The First Project

The Last Plague will be unlike any movie ever made, and will go down in history as the movie that truly made a difference in the world - the movie that saved millions of lives. Because no other movie has ever done that, The Last Plague will be the most powerful, important, and prestigious movie that will ever be made, and will undoubtedly receive many awards because of what it will do for the world, and the film industry.

The exposure we will receive from The Last Plague will give all our subsequent projects much more visibility, thereby increasing their value and profitability.

The Industry

Worldwide box office soared to an all-time high of $25.8 billion in 2006, an 11% boost over 2005. The domestic box office has remained at or above $9 billion for five consecutive years, rising to $9.49 billion in 2006. This is over a 60% increase in the last decade. Attendance dipped in 2005, for which the studios tried to blame home video sales, but last year´s rebound disproved that. The primarily reason is clearly what the studios produced. (Does anyone really want to see lackluster sequels and inferior remakes of old movies and even TV shows, especially bad ones? Hollywood is largely out of fresh ideas.)

The number of movie screens has increased the past several years, and is now nearly 37,000, almost a 40% increase in the last ten years. But the number of film releases has remained within the 450 to 550 range of the last decade - making it even more of a seller´s market.

Worldwide revenue from all media sources brought in a record $44.8 billion in 2004 - almost a 125% increase over 1996´s $20 billion. And while 2005 dipped to $42.5 billion, once all the details are reported, 2006 should surpass that.

Almost all markets are expanding, and because of new technologies such as HD-DVDs, are also growing in number. So although a U.S. theatrical release is still the initial target, this now accounts for only about 11% of a film´s revenues. Home video, rentals, cable, pay-per-view, and other ancillary domestic markets constitute another 38%. Foreign markets now comprise 51% or more of a film´s revenues and are steadily increasing. So even if a film doesn´t do well at the box office here, it can still be very profitable. In fact, there are many companies producing moneymaking films that aren´t even intended for U.S. theaters.

The Market

Author and film attorney Mark Litwak says the Hollywood moviemaking system is a complex and cumbersome machine, rife with waste. Producer Arnon Milchan (Pretty Woman, JFK) says no one in Hollywood really knows what they´re doing, and nine out of ten decisions made there are wrong. Only a strong seller´s market could support such incompetence and inefficiency. Producing quality, cost-effective movies on modest budgets will ensure even greater profitability for us, because production costs can not be passed on to the customer. Litwak also notes that most of those in the industry don´t have much to say, while we do.

Independent films have been steadily gaining market share during the last decade, and have the highest profitability because of their lower cost. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the highest grossing independent film ever, and The Blair Witch Project is the most profitable movie ever - more profitable by far than any studio movie.  Fahrenheit 9/11 is the most popular and profitable documentary ever, proving that people will go see intelligent movies that are about something. It also proves that people are tired of being lied to by the government, and so has paved the way for The Last Plague,  which will make the controversy over Fahrenheit 9/11 seem tame in comparison. And controversy sells lots of tickets.

Distribution

In a seller´s market, every distributor wants to outmaneuver their competitors and acquire the few commercial independent films available at any given time. Given the scarcity of exceptional, excellent, or even quality ones, we anticipate a lot of competition for all our films, and especially so for The Last Plague, which should set off a rather fierce bidding war.

Financing and Earnings Projections

We are seeking an equity investment of $5 million to produce the movie. The planned business structure will be an LLC, although we are open to other alternatives. After the budget is repaid, we are projecting at least a 100% ROI to investors, within one to two year´s time. Considering that obscure, small movies routinely make from two to ten times their investment, we feel this is a very conservative estimate.

It´s becoming clear that making good movies is no longer the point. It´s marketing, it´s deal making. It´s people making tremendous amounts of money. - M inc.