Making Movies is HARD!!!: The Struggles of Indie Filmmaking From One Tree Hill to Everyone is Doing Great w/Stephen Colletti and James Lafferty!
Mar 15, 2021
Stephen Colletti, actor turned director/producer known from One Tree Hill, and James Lafferty, actor-turned-filmmaker and co-creator of Everyone Is Doing Great, discuss crowdfunding, shooting a full season on a tight budget, and juggling acting with directing and producing. They talk crew strategies, distribution hurdles before Hulu, festival leverage, and plans for a second season.
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A Finished Series Opens Doors For Sales Agents
- Having a finished, fully formed series materially changes distribution prospects.
- After shopping pilot attempts, once they had all eight episodes Endeavor Content packaged and sold the series to Hulu during the pandemic window.
Fame Doesn’t Replace Sales Channels
- Industry access is siloed; being a known actor doesn't guarantee distribution know‑how.
- They lacked connections to acquisitions and a sales agent until a producer accidentally found an Endeavor contact.
Run Crowdfunding While Showing A Pilot
- Time your crowdfunding to concrete proof of concept so backers can see what they buy.
- They ran the campaign during a pilot festival run, showing the pilot to audiences across cities to drive word‑of‑mouth and trust.