LOCKED OUTOF POST

THREE PARTS

A story-led English resource with read-along audio

For intermediate and advanced English speakers working in or interested in film and the creative industries. These fictional stories are rich in detail from across the film industry, exploring the situations, decisions and challenges people encounter in different areas of the business. They provide a way to develop listening, reading and comprehension skills while becoming more familiar with the language, conversations and some of the realities of working in the industry.

Mark has finally made the feature film he spent nearly ten years trying to finance. After securing a French co-producer, the film is now waiting to go into post-production. The budget overran during production, and Mark is struggling to get clear updates from his co-producers about what is happening with the edit. Questions are also beginning to emerge over who controls the next stage of the film, including decisions around its promotion and festival strategy.

Follow the story as Mark tries to take a more active role in a project he still very much considers his own. There are also reflection points for readers to consider different aspects of the decisions being made, and the challenges, relationships and pressures involved in a European co-production.

PART 1 · MARK + TOM PART 2 · TOM + ANNA PART 3 · ANNA + MARK
CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
PART ONE OF THREE

MARK AND TOM

Mark is trying to understand why the edit has stalled — and how much control he still has over the film.

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1MARK AND TOM1
NARRATOR

Mark is in his late thirties and based in Brussels. He runs a small production company and has just finished a feature film he has been trying to get off the ground for close to ten years.

He is sitting with Tom, his Production Manager, in a café near their office. Cannes is approaching, but Mark still does not have a confirmed date for the edit.

MARK

I have kept the first couple of days in Cannes fairly open because I want enough time to sit down with them properly when we finally get the meeting. I do not want another conversation on a terrace where everybody has somewhere else to be and we come away saying that we will pick it up later. We wrapped months ago, we showed them the early assembly in Berlin, and I still do not know when I am actually getting into the edit.

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TOM

Have they given you anything more than saying that they will come back to us when they have a post-production plan? I have asked twice now, and I keep getting the same answer about finding a time without anybody actually putting anything in the diary.

MARK

That is exactly the problem. I would normally be relaxed about it because Cannes is chaotic and people are constantly moving meetings around, but this started before Cannes. In Berlin, I thought we were talking about getting the edit moving, and suddenly I was being told that they would let me know when they were ready to start post. I remember thinking, what exactly does that mean?

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TOM

I remember you coming back from Berlin convinced that something had changed, and I think you were right to notice it. The language was different, even if nobody actually said that you were going to be excluded from the edit.

NARRATOR

The European Film Market in Berlin was where Mark first met the French company. They liked the project, and after a series of discussions the two sides signed a letter of intent to develop the co-production.

The discussions eventually became a formal Belgian–French co-production agreement. The French company would provide additional finance and take responsibility for financing the film's post-production, as well as helping take it into the market.

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MARK

I know why we did the deal. I had been trying to finance the film for years, and I did not want to spend another year looking for the last piece of money. They brought finance, they had the post-production infrastructure, and they could help us with the French and international market. At the time, it was the deal that finally got the film made.

TOM

I know that, and I am not saying it was the wrong decision. I am saying that the position we expected to arrive at is not the position we are actually in.

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1MARK AND TOM1
NARRATOR

By the time Mark returned to Berlin with an early assembly of the film, the production money on the Belgian side was largely committed. The French company was responsible for most of the remaining cost of getting the film finished.

MARK

That is what bothered me. I have always understood that they were financing post, but I did not understand that we were going to reach a point where I was waiting for them to tell me when the post-production process could begin. I am the director, I have been through the rushes, I have worked on the material, and I know what the film is trying to be.

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TOM

I understand that, but I think you need to separate the creative issue from the financial one. They have been asking us for more information about the final production costs, and they are looking at how much of the remaining budget they are going to have to carry into post.

MARK

I know they have questions about the costs, and I have already said that I will sit down with them and explain what happened. What I do not understand is why that means the edit has to sit there waiting.

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1MARK AND TOM1
TOM

Because from their side, they are not just looking at the fact that the film is finished. They are looking at what they agreed to finance from this point onwards, and whether the original assumptions about the post budget still hold.

