I've read about an Indian director who did this several decades ago
with 500,000 farmers at a rupee each and it turned out to be a
success when they all went to see the film!

-Anup

-----------

Would you buy shares in Billy Dead?

Producers take case to film buffs, offer stock in movie
By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 6:07 PM ET Nov. 19, 2003

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Will investors see life in "Billy Dead?" Or
will they simply opt to kill Bill?

Starting Wednesday, shares in the upcoming film "Billy Dead" were
offered at $8.75 apiece through Civilian Capital Inc. Civilian, a
self-described alternative film financier, is trying to sell 900,000
shares to back the low-budget project, in which actor Ethan Hawke
is expected to star.

The movie, a murder mystery, has yet to start filming or secure a
distribution deal. Its producers hope that filmgoers will give them
a green light along with greenbacks to get the deal going.
Officials at Billy Dead Inc., the company set up to produce the
movie, characterized the project as high risk, but said they can
mitigate that via breakup fees that are expected to cover the
initial offering. They added low-budget films have a greater chance
at profitability than costly projects. "'Monster's Ball' was more
profitable in terms of return on investment than 'Monsters Inc.,'"
said Peter Fuhrman, chief executive of Billy Dead. Made for $4
million, Lions Gate's "Monster's Ball" returned $31.3 million in
the U.S. after its 2001 release. "Monsters Inc.," a joint project by
Walt Disney Co. (DIS: news, chart, profile) and Pixar (PIXR: news,
chart, profile), cost $115 million and made $256 million in the U.S.
Hawke, nominated for an Academy Award for his supporting role to
Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance in "Training Day,"
said it was only a matter of time before films are financed in this
manner. "Somebody is going to do this," he said. "This will happen
some day." "Billy Dead" is based on a novel by Lisa Reardon that
deals with the death of a family member and addresses such subjects
as incest in the process.
Director Keith Gordon said he read the book, told Hawke about it
and developed a script. Gordon pointed out that by going public
with financing of the film, he could sidestep much of the haggling
that can delay a project for years. Gordon has directed several low-
budget films such as "Waking the Dead" with Oscar winner Jennifer
Connelly and Billy Crudup, "Mother Night" with Nick Nolte and "A
Midnight Clear" with Hawke.
"A chance to make a film without the usual bureaucracy is a
wonderful thing to do," Gordon said. "The people who will tend to
invest in this partnership are the people who love movies." Gordon
said he discovered Civilian while poring through the usual financing
channels for the film. Civilian was involved early in the process
and came up with the suggestion to offer stock in the project.
Fuhrman said the company can mitigate some of the risk if a
distribution deal cannot be secured once the film is made. Breakup
fees to put a film directly to pay-per-view or video usually amount
to $8 million, roughly the sum the company hopes to raise in the
public offering. Billy Dead Inc. has three months to sell all
900,000 shares, with options for a three-month extension should it
fall short in that time frame. The company says it is offering
preferred shares, meaning that investors will reap the benefits of
any gains before the film's producers.
If the company cannot sell all its shares, then the cash is to be
returned to investors with interest gained from a money market
account. If all the shares sell, trading begins days after the
stock is certified. No ticker has been given to the stock yet, but
company officials hope to secure "BILLY" as their financial moniker.
The company pointed out the investment hinges solely on the success
or failure of a single film. To satisfy different states' rules for
high-risk investments, there are criteria investors must meet before
buying shares. Billy Dead Inc. will have a five-member board that
includes Fuhrman, Vice President Julie Lynn and directors Peter
Read, Charles Ryan and Brett Young. Lynn has worked as an associate
producer on several films and Ryan is a film producer. Young and
Read are financiers.

http://www.civilian.com/offerings/billydead/

Russ Britt is the Los Angeles Bureau Chief for CBS.MarketWatch.com.

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