's coming off a solid Tribeca experience and is now working through press commitments, so this could take a few more weeks. In the interim, our team has been working through the location options, cast possibilities, and working on the day-to-day client jobs that keep us stable.
Personally, I have also taken on the job of distribution research. In my experience, any producer worth their paycheck starts the development journey with distribution in mind. I won't get too much into the weeds just yet, but my hunting and pecking did lead me to another great episode of The Town podcast. In this episode, Jason Blum (Blumhouse) discusses the underwhelming opening week for their latest release, Megan 2.0, and what is happening in the horror and broader film markets, including marketing, distribution, and genre saturation.
Take a listen and leave your thoughts below.
https://puck.news/podcast_episode/jason-blum-opens-up-about-the-m3gan-2-...
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thanks for the share Michael Fitzer ! will give it a listen for sure. and good luck with the continuation of the project! way to stay productive on it as well - I'm taking notes :)
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Hey, Michael Fitzer. I've heard that over and over. Start the development journey with distribution in mind. I tried to make two features, and I had no idea about distribution. If I was to try and produce a movie again, I would definitely start development with distribution in mind.
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I just finished listening to the podcast, Michael Fitzer. Thanks for sharing the podcast. It’s a must-listen!
I like M3GAN because it's Horror and other things about the movie. I was expecting M3GAN 2.0 to be Horror, but it's Action/Comedy. Blumhouse could've used the same concept for M3GAN 2.0, but made it Horror.
And Jason Blum said the marketplace now is very different and incredibly hard to get your arms around. He’s right. Sometimes people in the industry think a movie is going to do really well, but it doesn’t. And sometimes they think a movie won’t do really well, but it does.
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Michael Fitzer, this is such a grounded and realistic look at the indie development process, thank you for sharing it so openly. Waiting on director feedback can feel like slow motion, but the fact that you’re using this time to dig into distribution research is such a smart move. You’re absolutely right, thinking about distribution from the jump is what sets long-term producers apart. If you come across some interesting insights in your research, be sure to share them with us in the Distribution Lounge!