MARK

They were always going to finance post, and that was part of the reason we did the deal with them in the first place. We needed the money, they had the post-production infrastructure, and I pushed for the deal because the alternative was spending another year trying to close a financing gap that might never have closed.

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TOM

If we had closed production on budget and still had meaningful money on our side, you would be going into this conversation with a much stronger argument about how post should work. The fact that we do not have that flexibility matters now.

MARK

I know the production went over budget, but I am not going to pretend we could have made exactly the same film for less simply because that would make the final spreadsheet easier to defend. Every time something went wrong, we had to decide whether to compromise the film or find another way through it, and we kept going.

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1MARK AND TOM1
TOM

I was there making a lot of those decisions with you, so I am not pretending otherwise. What worries me is that I am now getting questions from people inside the company as well, and I cannot keep explaining every problem away as another production decision that made sense on the day.

MARK

Are people inside the company asking questions about the film now? I thought the main concern was still coming from the French side.

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1MARK AND TOM1
TOM

They are asking about the final position, and I think that is reasonable. You brought in investors because you wanted to concentrate on the creative work, but that also means there are now other people with money and responsibility tied up in this production. They want to understand why we have ended up where we have, and some of those questions are coming back through me.

NARRATOR

Since Berlin, there has been no confirmed start date for the edit. The questions around the final production costs have continued, and Cannes is now only weeks away.

Mark had expected to arrive with the edit already underway, ready to discuss the film with the French co-producers and meet other people around the project.

Instead, he is still waiting for a clear plan.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

I understand that the company has changed, and I also understand that I am not running every part of it anymore. What I do not accept is that this should mean somebody else gets to decide when I can start editing a film I have spent ten years trying to make.

TOM

It may not mean that legally, and I think that is something Anna needs to establish. But there is a difference between what your rights are under the agreement and how much leverage you have in practice when another company is financing the next stage.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

That is exactly what I am worried about, because I can see the distinction now. I still have the film, but I am no longer sure I control the process by which it gets finished.

TOM

That is why I think you need to go into Cannes prepared for a much broader conversation than simply asking for an edit date. They are going to want to talk about the final costs, the remaining post-production budget and how the next phase is going to be managed.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

That is why I need to go. I am not going to Cannes to sit in a hotel waiting for somebody else to decide whether I am allowed to work on my own film. I have spent ten years getting it to this point, and I need to create some momentum while everybody is actually there.

TOM

I know you are going, and I am not trying to stop you. I am trying to make sure you understand that the more pressure you feel, the more important it is that you do not accidentally give them another reason to tighten their control over post-production.

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MARK

I have already started arranging some other meetings because I am not going to spend the whole week waiting for the French side to find an hour. There are people I know who will be there, and I want to see what interest there is in the film.

TOM

What exactly have you arranged, and are these people expecting you to present the film to them? I am asking because there is a difference between talking about the project and showing people material that has not gone through the agreed process.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

There are a couple of people I know on the sales side, another producer I have wanted to speak to, and some general conversations. I am not selling the film behind anybody's back. I am going to Cannes with a film that has finally been made, and if somebody wants to talk about it, I want to be able to have that conversation.

TOM

And if one of those conversations becomes serious, what are you actually going to show them? We do not have a finished cut, so I would rather understand now whether you have something else in mind.

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MARK

I have asked someone to put together a short piece from the material. It is only a few minutes, and I thought it would be useful if a conversation goes somewhere. I do not want to sit there describing the film for twenty minutes when I could actually show somebody what we made.

TOM

Who is putting that together, and have you told the French side that you are doing it? If they are already worried about the production costs and how the next stage is going to work, they may see that quite differently from you.

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MARK

It is someone I have worked with before, and I asked them earlier this week because I did not want to lose another few weeks waiting for everybody to agree on something. I have not told the French side because there is nothing finished yet, and I am not presenting it as an edit.

