For love, not money

Film Indepedent panel cautions about quick payoffs

By DAVE MCNARY

With the indie sector on shaky ground, experts warned of a hard-to-resist temptation: Going for the money.

"You get into trouble when you make a deal mainly because you think you can make money off it," said Tony Safford, Fox Searchlight's exec VP of worldwide acquisitions, during the Film Independent panel Friday at WME's screening room in Beverly Hills. "You really have to like the movie."

If that sounds obvious, it's a sentiment that may easily get lost as distribs fall into the trap of looking for a quick payoff to repeat the success of say, "Paranormal Activity."

At the panel, which coincided with AFM, Safford recalled his purchase of "Napoleon Dynamite," a film that did not have obvious money-making appeal, for $500,000. The laffer grossed $44 million.

Indie consultant Jeff Dowd echoed Safford's sentiments, telling those in attendance -- many of them indie producers -- to push harder for films that go beyond just being "good."

As noted by moderator Tom Bernard, the sector is coping with changing distribution models, including the Internet, where there has been a great deal of experimentation in digital downloads, and fears of the future with an audience accustomed to getting content for free.

With auds sometimes reluctant to pay $10 and up per ticket for specialty films in theaters, the VOD fees of $4 to $10 per household have been gaining traction among viewers. More than 50 million cable and satellite TV subscribers have access to VOD, a potentially huge audience for first-run films.