Producer Profile: Gary Lucchesi

A few weeks ago, I attended a lecture at USC Law with Gary Lucchesi, Producer & President of Lakeshore Entertainment. He was a very jovial, down-to-earth man and I thought I'd share a bit from the talk.

Where do you go if you want to get into the business side of entertainment?

Start in the mailroom at an agency. I didn't know I was interested in film until the end of college, when I took a class taught by David Geffen. After graduating, I interviewed at William Morris Agency. When they asked who I knew in entertainment, I said, David Geffen, and I got the job. I was making $500/month. But I hadn't grown up with a lot, so I thought that was pretty good. I feel like I had an advantage, actually, coming from no money. Surviving on your own is a wonderful skill.

How do you make the most of a challenging work environment?

I worked for a crazy agent at one point. And it was rough. I felt like Terminator in the scene where the bullets keep hitting him and bouncing off--and he just keeps on walking. That's when my mom told me that I was anticipating the worst. And I was. She told me that I could handle it. And it was true, I could.

How did you get from WMA to become the Head of Production at Paramount?

When I got married and I wanted to be a family man. I looked at all the agents around me who were divorced and had problems with their kids--and I didn't want that. I thought to myself, studio execs have it better. So I went there. However, I quickly realized that studio execs are just as messed up as the rest. You have to seek out role models, it doesn't just come with a job title.

How/why did you cross over from the business side of entertainment to the creative side?

I grew up amongst storytellers. My house was the congregation point for all of my dad's old war friends, so I grew up hearing endless stories about WWII. And somewhere along the way, I decided that I wanted to be involved in the storytelling and creative process as well. So in 1997, I joined Lakeshore Entertainment, where we make 3 or 4 movies a year. As head of Lakeshore, I get to be an Exec as well as a Producer on our films. I split my time between the office and set when we have a project filming.

How do you finance your films at Lakeshore?

We usually sell the international rights to foreign distributors to get a good percentage of our total budget. Then we, and a couple equity financiers, put the rest of the money in. Things are different these days, ten years ago, we'd have none of our own money in the movie. But now, with the loss of the DVD market, we have to. It is very hard to re-coup budgetary costs without the DVD market.

What kind of material are you looking for?

I'd kill to find a family film. Animation completely dominates the family sphere these days. Where is the Home Alone today?

Turnaround

What does the term "Turnaround" mean?

Turnaround is the term to describe a studio abandoned screenplay that can legally be picked up by another financier or movie studio, granted that the studio pays back the costs incurred by the first studio, plus interest. As only 1/12 of purchased scripts end up getting produced, it is important to get a turnaround clause if you take your screenplay to a studio. Many successful films have been picked up in turnaround after the first producing studio abandoned the project, some examples include Forrest Gump and ET.

What does it mean if a project goes into turnaround with 500,000 dollars against it?

If a project at a major studio goes into turnaround with $500,000 against it, the new purchasing entity must first repay the original studio for the funds spent developing the project, as well as interest. ET was bought by Universal in turnaround from Columbia. The film made so much money that Columbia made more money that year on interest on ET from the turnaround clause than on any of their own films.

Types of Deals To Know

Explain the following types of deals between a studio and a writer, a producer, and other producing entity and how they differ from the others.

1. Development Deal – this is a non-exclusive agreement between two parties to develop a screenplay from an original idea, or a novel, play, magazine, article, etc. into a screenplay. This arrangement usually exists between a writer and a producer or producing entity, but it may include other elements like a director, or producer.
2. First Look Deal – A term agreement lasting three or more years between a movie studio and a producing entity on a first look basis. Writer, producers, directors, and stars can act as producers in this arrangement. Basically, any idea, whether original or based on other material, gets pitched to this particular movie studio first. If the studio chooses not to develop the idea, the producer is free to take it to another studio or financier.
3. Exclusive Deal – A term agreement generally lasting three or more years between a movie studio and a producing entity on an exclusive basis. Writers, producers, directors, and stars can act as producers in this arrangement as well. Any idea whether original or based on other material gets pitched to the movie studio. In this arrangement, if the studio does not wish to develop the idea further, the producer CANNOT take it to another studio or financier.

What is a Producer?

The Writer's Guild and Director's Guild have clear cut guidelines to what a writer and director are, but the Producer title is much more vague. It's is a funny term, because it encompasses a bunch of jobs. But here is an overview of the different types of producers and their functions.

A Producer....

