Keanu Reeves’ documentary “Side by Side” was previewed at Berlinale 2012 (the Berlin Film Festival) to excellent reviews. The film explores the evolution of technology in movie making, including camera work, editing, post-production, and distribution. The documentary, which had the potential to be dry as dust, actually provides an interesting and thought provoking picture of film making from 1985 to the present.

The independent film industry has been the happy beneficiary of some of these new technologies. One of the huge expenses in movie making is processing the film. Whereas a photochemical film processing can cost thousands of dollars, shooting the same amount of useable movie time digitally is considerably cheaper.

Digital filming also reduces the cost of editing and post production, as well as the margin for error as the results of the camerawork are immediately available. With cast and crew still in place, there is no need for a reshoots which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars on a large production. All that is needed is another take, which represents considerable savings.

Independent film production companies such as Goldrush Entertainment Inc, who are responsible securing financing, are direct beneficiaries of this new technology. Eric Gozlan has many years of experience in financing and working with venture capital. As the CEO of Goldrush Entertainment he knows what a boon this cost saving is to his movie budget.

While makers of high cost studio films such as Christopher Nolan and Joel Schumacher can make the choice to stick with photochemical film processing, lower budget films such as Goldrush Entertainment’s “Beautiful Boy” (made for $1.5 million) rely on the financial boost that working in the digital domain can provide.

Producers and production companies are divided with pro-digital on one side, and anti-digital on the other. However more and more independent film producers like Eric Gozlan are on the pro side because it makes dollars and sense. However, the anti side will have to cross the digital divide soon enough when the last of the traditional feature film cameras dies. Manufacturers have ceased fabrication of the cameras and predict that the existing ones have only about 10 years of life left in them.

The important element to keep in mind is that movies tell stories and as long as Producers continue to do that it doesn’t matter what format they choose.

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There is no single most important job for a movie producer. Rather, what is the most important job AT THIS POINT in the project?

Before the project even reaches the embryonic stage, the producer must find a great idea and turn it into an even greater proposal. He has to ensure that the evolution of the idea results in a package that he can now use to secure financing.

From that point to the last of post-production, his hands touch almost every part of the making of the film, from hiring the talent and the crew, securing locations and sets, and sometime even making sure everyone is fed.

But his job is not over yet, he still has to establish distribution for the film. The distribution company provides the pathway on which the project moves from a finished product to public consumption. There are many options available to the distributor. Not every film is released to the theatres, other than showings at film festivals to generate interest and acquire accolades. Theatre releases can be a very expensive endeavor when digital formats are available for TV and the internet. Straight to DVD no longer has the stigma it once had. In fact, even major studio releases are pulled from the theatres now so that they can exploit the greater digital potential.

In fact, theatrical runs may only account for 25% of the income of any movie. DVD/Bluray garners over 40%, television 28% and other venues 7%. However those figures are being seriously skewed by the internet.

A major studio will usually distribute their own product, but independent film makers are usually paired with independent distribution companies. One such distributor is Anchor Bay Entertainment. They have become one of the leading distributors of independent feature films, with an international network that is vital to foreign sales.

Eric Gozlan and Goldrush Entertainment Inc have worked with Anchor Bay for their two latest projects: “Beautiful Boy” and “Carjacked”, and it has turned out to be a successful pairing. Acquiring a distributor for a film is not an easy task and it makes the difference between a project sitting on a shelf or being seen by audiences domestically and internationally. Producer Eric Gozlan and Goldrush Entertainment saw their dramatic “Beautiful Boy” released for a limited theatre run to participate (and win critical acclaim) in a number of important film festivals. Now the film, along with “Carjacked” is available in digital format internationally.

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Reed Business Information, while reviewing Robert Latham Brown’s book “Planning the Low- Budget Film” wrote:

"…low-budget" films (so-called because only in Hollywood would $5 million be so described).”

