Trust and Verify: Michael Mendelsohn's Formula for Financing Auteur Cinema

Hello, Hello!

Make It friends and family, Chris here to announce that starting today, with the episode you are about to hear, we’ll be publishing our segments and bonus content on this feed daily. 

Why are we doing this? Because there’s a good chance you’re already listening to our episodes over the span of the week, we decided to publish our segments from each long-form episode to make it easier for you to enjoy the entire thing. 

Also, Nick and I are always looking for new ways to spice things up, meet our audience in the middle, and improve the show for you. There you have it: daily goodness in segments and bonus content from MAKE IT. 

Of course, we’ll still be releasing longform episodes every two weeks on Friday—that hasn’t changed. Thanks as always for your support, and be sure to let us know what you think on any of our platforms at Beacons.

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In this Filmmaker Q&A segment,  film financier Michael Mendelsohn shares his decades of experience backing auteur-driven films like The Matrix, Reservoir Dogs, and True Romance, discussing his philosophy on risk management and creative investment. He breaks down the essential elements of successful filmmaker partnerships, emphasizing the importance of clear vision, genre clarity, and the balance between creative passion and financial responsibility. Mendelsohn also explores the challenges facing independent cinema in the streaming era and reveals his company's upcoming projects in horror, family films, and supernatural thrillers.

We also talk about:

• The trust and verify approach to managing financial risk in film investments
• How the Netflix model has changed audience expectations for free versus paid content
• The difference between studio franchise filmmaking and independent auteur cinema
• Why collaboration without ego is essential for successful film production
• The importance of hiring talent from diverse geographic locations beyond Los Angeles

Mentioned in this episode:

•The Matrix

•True Romance

•Reservoir Dogs

•Light Sleeper

•Magic Mike

•Chocolate City

•Ronin

•Palm Springs

•Quentin Tarantino

•Paul Schrader

•Willem Dafoe

•Susan Sarandon

•Tom Cruise

•De Niro

•Frankenheimer

•Bill Murray

•Keanu Reeves

•Wachowski Brothers

•Joel Silver

•Mark Rowan

•Elon Musk

•Live Entertainment

•BET

•Paramount

•Netflix

•Disney

•BBC

•Canal Plus

•Apollo Capital

•Patriot Pictures

•Ocala Florida

•Boston

•Santa Clarita

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