• Organizes and INITIATES a project.
• Options rights to a book, finds a writer, goes into a studio, pitches, develops the screenplay, and gets paid a fee.
• Gets the money for the film, either from studios or outside funding.
• Gets a project off the ground
• Walks on stage to get the Academy Award for Best Picture!

Most producers spend much of their time in an office, either buying and pitching, so once a film gets greenlight, they start on their next project and the film gets passed to....

The Line Producer....

• This is a former production manager who has worked their way up. They know union agreements, when you have to break for lunch, how many tracks the camera crew needs, and know when you have to stop spending. They deal with a lot of numbers.
• Oversee everything and make sure all the bills get paid.

The Executive Producer...

• This is a person who brings name recognition to a project;
• The one brought in to finance a project;
• Or the person who brought the whole project together.

The Associate Producer...

• Might be the Line Producer;
• Or could be someone who has never done anything but brought a script to the film;
• Or someone who works for the Producer;
• Or even just the Producer's girlfriend.
• This is a flexible title and can mean a lot of things.

The Writer can also get a Producer credit...

• Often times in turnaround or other unique situations the Writer will say they want more.
• Example: In Shakespeare in Love, Mark Norman got the Writing and Best Picture Academy Award.

A Manager (or an Actor or Writer) can get a Producer credit...

• This is often done as a little gift or kudos to the manager
• There are a lot of people who manager Writers and they don't make much money, so this money is how they stay afloat.
• Agents CANNOT get producer credits though.

Keep in mind that everything is different in TELEVISION. In Film, the most important person is the director; but in TV, the most important person is the Writer...also known as the Executive Producer or Showrunner.

• Executive Producer/Showrunner is usually the writer of the Pilot...if not, then its probably the person who hired the writers.

So there is a little overview, hope that's helpful!

TV Producer Talk

Yesterday I went and spoke with a friend of a friend who produces mainly TV series and TV movies (but also some features). He came from a business background, graduated from UCLA. But then switched over and began PA-ing. He did that for a year and then moved up to being an Associate Producer. He says he was sort of thown into the job and didn't really know what he was doing, but as they say..."fake it til you make it!" He now has an office on the Warner Bros lot.

He explained the process a pilot goes through to reach the air.

First step - find an awesome piece of material...this may come from a book or news article, or may just be cooked up in your head.

Next step, attach a writer. Since he is represented by WME, he goes to them first to try to attach a writer. If WME likes the concept, with the producer, they'll put together a package...this may include writers, actors, etc. Anything that would make the show attractive to a network. Packaging is SUPER important to agencies because when they bring a package to a network, they not only get a percentage from their clients but they also get a percentage of the show's budget and backend in the show. So this can mean big bucks for an agency.

June through August: Networks are open for pitches.

November: Scripts are turned in to the network for the shows they are possibly interested in.

December through January: Pilots are ordered by the network for approved scripts.

April through May: Networks look at the pilots and decide what they want to put on their line-up.

The smaller cable channels (ex. TNT, USA, etc.) don't follow the same schedule as the majors, they just ask for what they need at any particular moment...so the time frame will be different. One of the big differences between cable channels and the big networks is that networks tend to diversify more. Cable has niches...most of their shows are all similar in tone and feel. Networks (big and small) though have lost their edge right now for the most part. Most of what is being ordered falls in the category of either comedy or fantasy. This is what is selling at the moment and networks go with what has worked in the past. There is movement away from the TV movie, of which there used to be about 300 a year, now there is closer to 90, because it is the most expensive of TV entertainment to produce. Reality shows are the cheapest to make, then the 1/2 hour Comedy, followed by 1 hour drama, and finally the TV movie (usually 1-4 mil).

So that is a little overview of how the process works. If anyone is interested in seeing the 2010 pilot grid and scripts, I would be happy to share :)

Producer Talk 2

So this week at CAA, we had another Producer come in and talk. He has worked on a large slate of highly succesful films!

Here are a few of the things we touched on...

So what are the primary responsibilities of a producer working at a studio?
Well your first duty is to go out and find ideas for films, whether it be from books or spec scripts (which is rare), or simply sitting around and discussing movie topics. Once you find the idea, you need to find the right person to write it--its very much like match-making actually. You guess at a person's talent and their ability to write this idea. You are usually wrong, but hopefully you are just right enough for the studio execs to start seeing the movie and to hire another writer (instead of just tossing the project)...often you are throwing out at least 300,000 per writer, so this can be a costly procedure!

