David Heavener on the set of The Confessions of an Exorcist During our conversation with David Heavener, it was hard not to notice the sense of knowledge and confidence in his voice. An actor, writer, director, and producer with 20 years of experience in the film industry, Heavener now also gives seminars on how to make movies. He has a book that’s already out and a DVD that’s on its way. Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau praises Heavener’s film Eye of the Stranger as “perhaps one of the best directed independent films he has ever starred in.” We talked to Heavener about financing, promoting, distributing, and of course his seminar. F.A. When you are producing your films, how do you go about financing? Do you seek funding yourself or is there a team that handles financing for you? D.H. Most of the time, I work by myself. I talk to investors individually. Sometimes, I have a partner who does that and brings the money to me. But as far as getting the money, there are a number of ways. A lot of times it’s through investors that I meet. Sometimes, I run an ad, but you have to be careful not to violate any security exchange commission rules. Sometimes, I pre-sell territories to the foreign market. In other words, they give me money in advance. I can suggest filmmakers to go out and meet investors, talk to friends and family about how they can help with the funding, and do pre-sales. But there’s of course so much more to it. I give these seminars called “Make Movies that Make Money.” I teach filmmakers to go from concept to consumer, how to make and sell their films. Filmmakers need to get educated, because you got to know what you’re doing in this business. F.A. Why don’t you tell me about your seminar? How and why you started it… D.H. I started it about 5 years ago, because I was asked to speak at film schools and different events. They put me on panels with different people, and a lot of those other people would give them the wrong information, information that was outdated or that was not applicable to where an independent filmmaker is. So I decided to do my own seminars. It’s a full day, 8-hour seminar. I have a book. The new DVD that is coming out is called “The #1 Guide to Filmmaking and Distribution.” F.A. What do you talk about in your seminars? Do you talk about all aspects of filmmaking? D.H. I start with the purpose – why are you in the business? I talk about mission statement, what kind of movie to make, how to write a script in an easy manner, how to get the money, how to shoot it, and how to market and distribute it. I also teach the new frontier, the new way of film distribution, which is the Internet. F.A. What are your thoughts about promoting and distributing films on the Internet? D.H. Right now, it hasn’t been developed to the point where it’s making money for most people. I am not sure if it’s going to be based on advertiser-driven revenue or consumer-driven or both, but one thing is for sure, and that is the fact that it is going to be the new frontier. F.A. Do you promote your films online? How do you use the Internet? D.H. I do and I will be. I have a new TV series coming up in Europe called “Confessions of an Exorcist" (www.confessionsofanexorcist.com). And I will be promoting it on the Internet until we get a deal. If we don’t get a deal, I’ll just release it – I have webisodes, for I shot it in one-hour episodes, half-hour episodes, and 7-minute webisodes. Basically, filmmakers can promote their work on their websites if they do short enough clips. And of course, you need to do advertising. F.A. Do you do online advertising or more conventional advertising? D.H. I think you have to do both. F.A. During your career as a producer, has there been a project that you really wanted to produce but were unable to do so due to certain obstacles and complications? D.H. Well, I’ve had a few of those, where you put it out there, and you think you got it financed, and it didn’t get financed, and you didn't continue with trying to get the financing. F.A. Was this a long time ago or a more recent project? D.H. It was a long time ago. F.A. So if you think about today’s technologies, would you want to give that project another chance? D.H. Not particularly, unless it’s such a great idea that will work on the Internet so well. About the producer: In a 20 year career as an accomplished filmmaker, David Heavener has written, directed, produced, and starred in over 30 motion pictures and had distributed hundreds more. He has worked hand in hand with such Hollywood greats as Academy Award winner Martin Landau, Academy Award nominees Tony Curtis, Sally Kirkland and Karen Black. Margot Kidder, Isaac Hayes and Robert Reed are just some of the other notable celebrities to have been involved with David’s projects. Many of his movies have aired on HBO, Showtime and USA Network. He has guest-starred on NBC’s “Hunter” and “Days of our Lives”. He has been featured on “Entertainment Tonight” and “Backstage West”. David’s recent film, “Dawn of the Living Dead” was released on DVD in August and spent 12 consecutive weeks in Wal-Marts’ top 10 list for DVD sales. For more information on David Heavener, please visit www.filmannex.com/DavidHeavenerEntertainment and www.davidheavener.com. For more information about his seminar, go to www.makemoviesthatmakemoney.com. Interview by Eren Gulfidan. Contact at www.filmannex.com/erengulfidan