RESERVE
min $100
125% of Principal (120% after Early Bird) + 50% of Net Profits
Early investors of $1000 or more will receive tickets to NYC premier instead of screening.
Streaming TV services like Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV, and Hulu spend a combined estimate of 40 billion dollars each year for content in the form of films and tv series. Add to that the ever growing list of advertising based free streaming services like Tubi and specialty streamers like Mubi, and one can easily see that content is in demand on a huge variety of topics and budget levels.
Producer Shane Stanley cites a recent $500K film that returned $3M, and a $600K film that returned $7M. His latest film is projecting returns of $2M to $5M over the next 3-5 years, on an investment of only half a million dollars. (March 6, 2022 Filmcourage interview)
"People have been enamored with tales of crime since a collection of short stories about fraud titled The Book of Swindles was published in China during the Ming dynasty. Shakespeare himself is considered by many to be the father of true crime!" TheRinger.com 2021.
Today, True Crime has film audiences, streaming TV viewers and even podcast listeners engaged in these incredible tales that shock and awe, at a record pace! Parrot Analytics detailed just how popular True Crime is in the documentary space.
Netflix's Tiger King (one of their most successful series with over 64 million views) and Inventing Anna are just two of the recent true crime series that glued viewers to their screens to see what happened next. The rest of the streaming platforms have True Crime categories as well.
Ana-Maria Bandean in Curbside Pickup, Richard's latest short which movie theater audiences loved at film festivals in 2021 and 2022.
With a well told, compelling tale, we can bring a new and unique story to the screen, and our low cost of production means that even a modest success can be financially rewarding.
Film is a decentralized industry and content can literally come from anywhere.
Our industry relationships with the talent world and with a distributor/sales rep give us a way to attract a known cast member and bring our film to the marketplace.
It's an advantage many other independent films don't have.
The vast experience of our team and a streamlined production plan will allow us to make an economical film that looks significantly more expensive than what it will actually cost.
All that's missing is the financing, the engine the project needs to hire all the talented people a production requires and create something everyone is proud to have taken to fruition.
By participating in this collective film venture, you have an opportunity to become an important part of the production team. You will have the ability to interact with the production through regular updates and exclusive videos from the director on set, tickets for the New York City premiere or cast and crew screenings, and even a visit to the set for the producer levels.
Within our professional network are veteran indie film producers ready to come on board to help us produce the film. These producers have taken films to Sundance, received Academy nominations, and have produced films for Netflix. Leveraging our working relationships with producers, casting directors and managers will allow us to create a film that punches far above its weight, and deliver a polished product to the marketplace.
Still from Richard's "StartlePlex Cinemas" hilarious character animation, which is currently on the festival circuit.
R I C H A R D D R U T M A N • W R I T E R - P R O D U C E R - D I R E C T O R
Richard produced, directed and edited the feature length performance and doc film distributed by Universal Music: Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players - Off and On Broadway, with David Cross, John Waters, Eugene Mirman, Regina Spektor, and Nellie McKay based on the off Broadway show he directed.
Richard created the act's official music video and despite it's shoestring budget, MTV and MTV Europe loved it's creativity and put it in rotation.
Based out of New York City, Richard shot and edited a series of national tv spots for LiveNation/BAA, which were chosen to air on the Tony Awards. He has edited network tv shows & promos(ABC/Bravo/VH1/NickToons), campaigns for Madison Avenue ad agencies (Foote, Cone & Belding), produced fashion films with Kate Moss, Anna Wintour at Vogue, TV/radio spots for Bloomingdale’s and directed films for the World Trade Center.
Richard previously optioned a feature screenplay to a major studio producer and has developed tv projects with a prime time network showrunner.
Still from Richard's recent interview film with Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo
Richard's vast post production experience, on set directing and years of polishing his writing craft through screenwriting workshops, pitching spec scripts to Hollywood and participating in Robert McKee seminars, sets the ideal stage for the production of his first narrative feature film.
A sample of films, tv promos and commercials in which Richard has played a creative role, starring Kate Moss, artist Jeff Koons, and Claudia Schiffer.
The film will be scaled to match the level of investment. Whether we end up raising on the lower end of the range, or we bring in closer to seven figures, all aspects of the production can expand or contract to fit the available budget. Even the choice of state we shoot in and tax incentives we take advantage of would be affected by the amount raised. More money would allow us a higher profile cast and higher production value, but a vital film will emerge regardless, due to the efforts and diligence of an extremely motivated, passionate team.
Using data points provided by indie producer Shane Stanley, he cites a recent $500K film that returned $3M, and a $600K film that returned $7M.
His latest film uses projected returns of $2M to $5M over the next 3-5 years, on an investment of only half a million dollars. (March 6, 2022 Filmcourage interview)
Citing info from the Wefunder raise for the film Awaken Her, veteran producer Brian Cange indicated he has sold previous recent films for between 150% and 170% of the budget.
We can't project the true value of our film as we haven't yet cast our star talent, but the above examples illustrate that due to the multitude of streaming services needing content, modest films can be quite profitable.
