Sometimes in the film business you meet idiots and occasionally you meet IDIOTS.

Several years ago a filmmaker rang me after reading my entry in Chris Jones's THE GUERILLA FILMMAKERS HANDBOOK. 

For a few months he would call me from time to time for advice on his script and I would give him my thoughts – all for no money, even though I am normally paid by companies for such advice. I really liked him and I wanted to help. 

Having finished the screenplay he insisted, in a nice way on a face to face get together. As I was snowed under at the time we arranged to meet at Heathrow where I had two hours to kill before a flight. He wanted to know where he could go for financing. 

As it happened a, then very well funded, finance/ sales company had told me in Cannes a few months before that they were keen to have more of this type of film. It was interesting idea and story. I gave him an introduction. 

He met with one of the key people at the company who loved the project and agreed to further develop it, with a view to financing the full budget (this is rare), subject to the right package being in place. I did not hear from the filmmaker for a long time. 

He then rang me to tell me that the financing and sales company decided his film was not for them and so passed on it and gave him the rights back, but without any claim on their small development investment (again rare). He then asked me to become involved. I told him nothing had changed about my view since he first contacted me and so it was a no again. 

He said “but you owe me”. I said “what, why”. He explained that he had only become involved with the funding company because of me and as they had wasted two years of his life, I should now help him. 

This was a first. 

I had introduced him to a company, after he almost begged me for introductions, who were in a position to provide the $5 million to make the film. 

They had provided him with a small sum of money for further development, but because he, the producer, was unable to secure the right elements to give them confidence in the venture, they had passed on the project.

That was now, in his view, partly my fault. 

What ?

You can bet that if they had financed the film he would not have acknowledged me in anyway whatsoever. And as sure and eggs is eggs I would have not got a fee. 

I hung up on him. 

I do hope I called him a See You Next Thursday. However I probably did not because, as you know dear reader, I never ever use such language.

© David Nicholas Wilkinson. 2016. All Rights Reserved.