The Secret: Georgia Production Partnership - Southern Screen Report

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Location, Location, Location Riverwood Studios, Senoia, GA Setting the stage for historical filmmaking By Ruksana Hussain The development of a period back lot in historic Senoia is Georgia’s next invitation for films to be shot here, thanks to Riverwood Studios. The studio has taken on this latest effort to lure several Hollywood projects, offering them a historic looking set of buildings and streets - a fairly unique asset for Georgia and the industry. Riverwood’s existing studios include four massive soundstages, production offices, editing space, a screening room, a mill, and plenty of hair/make-up/wardrobe space. For the back lot, Riverwood has acquired more than a dozen acres of developable land within the historic district of Senoia and has begun construction on the project, offering unique features designed to accommodate the practical needs of production crews. These include underground power lines and multiple shooting perspectives on each street. In addition to the historic production facilities, Riverwood’s new development will include live/work space including office, retail, and restaurant space, and renovation of older buildings. Presales of lofts, brownstones, and town homes are scheduled to begin by Summer 2007. Southern Screen Report caught up with Scott Tigchelaar, President of Riverwood Studios, to find out more: How did the idea for a back lot in Senoia originate and why Senoia? Senoia is a half-mile from the Riverwood Studios. Fifteen movies have been shot there in the last 15 years, so it was a natural choice for a place to do something like this because of its proximity and because it’s a quaint little town, frozen in time. There is no real modern development in Senoia and that’s part of the reason why it has been so attractive to the film industry over the years as a setting for producing pictures. What are the facilities Senoia will offer? There is always demand for locations but we are building Senoia first and foremost as a development. What we are doing is building it with an eye to making it conducive to future film projects as well. We want 50 more films to be shot here, so we are making sure that everything we build is consistent with the historic period and look of the town. And we’re laying it out in such a way that it makes it easy to film. The best example of that is, we have alley access to all the homes and even the businesses so you can shut down a street for filming and it doesn’t disrupt peoples’ ability to get to their home. That’s usually the biggest complaint when you are filming in a practical town. If you close the street off, the businesses and residents complain, since it restricts their access. The other thing we are doing, within the context of the historic town, is to have a street of brownstones, a couple of streets of single family homes that approximate Charleston and Savannah, a street of live/ work town homes, factory lofts, and things like that. By having brownstones, those fit within the context of a south- Scott Tigchelaar ern town but they also allow you to cheat New York. All you have to do is park a couple of New York cabs on the street, and nobody knows it’s not New York. It might not work for every movie but for a film or television series working here and needing a New York looking street that will be available to them without having to go to New York. The same goes for Charleston and Savannah. Those are both heavy tourist areas and often they don’t like their streets Page 4 May 2007 www.screenreport.com being shut down for filming. And they’re not as easy to get to as Senoia, which is just 25 miles away from the busiest airport in the world. There are also no direct flights to get to Charleston or Savannah from L.A., you have to go through Atlanta. So Senoia is all about being close to the infrastructure, the amenities, and logistical considerations of a place like Atlanta, but still being able to cheat a neighborhood like Charleston or Savannah. We are doing this as a development. There will be places people are going to live, offices where they will work, restaurants where they will eat, and all that other stuff, but it will be just that much more conducive to film work and by having a studio a half-mile away. When is the back lot at Senoia expected to be ready for filming? That’s the beauty of it! There have already been 15 movies shot here so the town can already be used for filming. It’s not like everybody has to wait till we are done with what we are doing. We’ll just be adding to what’s already there. But that being said, we have started construction, and based on the way the demand is going, we’ll probably be done in two to three years. It’s going relatively fast. Has there been any special interest in the new development? There has been interest already from studios in Hollywood. We have met with them and showed them the renderings of the development. They’re already talking about Senoia is terms of development for TV series. It’s very easy to do a show See Riverwood on Page 8