We have an in demand genre, and with a great story and cast, our low cost of production can add up to a critical and financial success.
Our business model of raising financing before negotiating with talent puts us in the drivers seat. With a firm shooting date only 6-8 weeks out, we can negotiate top tier talent on short notice for our fully financed film.
Pay or play offers from our well known casting director are taken very seriously by talent's representatives, and may end up landing us at least one very well known actor, increasing the value of the film significantly.
If a suitable market price/licensing fee for the project isn't at first offered, we have a powerful and unique self distribution plan in place. We look at this not just as Plan B, but as perhaps the greatest shift in distribution methods in 50 years empowering our small team to do what only studios could previously accomplish. Self distribution will require additional funding, but aims to increase the value of the project by building an audience.
January - Aug2022 • Production Planning, WeFunder Raise.September 2022 Hire key staff/crew, cast principle roles.
December 2022 • Preproduction, key crew completes design and implementation, finalize locations, cast remaining roles and hire remaining crew/on set interns.
March 2023 • Principle photography.
April 2023 - November 2023 • Post production.
2023 Q3 - makes offers to known actors for featured role through casting director.
2023 Q3 - Shoot name talent segment. Develop key art and one sheet.
2023 Q4 • Test screenings, re-edits, preview for industry partners to coordinate marketing.
2024 Q1-Q4 • Film represented at international film markets for sale and/or licensing, film festival entry and screenings.
Q1 2025 • Licensing fees/sales begin to generate recoupment cycle for investors.
Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.
Heritance is a feature length psychological drama inspired by the actual crimes perpetrated against the writer/director and his family.
Logline: After a man’s inheritance, bank accounts and phone numbers are stolen during a robbery, his increasing paranoia culminates in him using social media to bait thieves to break into the home so he can extract his revenge.
Synopsis: Victor, a man in his late 30’s from a northeast city gets a call from police that his late mother’s house in Florida has been broken into. While it appears on security cameras that nothing had been stolen, they soon become aware of what the thieves were actually after: sensitive financial and identity documents.
The thieves steal the family's inheritance from several bank accounts and attempt to take over every facet of Victor and his older brother Trent’s lives, including cell phone numbers, landlines, identities and internet accounts.
Victor travels to the house to clean and secure it, but finds himself becoming increasingly paranoid of his neighbors and his mother’s former caretaker, while investigating the break in.
Victor incessantly listens to an apocalyptic podcaster, Agatha Rune, who decrees the downfall of modern society. Agatha’s powerful monologues form the soundtrack of Victor’s life, accompanying him through his misadventures accusing the people around him.
When his girlfriend Hope arrives, she grows concerned at the changes in him she’s witnessed.
While visiting a gun shop, Victor learns about the controversial “stand your ground” laws that allow anyone to use deadly force if someone enters their home uninvited. The gun shop owner theorizes that the banks allow these financial crimes, outlining how they profit in the process.
Now armed, Victor creates posts on social media detailing the home and how he regrets it will be vacant when he travels back north.
He makes the house look unlived-in with newspapers and mail stacked up, and disarms the security system and window alarm stickers he had installed since arriving.
Accompanied by the voice and smartphone video of Agatha Rune, Victor waits alone in the dark for someone to break in so he can take his revenge.
Hyper aware of every noise in the house, he is unable to sleep and keeps checking the attic for animals. Finally asleep, Victor hears the sound of a window being cut, and watches a thief put his arm through the cut glass to unlock it. Victor takes aim and shoots the intruder in the arm. The intruder almost comically shouts back to his accomplice as he retreats. “This a**hole shot me. The house is supposed to be vacant. Mothereffer baited us!"
The next day Victor bicycles the neighborhood as usual, listening to Agatha’s show, but with a newfound sense of relief and peace around his neighbors. The shooting has provided an odd catharsis and he readies himself to travel back home.
At the mailbox Victor receives a small insurance settlement, which Trent orders to be left unopened and brought to him so he can return it for the correct amount.
Emboldened by Agatha's words playing in his headset, which echo Hope's plea to take more control of the family finances, Victor opens the envelope to find a check for $20,000 for jewelry we've established wasn't stolen.Victor, now fully realizing the depth of the betrayal, is emboldned to take charge of his own life. He turns off Agatha Rune in mid sentence, removes his earbuds and instructs the driver to turn the car around as he's not going to the Airport.
Victor, behind the wheel of the Corvette, calls Hope to tell her he won't be home right away. He's driving to see Trent to deliver the check in person.
Theme - The film culminates as an indictment of most everyone peripheral to the theft, more so than the original thieves. From the banks that refuse to close the theft loopholes, to Victor himself, who can only be healed by revenge, to the brother who has secretly committed insurance fraud, to the podcaster whose views have ratcheted up social tension, and the lawmakers who make it all possible, all parties share the blame in Heritance.
Thank you for evaluating our film, and we hope you will consider investing in Heritance. For further questions please schedule a call with Richard Drutman via http://www.edit-video.com/CONTACT
