Arrowstorm Entertainment, our production company www.arrowstormentertainment.com, is interested in bringing funding to movies. But people often pitch us unsellable, unmarketable, undistributable concepts which have only one possible "business plan", which is "we're going to win Sundance." That's a terrible risk.
Dramas, indie comedies, social conscience films, etc., have few channels which are looking to buy content. On the other hand, what we call "fanboy" genre films have many buyers and a great need for more content worldwide.
We are looking to fund "fanboy" films, which have a low risk and high potential for creating a real franchisable intellectual property. How do you create a fanboy film? Try creating concepts that have no less than 3, and preferably 5 or more elements from the "Periodic Table of the Awesoments." http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=3723 , more about it here at http://io9.com/5113799/the-periodic-table-of-awesoments
Think I'm joking? I'm not. I'd say any random logline that you generate using this entertaining tool will be more profitable than 90% of the indie film concept pitches I hear. Is that sad? Pathetic? Yep. Is it more fun than making a film about a couple dealing with the loss of a child? I'd say it is.
This is, once again, film as business, not film as art or film as world-improver. To create great art or make the world a better place, just try not to spend much money while doing it.
Try out the Periodic Table of Awesoments. Post your pitches in the comments!
OK this is a pitch as much as a coalescing idea as I just thought of it this morning.
ReplyDeleteMoonbreak
Phobos - first moon of Mars - has a penal labour colony. It is a good place for a prison; isolated, inaccessible, and secure. The labour produces valuable raw materials out of the moon's crust. It is dangerous work that no ordinary work crew would undertake. Casualties are high, morale is low, but that helps keep the prisoners in line. No individual prisoner has ever escaped the colony. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" is the camp motto, placed there by the sneering warden.
But what if ALL of the prisoners tried to escape? Today the prison is in revolt - the guards have been overpowered and the weapons and checkpoints commandeered. An outside contact is approaching the moon in a space freighter and within a small window of time all of the prisoners will escape into the vastness of space.
But there was time to send a distress signal. That signal has been received by iS.W.A.T. (the Interplanetery Special Weapons and Assault Team) who is scrambling a response to the prison break. iS.W.A.T. is a hard collection of grunts who shoot first and ask questions later. They deal with terrorists, kidnappers, piracy and all manner of space scum amongst the Sol colonies. They're cocky, this should be another walk in the park for them.
Until they find out that their former Lieutenant is leading the prison revolt. Now they have an enemy who knows their methods, knows their tactics and worst of all, knows their minds.
And when the team's landing is sabotaged, the mission is in dire straits. With most of the group dead, wounded or trapped it is up to rookie member Cpl. Jose "Plucky" Cortez to make sure the job gets done. Any way he can.
Tagline:
We put the scum of the solar system in a prison on Phobos. Turns out that wasn't good enough.
Logline:
A prison camp on the Mars moon Phobos has revolted and only one team can shut them down. But with their mission compromised, the untested rookie has to find a way to win the battle.
For the record, I hate the name iSWAT but I couldn't think of anything else for the moment.