TOM

I understand why you did it, but that is exactly the sort of thing we should have discussed first. If they discover that you have commissioned material and arranged meetings independently, they may decide that you are going to continue making decisions outside the agreed process once post begins.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

I am trying to keep the film moving, Tom. I am not trying to take over post-production or undermine the French company.

TOM

I know that is what you mean by it. I am just worried that they may not read it that way, particularly now that the relationship is already more difficult than it was when we made the deal.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

I cannot spend the next two months waiting for somebody else to decide whether they are ready to start the film. I have waited long enough, and I need to know that we are actually going somewhere.

TOM

Then I think we need Anna involved before Cannes. I have been trying to stand in the middle of this for months, but I am getting some of the pressure myself now, and I do not think I can keep doing that without knowing exactly where we stand.

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MARK

Fine. Speak to Anna, but I still want the meetings, and I still want to go to Cannes with something to say about the film.

TOM

I am not asking you to stop. I am asking you to understand that we may be closer to a real dispute than you think, and I would rather deal with that here than discover it in a meeting in Cannes.

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1MARK AND TOM1
MARK

Then let us find out before we get there.

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CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
END OF PART ONE

1/3

CONTINUE TO REFLECTIONS
AFTER PART 1

REFLECTION POINTS · PART 1

Consider the deal Mark made and what it means now that the film has reached post-production.

01

WHY MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION?

Mark pushed for the French co-production because it gave him access to finance, post-production infrastructure and the French market.

If you were Mark, would you have taken the deal?

What are the biggest advantages of an international co-production, and what might you be giving up in return?

Think about finance, incentives, production infrastructure, post-production, distribution, sales, market access and creative partnerships.

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02

DID MARK GET A BAD DEAL?

Mark understood that the French company would finance post-production, but the practical consequences for his involvement became clearer later.

Do you think Mark got a bad deal, or did he accept a deal that made sense at the time?

What would you want to understand about post-production before signing a similar co-production agreement?

Consider the edit, editor, approvals, budget, schedule, delivery and market strategy.

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CONTINUE TO PART TWO
CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
PART TWO OF THREE

TOM AND ANNA

Tom brings Anna into the problem. The conversation shifts from frustration to leverage, contracts and company responsibility.

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NARRATOR

Tom returns to the production company's office and finds Anna coming out of a meeting room.

Anna first worked with Mark when the company was small, initially as an external legal adviser. Her role became more permanent as the company grew and brought in outside investment. She now works with the senior leadership team as well as Mark.

TOM

Have you got a minute? I have just been talking to Mark, and I think we need to have a proper conversation about what is happening before he goes to Cannes.

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ANNA

Of course. What is he saying?

TOM

He still thinks the central problem is that they have not given him an edit date. I think he understands that the money is an issue, but he has not really absorbed how much the situation has changed since Berlin.

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ANNA

That is how I am reading it as well. Their questions about the final costs have become much more detailed, and they are no longer simply asking us to close the accounts before post begins. They are trying to understand what they are taking on, and I think they have become much less comfortable with Mark driving the next phase without tighter controls.

TOM

I can understand why they are looking at the numbers, but I still think they are using the financial position to take more control than anybody expected when we signed the deal. They were always supposed to finance post, so surely there is a distinction between financing that phase and effectively deciding everything that happens in it.

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

There is a distinction, and that is something I need to check very carefully against the agreement. But we should not pretend that the financing position has no effect on the practical balance of power. If they are carrying most of the remaining cost, they have considerably more leverage than they would have had if we had arrived at post on budget with money still available on our side.

TOM

That is what I keep thinking. If we had closed production on budget and had some money left, Mark could have gone into Cannes saying that we had delivered what we promised and still had resources available to contribute to post. Instead, we are going in with them carrying most of the remaining cost.

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ANNA

Exactly. The contract has not automatically changed because we overspent, but our negotiating position has changed considerably.

TOM

But surely they cannot use that to push Mark completely out of post. He has spent ten years trying to make this film, and he is still the director. I know he can be difficult when he thinks somebody is taking control away from him, but I do not think it is reasonable to treat him as though he cannot be trusted with his own film.

