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In an unusual move, Los Angeles-based Pressman Film, the company behind Wall Street, Badlands, The Crow and American Psycho, has invited the public to invest in its development slate.
The slate raise offering went live on Thursday on the platform run by community finance company Republic. The slate at Pressman Film includes reimagined library titles and new intellectual property (IP) that will be identified in due course.
“This is truly a unique opportunity for filmgoers to not only share in the financial upside of the development of a slate of films, but it’s also a rare opportunity to get behind-the-scenes access into the filmmaking process, from development to release,” said CEO Sam Pressman, who took over the company after the death last year of his father and iconic independent producer Ed Pressman.
The launch comes as film financing has become harder to access amid challenges to the theatrical distribution model and wide cost-cutting across Hollywood.
Pressman Film says it pre-raised more than $250,000 prior to the September 5 public offering. As of Thursday evening the raise had reached $335,000 of the minimum $500,000 goal the company needs to reach before its deadline in 78 days’ time. The funding goal is $1.5m with a maximum offering amount of $5m.
The company states on its raise page on the Republic platform that with $1.5m “we could comfortably develop six films”. It is aiming for higher-value IP and writers should it exceed the goal.
Unlike the crowdfunding model, Pressman Film says investors will start to recoup with a premium as soon as a film goes into production, rather than waiting to see if the completed film is successful in the marketplace.
Investors will also get the chance to reap premiums at other milestones including a portion of Pressman Film’s producing fee and a portion of their share of the net profits.
Revenue participation will be issued through the Avalanche blockchain network, which the company says will allow for “instant and efficient distribution of profit-related payouts and special perks such as behind-the-scenes access, exclusive screenings, collectibles, and film credits”.
Pressman added, “My father Edward R. Pressman is widely considered a pioneer in our industry for the maverick methods he brought to financing film production across his five-decade career. Now, with the entertainment marketplace in the midst of unprecedented change, it’s clearly the time for innovative, new ways to fund creativity and film innovation once again.”
The company has produced more than 100 films. Lionsgate recently released its remake of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgård, which disappointed at the box office and stands at $8.8m in North America after two weekends, and $18.3m worldwide.
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