The American film arena is the place where James Cameron can have an estimated $280 to $310 million to make a film (that being separate from the $150 million for advertising and marketing), and Eric Gozlan can make an award winning film for less than $1.5 million. Gozlan either read Brown’s book or can write his own.

“Beautiful Boy”, produced by Gozlan and his company Goldrush Entertainment Inc, was made on a shoestring budget by Hollywood standards, and still managed to secure well known actors Michael Sheen and Maria Bello. In fact, Bello went on to film “Carjacked” with Goldrush. Brendan Kelly in his Gazette article expressed amazement over the casting of such two people with such strong acting chops. How did Eric Gozlan account for that coup?

“I [Kelly] suggested to Gozlan that it must have been tough to snare actors like Sheen and Bello for an independent movie with a tiny budget and a first time feature director, Shawn Ku.

“It was not that hard,” Gozlan replied. “They loved the material.”

There are a number of talents that a producer must possess above all the others working on an independent movie: the ability to create and maintain a budget. Mel Brooks jokingly nicknamed Robert Brown “Mr. On-Budget”, but that is actually high praise for a producer.

"On all the movies [Bob Brown] worked on with me, he never failed to bring a film in on time and on budget.
—Mel Brooks

With numerous years of experience in business development and venture capital, no producer is more aware of the bottom line as Eric Gozlan. His film financing and production company are savvy in proving investors with comprehensive risk-analysis and quality control at every stage of the production. A producer, while keeping a sharp eye on a limited budget, must also be able to judge a project for its potential audience appeal, and to manage the project from inception to distribution.

The genre of the movie is not relevant as long as it results in a salable finished product that pleases audiences and critics alike.

“…the basic work and organization that goes into the development and creation of each production is the same. My mandate is to make good movies and to keep making them regardless of the genre.”
- Eric Gozlan of Goldrush Entertainment Inc

On time…and on budget.

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At the moment there are a series of memes circulating the internet, created by Todd Downing, which depict six different ways that an entertainment job can be viewed. Eric Gozlan, CEO of Goldrush Entertainment Inc., surely must relate to most of job the depictions on the one of the more popular of the series.

The job is Producer. Image number one is entitled “What my friends think I do”, and shows a handsome gentleman in a tux pulling a rabbit out of a hat. The job of a movie producer is multi-faceted, and pulling off the occasional last minute magic trick to save the day is too often a necessity.

Image number two is “What my mom thinks I do” and shows an apparently homeless man sleeping on a bench, a shopping cart of his possessions at his side. There is no indication that Eric Gozlan’s mother thinks this way, but being a producer of independent movies is not as secure a position as that of a surgeon. But with many successful films and a sound financial background, Gozlan has helped Goldrush Entertainment to become a viable and competitive entity in the entertainment world.

Number three shows a man tossing money into the air, and bears the title “What society thinks I do”. Fortunately Goldrush Entertainment has proven themselves as a company that produces critically acclaimed movies with wide audience appeal. But there are many independent producers chuckling and thinking “I wish”.

Number four is a picture of what appears to be Ebenezer Scrooge hoarding a pile of gold coins. Independent films do not have the huge budgets of studio backed movies, so producers such as Eric Gozlan must know when to open the wallet and when to pull back. “Beautiful Boy” was completed on budget, a mere 1.5 million dollars. In a large studio production that might have represented the main actor’s trailer and the director’s chair. Despite the restricted budget, the project was so attractive that Gozlan was able to sell the lead roles to well known actors Michael Sheen and Maria Bello.

Number five shows a group photo of five successful producers with the header “What I think I do”. One young producer commented on Todd Downing’s Facebook page: “I think I am the guy on the right” (Steven Spielberg).

The last panel is “What I really do”, and shows two cowboys on horses rounding up a herd of cats. Comments ranged from “they only have cats to herd?” to “OMG, so TRUE!”

Even for an established producer like Eric Gozlan, keeping everyone from the cast and crew to the delivery personnel on the right track must often feel like herding cats. But that is what a producer does, and he is establishing himself as a man who is very good at his job.

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