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ANNA

I do not think their concern is entirely unreasonable either. You have been beside Mark through the whole production, so you know why he made the decisions he made and you are naturally going to see the human side of it. I have known him almost as long, but I also have to look at what the company can defend if this becomes a dispute.

TOM

I know I am close to him, but I am also the person who has been firefighting this production for months. I am getting some of the questions myself now, and I cannot pretend I was outside the process while Mark made every decision.

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

I know that, and that is part of why I wanted to speak to you. We all became very good at dealing with whatever was immediately in front of us. A location changed, the schedule moved, something cost more than expected, and we found a way to keep going. The problem is that those individual decisions now add up to a position that is much harder to defend as a whole.

TOM

I do not want us to rewrite history and make it sound as though Mark was the only person making bad financial decisions. He pushed to get the film made, but the company agreed to the French deal, we all worked within it, and we all knew there were risks.

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ANNA

I agree. Mark drove the French deal because he did not want to spend another year raising money, and I negotiated the agreement because that was the financing structure he and the company wanted. He was not forced into it, but neither was he acting irrationally. At the time, getting the film financed was the priority.

TOM

And now he is going to ask why you did not protect him from exactly this. He is going to say that if you knew the French company would have this much control over post, we should have dealt with it when we negotiated the agreement.

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

I know. I can tell him that we negotiated protections for him, but I cannot tell him that those protections mean the French company has no say over money it is providing for post-production. That would not be an honest interpretation of the deal.

TOM

He is going to hate hearing that, especially from you, because he still thinks of you as somebody who is on his side.

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ANNA

I am on his side in the sense that I want to protect his interests and the interests of the company. Those things are not always going to mean telling him what he wants to hear. Mark founded the company, but he is no longer the majority shareholder, and there are people inside the business who are asking me questions as well.

TOM

That is the part he is going to struggle with. He still thinks of the company as his, even though he was the one who brought in the investment because it meant he could spend more time developing films and doing the creative work.

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ANNA

Exactly, and I understand why he made that choice. The problem is that when the company takes on more investors, more people have a legitimate interest in what happens when a production goes over budget. I cannot answer those questions by saying that Mark needed to make the film the way he wanted to make it.

TOM

So where do you think the French side is actually going with this? Because I am starting to think the problem is not only the money. I think the relationship has soured, and they are worried about Mark having too much freedom in post.

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ANNA

I think that is part of it. I do not think they believe he is acting in bad faith. They have watched the production cost more than expected, they are now carrying most of the post-production budget, and they know he has started arranging his own conversations before they have agreed how the next stage will work.

TOM

He is doing that because he thinks the film is slipping away from him. I understand why that makes them nervous, but I also understand why he feels he has to do something rather than simply wait.

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ANNA

I know, and that is precisely why this is difficult. From Mark's perspective, he is trying to protect the film and keep momentum. From their perspective, he may be demonstrating exactly why they are nervous about giving him more freedom once they are paying for post.

TOM

There must still be some room. Surely they cannot simply say that because they are paying for post, they control everything from here.

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ANNA

They cannot simply acquire rights they do not have. I need to go back through the agreement and identify exactly what Mark has around consultation, participation and approvals, as well as what the French company controls because it is financing and managing post. Then we can work out where we have contractual protection and where we need to negotiate.

TOM

And what about the material he has commissioned for Cannes? Is that something you think he can do?

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

I do not know yet, because I need to understand exactly what it is and how he intends to use it. I am not going to tell him that he has breached the agreement when we have not established that. But I also do not want him making a decision now that gives the French side a stronger argument later.

TOM

So what do you think your job is here?

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

My job is to protect the company and Mark's position without turning a difficult negotiation into a formal dispute unnecessarily. I need to make sure he knows what he can do, what he cannot do, and where we still have room to negotiate.

TOM

And if he ignores you?

