We’re in a low interest rate environment. Right now you can get about 1% to 2% having your money sit in a bank. What if I told you that some horror films had returns on investment (ROI) from 110% to 7,600% ?
Unbelievable? But true! My son/daughter-in-law loved SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004). Its budget was $5,000,000. Global Box Office return was $29,629,138. That’s a ROI of 493%.
Then there’s OPEN WATER (2003). Their budget was $500,000…that’s only $1/2 million! Their global box office was $38,500,882. That’s a ROI of 7,600%. LOVE IN THE TIME OF MONSTERS is an indie film due to start production in May in Del Norte County at Patrick Creek Lodge in Gasquet, and 1 day of filming at Trees of Mystery.
Doug, my husband, and I attended a Meet and Greet at the Apple Peddler last week. We were excited to shake hands with Producers Andy Gunn and Allison Vanore of TBC Films. It’s not your standard slash ‘em up movie. This one has comedy blended with horror in the context of a love story. And, not your standard boy meets girl love story.
The production will be bringing cast and crew mainly from the LA area; however, there will be opportunities for some local hiring and volunteers. Plus, they’ll be looking for extras for larger scenes. Patti Stammer is the location manager and lives in Humboldt County. Cassandra Hesseltine is our Film Commissioner, also residing in Humboldt County, and deserves a huge, HUGE, pat on the back for attracting this production. Kudos to locals Bob Berkowitz from the Visitors Bureau and Gina Zottola from the Chamber of Commerce for helping to put the meet & greet together.
This is a tremendous break for our area, so please welcome our guests with Crescent City/Del Norte County hospitality. As a financial services advisor, I would say it’s not wise to put all your eggs in one basket, particularly when it comes to the film industry. Doug and I shot our first Indie Film, Blue Collar Blues for about $50,000 and won an award at the Berkeley Film Festival in 2003. It was never slated for distribution. Our goal was to learn how to make a film, obtain music rights for Shania Twain’s, “ Man, I Feel Like a Woman”, and experience the film festival process.
TBC Films have already secured their financing, but, I’ve never met an Indie film maker yet that would turn their back on more investors. Just keep in mind there are no guarantees.
To increase their odds of succeeding, they have attracted recognizable and genre legends, Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Vll), Doug Jones (Hellboy l & ll), and Michael McShane (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.)
Go to www.filmdelnorte.org to discover the building of a budding new industry for our area. Then, see if you want to be part of helping to make LOVE IN THE TIME OF MONSTERS part of film history.
