INT. CRAMPED APARTMENT -- DAY
MILES MAKER, late 30's, is leaned over an a laptop computer on a sofa bed in a tiny one-bedroom apartment. He picks up his cell phone, dials a number and waits.
MILES MAKER
Hello... hey Joe?
JOE CREW
Yeah.
MILES MAKER
Hey man!
JOE CREW
Oh hey! Maker! What's good?
MILES MAKER
Everything bro! Everything. You?
JOE CREW
Oh, you know. Slow.
(pause)
You know how it is.
MILES MAKER
I know that feelin' all too well.
I got so many projects on hold
I should setup a halfway house
for films in development.
JOE CREW
(laughs)
So what's up?
MILES MAKER
Time's up.
No more waiting.
(pause)
I gotta project I think you might
be interested in getting involved with.
JOE CREW
Oh really? What's it about?
MILES MAKER
Unplanned parenthood.
Responsibility. Sacrifice for the sake
of an innocent brown baby's future.
JOE CREW
It's a doc?
MILES MAKER
Nope it's a narrative.
A romantic dramedy--
I wrote the script myself.
JOE CREW
Okay cool. When are you shooting?
MILES MAKER
That depends.
I'm assembling the crew right now--
JOE CREW
Okay what's your budget.
JOE CREW
Hello?
MILES MAKER
Yeah. I'm here.
Beat.
JOE CREW
What's your budget?
MILES MAKER
Lowanna know
JOE
Lo wanna what?
(laughs)
What the fuck is that?
MILES MAKER
Lower than you wanna know.
JOE CREW
Oh I wanna know! Believe me!
MILES MAKER
Well there isn't one--
it's a profit-sharing model.
Beat.
JOE CREW
Profit sharing huh.
You got a distribution deal?
MILES MAKER
Nope. Just a plan.
Beat.
JOE CREW
(laughs)
Man I don't know.
MILES MAKER
When have I ever had money Joe?
All I'm asking for is seven days.
JOE CREW
Oh it's a short?
MILES MAKER
(laughs)
A feature.
JOE CREW
(laughs)
In seven days? Yeah right.
MILES MAKER
You'll see.
JOE CREW
How are you gonna pull that off?
MILES MAKER
Very carefully.
And with a whole lotta preparation!
JOE CREW
How many pages.
MILES MAKER
About sixty.
JOE CREW
Shit.
MILES MAKER
Guerrilla film my dude--
that's why I need you on the team.
You're quick--
you're passionate about quality,
you're all about solutions and you're damn good.
You're one of the best I know bro.
Just leave the rest to me.
The Actors are gonna come prepared too.
My shooting ratio's gonna fall in around 3 or 4:1--
minimal set lighting and very few locations.
Half the film takes place in a 3-block radius
of Jersey City--
and most of that's an apartment building.
JOE CREW
You got it all locked down?
MILES MAKER
I'm living on the 'Brown Baby' set as we speak.
There's a heavy musical component to the film too,
so there's more than a few montage sequences
to push it along--
no dialogue just emotional shots to music.
Ever seen Machetero?
JOE CREW
Nope. Is it on Netflix?
MILES MAKER
It's on the festival circuit right now
but I gotta copy.
The music is powerful--
really effective in passing the time
with montage scenes in a low-budget flick.
The music sets the tone too.
It's married to the plot of the film
like you wouldn't believe.
Inspiring.
JOE CREW
Okay. Then what?
MILES MAKER
Huh?
JOE CREW
What are you gonna do
with the finished movie?
MILES MAKER
Beat.
JOE CREW
Miles--stop fuckin' with me.
MILES MAKER
I'm serious!
JOE CREW
And you're trying to convince me
to consider a profit-sharing offer?
(laughs)
What profits Maker?!?
You smokin' crack over there?!
MILES MAKER
No sir!
And I guarantee you'll make more
sharing profits on a free film like this
than you would taking a day rate on this one--
trust me.
JOE CREW
How so?
MILES MAKER
Donations and sales.
JOE CREW
You just said it was free.
MILES MAKER
It is for some people.
Free from some sources--for sale from others.
The Red Carpet Premiere
is gonna be a live streaming film screening event fundraiser
with a live performance by Ohene Cornelius and his band--
he's in the leading role.
Plus the Moviemakers' Edition DVD
will have an extended cut with extras
and outtakes and behind the scenes footage
with interviews and a case study for filmmakers
and that shit's gonna cost!
Donations will come in too--
the option to donate happens
when when you download the free movie.
JOE CREW
Why would anybody wanna pay
for something they already get for
FREE?
MILES MAKER
As a thank you.
To support the Art.
To support you.
To sustain my body of work
so I can produce more totally free movies!
JOE CREW
I don't know man.
MILES MAKER
Like I said--I do.
Trust me Joe.
You know I'm knee deep
You know I know my shit
and the time is now.
I've been waiting for the right project
at the right time with the right formula
and the right Actors to pull it off,
plus crew people like you.
It's a perfect storm of opportunity bro.
JOE CREW
And there's no budget at all?
MILES MAKER
I'm fundraising to cover equipment
and crew expenses like meals
and transportation for the shoot--
but no day rates.
Union Actors get SAGIndie minimum.
Then everything the film makes
gets disbursed according to the model
from dollar one.
JOE CREW
What about recouping expenses?
MILES MAKER
They're nominal.
Everything's on paper for everyone to see.
I just started 'Brown Baby' fundraising
to raise enough to cover all the hard costs.
There's no executive producer--
no other investors, everything's transparent.
Every time I get a payout,
you'll get a copy and a check
for your share for the first year
after 'Brown Baby' gets released.
MILES MAKER
C'mon you know me Joe.
You know what I'm about.
You see my work.
You see my commitment.
You know my story.
Just gimme a week of your life on set
and I'll do the rest. Seriously.
JOE CREW
Lemme think about it.
Send me the script.
MILES MAKER
Bullshit.
JOE CREW
Huh?
MILES MAKER
You're bullshittin' me.
JOE CREW
I'm serious. I just wanna see--
MILES MAKER
Bullshit. For what?
You're gonna have to trust me on this
'cuz the 'Brown Baby' script is carefully guarded.
My Actors don't even have the whole thing.
I can send you a link to the Facebook page
and the blog site--check it out.
But the bottom line here is
you're not working right now anyway right?
Your gear's collecting dust!
You think you'll be working in December January?
JOE CREW
December?
MILES MAKER
The slowest season for production
in the biz so you won't lose out
on a paying gig.
We'll wrap it up by mid-January.
JOE CREW
How many people on the crew?
MILES MAKER
Now you're asking the right questions!
We'll pay the makeup/stylist,
a script supervisor,
your boom op,
a grip
and a production assistant.
The core crew is myself,
the DP,
an AD,
a Gaffer,
and you for sound.
We'll insure everybody's gear too.
Total crew for 'Brown Baby' is 10 people
including a still photographer/blogger
for social media coverage.
Only half of the crew is profit-sharing though.
MILES MAKER
Joe--think about the work I've already put in,
and here I am offering you a share
of pure profit potential.
The most you'll lose is a week out of your life
doing something you love to do,
but look at it from my perspective.
I'd rather have some of something than all of nothing
and I want you IN on this WITH me.
We're gonna shoot 'Brown Baby' like family man--
it's 2010.
It's time you became a producer.
JOE CREW
Okay. You got me. Send me the links.
MILES MAKER
You got it. Welcome aboard!
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