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2TOM AND ANNA2
ANNA

Then I have a different problem. I can advise him, but I also have responsibilities to the company. If his actions create a contractual or financial risk, there comes a point where I cannot simply stand back because I have known him for years.

TOM

I think we are getting close to that point, which is why I think you should come to Cannes as well. I can go with him because I know the production, but I do not want to be the person trying to explain the agreement if the conversation becomes difficult.

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ANNA

I agree that somebody needs to be there who understands the production, and that is you. I am also conscious that sending another person to Cannes costs money, but if this meeting is going to cover the budget, post-production and the agreement, I would rather be there than try to repair something afterwards.

TOM

Then we go together. I just hope Mark understands that we are not going because we think he cannot handle the meeting himself.

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ANNA

We are going because the situation has become too complicated for one person to carry. I will speak to him now, and I want you to send me the latest cost report and the relevant post-production provisions before I go upstairs.

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CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
END OF PART TWO

2/3

CONTINUE TO REFLECTIONS
AFTER PART 2

REFLECTION POINTS · PART 2

Consider how Anna and Tom respond as the creative, financial and contractual pressures become harder to separate.

03

WHAT SHOULD ANNA ACTUALLY DO?

Anna has known Mark for years, but she now has responsibilities to the company and its investors.

Where should Anna be protecting Mark's interests more strongly?

Where does she have to protect the company, even if that means challenging him?

Then consider:

What could Anna realistically do now to strengthen Mark's position before Cannes?

At what point should private legal advice become formal intervention?

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04

WHAT SHOULD TOM DO?

Tom has been trying to keep Mark, the company and the French co-producer moving in the same direction. He is now getting pressure from all three sides.

What should Tom do next?

Should he protect Mark, challenge him, protect the company, or try to remain neutral?

Then:

What skills would you need to manage a production when creative, financial and contractual interests start pulling apart?

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CONTINUE TO PART THREE
CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
PART THREE OF THREE

ANNA AND MARK

Anna and Mark confront the practical limits of the deal before Cannes — and what they can still negotiate.

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3ANNA AND MARK3
NARRATOR

Anna goes upstairs to Mark's office. He is looking through his Cannes schedule when she knocks on the open door.

ANNA

Hey. Have you got a minute? Tom has just been talking to me, and I think we need to have a proper conversation before you go to Cannes.

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MARK

Of course. I assume this is about the French side and the fact that they still have not confirmed the meeting.

ANNA

It is partly about that, but I think there is more going on now. I understand why you are frustrated, but I do not think you should go to Cannes assuming that this is simply a question of getting an edit date.

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MARK

I know they are going to talk about the costs. I have never said that I am refusing to discuss them. What I do not want is to spend the whole meeting explaining backwards when the obvious question is what happens to the film now. We wrapped months ago, we showed them the early assembly in Berlin, and I still do not have a proper post-production schedule.

ANNA

I understand that, and I am not asking you to stop pushing for the edit. I am telling you that the two things are connected because the French company is carrying most of the remaining post-production finance. If we had closed production on budget and still had meaningful money available on our side, I would be having a different conversation with you.

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3ANNA AND MARK3
MARK

So because we spent more getting the film made, they now get to decide when I work on it?

ANNA

Not necessarily, and I want to be very precise about that. They have not acquired new contractual rights simply because the production went over budget. What has changed is the practical leverage they have because most of the money required to finish the film is now coming from them.

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MARK

That sounds like the same thing with better legal language.

ANNA

It is not the same thing, and the distinction matters. You still have rights as director, and the Belgian company still has rights as co-producer. What you cannot assume is that those rights give you unilateral control over a post-production phase that another company is financing and managing.

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3ANNA AND MARK3
MARK

That is what I am struggling with. I went to Berlin with an early assembly expecting to talk about how we were going to get the edit moving, and instead I was being told that they would let me know when they were ready to start post. I have spent the last few months waiting for an answer, and at some point I have to stop waiting.

ANNA

I agree that we need an answer. I am going back through the agreement because I want to establish exactly where their rights end and ours begin, rather than relying on assumptions. Then we can decide where we have a contractual argument and where we need to negotiate.

