Jul 18, 2013

Empowered Films, as the name might suggest, is focused primarily on developing and producing original films in the spirit of timeless, quality storytelling films that entertain, enlighten and inspire their audiences. Their current feature film project is an excellent example, based on an original screenplay entitled One Lousy Angel. One Lousy Angel is a feature film project based on an original screenplay with high entertainment and inspirational family values, with elements reminiscent of It’s A Wonderful Life, Black Beauty, and War Horse.  The film will capitalize on both the mainstream audience for coming of age drama, as well as the core audience that supports films with American family values. The film has many elements which have proven to draw both of these core audiences. The screenplay, which is optioned by Empowered Films, was written by Joel Kauffmann. Two of his prior scripts, Miracle in Lane 2 and Full-Court Miracle, were produced for the Disney Channel. Miracle in Lane 2 won the Humanitas Prize in 2000, and Full Court Miracle was nominated for the same prize. The Radicals, a prior film written by Joel, won the CINE Golden Eagle award, and the Silver Award at WorldFest Houston One Lousy Angel Synopsis At age 13, Fay Thomas has lost almost everything that matters to her. She knows she can’t get her mother back, who died when Fay was eight, or their family farm that was foreclosed on.  But maybe life will be okay if she can find her beloved horse, Cinder. Fay’s father, Judd, had to sell the American Saddlebred along with the rest of their possessions at auction, when they moved to the City, where Judd took a job making much-needed repairs to the crumbling, inner-city cathedral shepherded by Reverend Robert Hollis, Fay’s Uncle Robert. Fay recalls one poignant piece of advice that her mother gave her: “When you need help, look for an angel.” So, to get Cinder back, Fay thinks, all she needs to do is find an angel. She gets a helping hand with her search from Lee Roy, a loud-talking kid from the ‘hood’. But Leroy’s advice is confusing: “You gotta look with your heart, not with your eyes.” So Fay is primed for other advice...

Jul 18, 2013

Substantial increases in filmed entertainment revenues are projected as a result of the growth of the Internet, and the creation of numerous avenues through which filmed entertainment can be distributed to a wider audience than has ever been possible before. A film’s total earning is no longer determined by its theatrical gross, but by the power of the film’s marketing and its reach to its target audience. Independent films like Juno or My Big Fat Greek Wedding achieved very high returns on investment despite limited theatrical release. Although Empowered Films may acquire theatrical distribution in the US and other major foreign territories, followed by video and television release, it will also focus on creating a direct-to-consumer promotion plan. To achieve this, it will rely not only on the press resulting from participation in major film festivals (Tribeca, Sundance, Berlin or Cannes) and promotional appearances by attached talents, but will also promote the film through social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter, and film industry blogs. Empowered Films will retain overall control of the film’s distribution, choosing which rights to give to ‘distribution partners’ and which to retain. In the ‘Old World’ of distribution, a distributor would acquire all rights and have total control of distribution. In the New World created by the Internet and new digital distribution channels, filmmakers split up their rights, working with distribution partners in certain sectors and keeping the right to make direct sales. They can make separate deals for retail home video, television, and video on demand, as well as splitting up their digital rights. They also sell DVDs from their websites and at screenings, and may make digital downloads available directly from their sites. Empowered Films is prepared to take full advantage of these new distribution opportunities, designing creative distribution strategies customized to the film’s content and target audiences. From a marketing standpoint, we target core audiences, with the goal of reaching them effectively, and then crossing over to a wider public. We will reach core audiences directly both online and offline, through websites, mailing lists, organizations, and publications. In the Old World, distributors marketed to a general audience, which is not only highly inefficient, but more...