Code Entertainment is a Los Angeles based production and management company which has produced almost twenty films over the as many years. We spoke to partner Rich Freeman to discuss his experience and insights into the film and TV industry.
Rich runs the management division for film and television writers and directors with his partner Rick Berg. Code also has another division run by Bart Rosenblatt and Al Corley which finances and produces their movie and TV slate. “We are unique in that we finance and produce. It’s one stop shopping.”
This may theoretically streamline their workflow in that they might also finance their clients’ projects, but this is not the case according to Freeman. “We haven’t financed development of our clients’ projects,” he added. This may appear contrary to their clients’ needs, but they are run as separate divisions and they would only entertain the idea if it made financial sense.
Code Entertainment is expertly positioned in the marketplace because they understand “how independent movies are financed and put together from the ground up,” Freeman said. This includes the entire pipeline from script development, production, delivery and distribution. Bart Rosenblatt is also a line producer and can oversee production budgets to ensure they are spent efficiently.
Rich Freeman
Although Code Management and Code Entertainment are separate entities, the production arm liaises regularly with the management arm to discuss the strength of viability of the company’s scripts.
Freeman has a mixed roster of writing clients ranging from Academy Award and Emmy winners to newer writers. Rather than building up his client numbers, he’s more interested in a smaller client list. He’s looking for clients who appreciate his decades-long expertise of all facets of the industry rather than those simply looking to getting their scripts sold or getting staffed on TV shows. Code Management currently represents about forty clients. “A few years ago our main business was staffing and putting our clients up for open writing assignments. This represented about eighty percent of our business. Now it’s the reverse. We’re selling more projects and packages.”
Staffing is a very different business today because studios are generally looking for very specific and established screenwriters. That’s not to say that newer writers aren’t breaking in. “The middle class of writers has largely gone away.”
The Changing Studio System
Despite the shifting landscape of the film and television industry, Rich Freeman still believes that studios are still predominantly interested in existing intellectual property such as novels, comics, and remakes. “Built in audience awareness is something the town wants.” The studio system is designed for the largest of these properties like Harry Potter and Wonder Woman rather than smaller independent films. “For the most part, studios want all audience movies that can be released on three to four thousand screens.” This leaves less room for smaller, more personal films. Many of these independent films struggle to find theatrical distribution.
That said, studios still want to win awards, especially an Oscar. “These are the character-driven auteur films that will attract a big name cast that can win awards.” Although these films generally don’t make a lot of money, they offer a film studio prestige and a slight box office bump.
Romantic comedies and romances are making somewhat of a comeback. This harkens back to the nineties when studios actually had diverse slates. “They would make a few dramas, romantic comedies, character-driven thrillers or action-adventure, family or sci-fi films each year.” This is a function of a global audience and studios wanting to hedge their bets on diverse-ranging films that can play all over the world, making the smaller films even harder to get made.
Screenwriters should have an awareness of the marketplace, but not be beholden to it. “The most important thing for screenwriters is to write a great script with great characters and an interesting story wrapped around a big concept.” Being a great writer without an awareness of the business is a very long route to becoming successful. Occasionally Freeman develops baby writers, but he’s more focused on writers with a great feature or TV pilot script he can sell quickly. “I look for dynamic characters, a strong voice, a good script pace, and a strong spine of a story and characters that you can see beyond one or two episodes.” Writers should envisage several seasons of their story.
If you put me into the story, I’m more interested in you as a writer
Twilight Zone
Code Entertainment was behind the reboot of Twilight Zone with Jordan Peele. “Rick Berg represented the Serling Estate for twenty-five and Jordan was a huge fan of the series.” Berg initially approached CBS to reboot the series and they asked us to put the project together. Code approached Simon Kinberg and CBS got Jordan Peele involved, and together they developed the series.
Jordan Peele in Twilight Zone (Photo courtesy of CBS)
There are inherent challenges in breathing new life into an iconic TV show from the sixties and making it relevant to a twenty-first century audience. “There are similar issues in the sixties that can be re-examined today,” said Freeman. Fears, anxiety and suspicions of the unknown are concepts that are eternal and can easily be adapted to the modern day. “Once Jordan took over, he put his own spin on it.”
Code Entertainment also dabbled into adapting their feature film You Kill Me into a television series – something seen more frequently on our screens. “A writer has to think beyond the original movie and explore how characters can go more than two hours long in a TV series. Where are the character arcs? What are their faults and foibles? Where are they going? Where will they end up in four or five years?” This is true for both original ideas or an existing IP.
Although the project didn’t move forward, Freeman points out the importance of the package in setting up any property.
Rich Freeman advises unestablished writers “to have at least two solid scripts that are potential sellable that haven’t been widely exposed.” Quality writing is only one step to getting representation. If one script doesn’t sell, writers need a backup. Furthermore, having two good scripts means you didn’t just get lucky on one.
Personality also counts. “You have to be personable and be able to tell a story in a room. You have to convince somebody of the way into a project.”
Start with two marketable scripts
If a writer is put up for a writing assignment, one spec script will suffice, so long as it is appropriate for the job. These writers are generally existing Code clients.
For screenwriters who haven’t yet entered the system, Freeman advises them to do their homework. “Know who you’re sending a query letter to. A letter that reads like a bulk email doesn’t get anybody’s attention. Personalize it and be passionate in your description of your project.”
The calculus varies with managers. Newer managers who’ve been working for less than five years and wanting to build up their client base may be more amenable to generic queries. However, more established managers have a narrower range in what they are looking for. Freeman tends to work more off referrals from lawyers, studio executives, agents, producers, and existing clients than from blind queries.
In conclusion, Rich Freeman has his own wish list for how he might improve the industry. “I’d love to see the independent studios come back. Currently there are only a few like Fox Searchlight, Focus Features and A24. I’d like to see the Miramax, Warner Independent, and Paramount Vantage labels come back, so those types of stories can be told more often.”
“Smaller, more interesting stories are more often reserved for Netflix, Apple, Hulu and the streamers.” He would also like studios to scale back their Prints and Advertising (P&A) budgets to allow the smaller films to thrive on our screens. This is easier said since studios must deploy maximum resources into a competitive and risky business.
A $40-50 million studio drama might incur an additional $50-75 million to market and release the film properly worldwide. This means that these films must recoup at least two to three times their production budgets to break even. An indie film with a budget of $25 million or less still requires a P&A budget in the order of $25 – 50 million. Theaters generally take around half the box office takings and studios must recoup their negative and P&A costs for them to break even. So, a smaller movie might need to earn three to four times its production budget to recoup its costs.