If the studio is taking care of physical production, banking, marketing, and distribution...how much power do you have as Producer?
Right now, there is less money than every available to studios and everyone is fearful. It is your job to convince studios to make the movie you want to make and to convince them that it is relevant in today's market. Every movie is a power struggle. If you are doing a movie with Ridley Scott, and you are a young producer, he is going to be the one with all the power...but if you are doing a movie with a little-known Director, you are going to be the one with the power. If you have just gotten off of a successful film, you are always going to have a leg up with the studios; and likewise, if you have a flop, you are going to have less leverage with studios.

So is the producer basically the one who puts everything together? This title seems so loose, there seem to be all different kinds of producers, can you explain the difference?
Yes, well the Producer is basically the one who has a sense of what the movie should be...he/she is the one who tries to realize the dream of what the movie can be. This person is the one dealing with all the financial stuff, but there is also a ton of creative involved as well. He is the one on the project before the direct, at the time of the writer, and he is the one that is there at the end as well. The Producer is the one who gets to pick up the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The Executive Producer can be a variety of things...often times this is the manager who put it together, or could be a manager who didn't really do anything but just had the right client. Steven Spielberg is sometimes listed as an executive producer because his name helps sell a movie; he might have once upon a time found a good story and said it should be made, and then a studio might throw him a fee and in return, get to use his name. Associate Producer is much the same, usually its just someone who was given a credit as leverage. Line Producer is the one who is on set and making sure everything runs smoothly.

If you are a studio Producer, does that mean you only get to work with one studio?
No, what it means is that the studio you have a first look deal with has the right to all your projects first. If that studio doesn't want it, then you are free to take the project to another studio. When you have a first look deal at a studio, that basically means that the studio is paying the salaries of your executives and assistants and puts up the money to run your company. Often times these production companies are on the studio lots, but not always. We took Gladiator to Sony and they didn't want it, so we then took it to Dreamworks. In return, Dreamworks paid Sony a fee (since they were paying to upkeep our production facilities during the production).

What happens if a studio decides to take a project on and develops it, but then decides to drop it...can you take it to another studio?
Yes, this is called "turnaround." If Sony decides they are no longer going to continue on with a project, they will often give it back to you and allow you to take it to another studio; however, if Paramount picks up the film, they will be required to pay Sony back for whatever funds were spent developing the project. Often times, studios will make a deal to move a project from Sony to Paramount...but they can't pay back the 500,000 spent on development fees, so they will give 10% upfront, and then if the project is ever viable, Sony will get paid in full. This is a kindness among studios. Another thing to mention is that if you add an element, you are legally required to go back to the original studio and let them know before offering the project up to another studio. This basically means that if Sony drops a project, but then you get Brad Pitt to say that he wants to do the project...you must go back to Sony and inform them of the "changed elements" and give them a chance to come back on board before taking the script to Paramount.

How do you get a first look deal with a studio?
It changes all the time. Studios are always trying to figure out how to get movies. There was a stage where they thought younger people knew something...and that's how I got lucky. In my particular case, I was working for a director and they tried to hire me as a studio executive, but I said I only wanted to be a producer, so they took us on. If a producer has a couple hits, the person's agent will usually get a studio to meet with him/her and try to set up a first look deal.

What has been your shortest time frame between pitching a movie and starting filming?
2 or 3 years.

Producer Talk

This past week in The Business of Representation, we had a Producer come in and talk. I just wanted to touch on two things that he said quickly.

#1: He explained to the class that he started out painfully shy.

He hated having to take lunch meetings and would often order food and then go to the bathroom and hide out for fifteen minutes. He got in trouble with his boss for his expense report being too low! When he wanted to make phone calls...he would stare at the phone for ages before he would finally pick it up and make the call.

This was really nice to hear, to me personally. I know I have come a long way and most people are surprised when I tell them I am shy...but somehow I still see myself as the shy little girl I once was. I know I have definitely come a long way, but I know there is still room for improvement yet...and its nice to think that he started out shy and managed to mature and find great success as a producer. If he can do it, then so can I right?!

#2: The people who work the hardest finish first.

This has always been one of my greatest attributes--my work ethic. I love working hard and feeling productive, which is probably going to turn out to be a big career booster! I have always been smart luckily, but I'm not a genius by any means...I really do earn the grades I get and deserve the opportunities I am offered. Its just nice to hear that in spite of all the nepotism in Hollywood and the hoops that one has to jump through to be in this industry, that those who work the hardest really are the ones to find success in the end.