Legalizations Union or Non-Union: That is the Question! By Cliff Lovette, Esq. One of the many questions facing independent film producers is whether to sign collective bargaining agreements with the various unions/guilds that represent film talent, crew, and other filmmaking personnel. The main ones are: • Screen Actors Guild (SAG) - represents actors, extras, dancers, choreographers, stunt coordinators, and stunt doubles • International Association of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) - represents technical crew such as cinematographers, camera crew, production designers, and grips • Teamsters - represents the transportation workers • Director’s Guild of America (DGA) - represents directors, assistant directors, and directors of photography • Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) – represents screenwriters There are no union rules that would force a producer who signs with one union to sign with all other unions. So, a producer can make a separate decision to sign with each union or guild on a case-by-case basis. This article focuses on practical considerations in making that decision as related to the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG). (For convenience, this article will use “union” and “guild” interchangeably.) SAG Agreement To use SAG actors in your production, you must sign a SAG guild agreement. The SAG Codified Basic Agreement for Independent Producers (“Basic Agreement”) covers matters such as minimum pay for actors, working conditions around the set, credits, and residual payments for TV telecasts, DVD sales, merchandising, and other non-theatrical exploitation of the film. SAG provides the minimum terms and conditions, but many ‘stars’ and established actors can negotiate terms that are much more favorable to them than those in the Basic Agreement. In 1997, SAG created SAGIndie to encourage the use of SAG members in independent films. Under SAGIndie, there are four major classes for low budget agreements, depending on the amount of the production budget (see table). Benefits of a SAG Agreement Virtually all professional motion picture and television actors belong to SAG or AFTRA (the sister guild which shares jurisdiction over TV production with SAG). The quality of SAG actors and other talent is likely to be much better in terms of experience and performance than non-guild talent. Some experienced directors and other key personnel may not be willing to work on a project if the key cast for a project is filled with non-SAG actors. Independent producers attach key elements to their project, such as a known director or actor, to attract production funding and distributor interest, and to secure presales of certain exploitation rights. Creating a commercially viable project often requires the use of known talent, which necessitates becoming a SAG signatory. However, not all independent producers choose this route. Recently, The Signal was produced in Georgia as a non-SAG production and still secured a significant domestic distribution deal at Sundance in January. Using inexperienced performers who are not familiar with working on a film set can easily translate into longer rehearsals and more ‘takes,’ which increases production costs. Established SAG actors also offer the advantage of name recognition and ‘marquee’ value that an unknown non- Short Film Agreement • Total budget less than $50,000 • Length of film must be 35 minutes or less • Salaries are deferred • No consecutive employment (except overnight location) • No premiums. • Allows the use of both professional and non-professional performers • Background performers not covered SAG Low Budget Agreements* Ultra - Low Budget Agreement • Total budget less than $200,000 • Day rate of $100 • No step-up fees • No consecutive employment (except on overnight location) • No premiums • Allows the use of both professional and non-professional performers • Background performers not covered SAG actor will not provide. Such high profile talent may generate increased box office revenues. If the production requires the use of stunt performers, using non-SAG stunt performers can greatly increase the risk of injury, increase the number of ‘takes’ because of inexperience in working with film crews, and increase the amount of liability insurance premiums. If a producer doesn’t sign a SAG agreement and ends up hiring SAG actors, the SAG actors will be forced to quit if the guild finds out. This could be devastating for an unfinished project. Drawbacks of a SAG Agreement A SAG production will require a higher production budget because minimum salaries may be higher and they bear fringe benefit payments. Also, the producer will have to observe SAG’s working condition restrictions, including the length of time a performer may work on the set. Additionally, SAG requires the payment of residuals for exploitation of the film in ancillary markets such as TV and DVD (‘supplemental markets’). SAG also requires that producers tender a security deposit (the ‘SAG bond’), which equals about 40% of the budgeted See SAG on page 8 Modified Low Budget Agreement • Total budget less than $625,000 • Day rate of $268 • Weekly rate of $933 • No consecutive employment (except on overnight location) • Six-day work week with no premium • Reduced overtime rate Low Budget Agreement • Total budget less than $2,500,000 • Day rate of $504 • Weekly rate of $1752 • No consecutive employment (except on overnight location) • Six-day work week with no premium • Reduced overtime rate • Reduced number of background performers covered * http://www.sagindie.org/resources/contracts, 2007 www.screenreport.com May 2007 Page 5
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