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MARK

I have not been sitting around doing nothing. I have started arranging meetings in Cannes because I need to create some momentum around the film.

ANNA

I know, and I am not automatically telling you that you cannot do that. I need to know exactly what you are showing, who will see it and what you are saying alongside it. If it is material for a private conversation, that is one thing. If it is being used to position the film commercially, we need to understand what approvals apply.

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MARK

I have asked someone to put together a few minutes from the material. I am not commissioning a new cut of the film, and I am not trying to take over their sales function.

ANNA

I understand the distinction. But if the French side is already worried about the production costs and your involvement in post, they may still see it as evidence that you are acting independently. I want you to understand that risk before you arrive in Cannes.

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MARK

I am allowed to talk to people about my film. I am not going behind their backs, and I am not pretending that I have a finished film when I do not.

ANNA

I know that is your intention, and I am not questioning it. I am trying to make sure that your intention does not get separated from how the action looks to the other side. They are already carrying most of the remaining post-production budget, and they are trying to work out how much control they need over the next stage.

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MARK

They are the ones making this difficult. They want control because they have the money, and now they are using that position to decide how much say I get in my own film.

ANNA

Some of what they are doing may well be about control, and if they push beyond the agreement I will challenge them. But I also think their concern is understandable. They have watched the production go beyond the original assumptions, they are now carrying most of the post-production budget, and they know you have started arranging Cannes conversations before the next stage has been agreed.

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MARK

What am I supposed to do instead? Sit in Brussels and wait for an email telling me that they are ready?

ANNA

No. I am telling you to go to Cannes and have the conversations you need to have. I am telling you to understand the position you are going into those conversations from. You need to be prepared to discuss the production costs, understand what they are willing to finance, and know exactly what the agreement says about your involvement in post.

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MARK

And if they still refuse to give me a date?

ANNA

Then we treat that as a contractual and commercial issue rather than pretending it is simply a scheduling problem. I will push for your rights, but I need you to give me something to work with rather than making decisions independently and asking me to defend them afterwards.

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MARK

You are making it sound as though I am the problem.

ANNA

I am not saying that you are the problem. I am saying that you are under pressure, and some of the ways you are responding to that pressure could make it harder for the company to protect your position. There is a difference.

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MARK

I still think you should have protected me better when you negotiated the agreement. If we knew they were going to have this much influence over post, why did we not deal with it properly before we signed?

ANNA

That is a fair question, and we can have that conversation. But I also need you to remember why we made the deal. You pushed very hard to close the French financing because you did not want to spend another year trying to raise the remaining money. They brought the finance and the post-production infrastructure we needed, and I negotiated the protections that were available within that structure.

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MARK

You told me we were protected.

ANNA

We are protected. That is why I am telling you where the boundaries are rather than telling you that you have no rights at all. I am prepared to challenge them if they go beyond the agreement, but I do not want you giving them an argument that they need even more control.

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MARK

I understand that, but I still feel as though the film I spent ten years trying to make is being taken away from me just when I should finally be able to finish it.

ANNA

I know. I have known you since the company was barely established, and I know exactly what this film means to you. I am not asking you to give up creative control. I am trying to make sure that we do not lose more control by reacting to the situation without understanding it.

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MARK

And what about the company? Are the investors now saying that I am the problem?

ANNA

They are asking questions because the company has invested heavily in this film and now has less financial room than expected. They are not asking me to remove you from the project. They are asking me to make sure the company does not expose itself to another problem while trying to finish it.

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MARK

I brought those investors in because I wanted to spend more time making films. I did not bring them in so that I could eventually be treated like an employee on my own production.

ANNA

I understand that, but bringing other people into the company also changed the responsibilities around the decisions you make. You are still the creative lead on this film, but the company has other people who have to answer for its finances.

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MARK

So what are you actually telling me to do in Cannes?

ANNA

I am telling you to go, to have the conversations you genuinely need to have, and to keep looking for ways to move the film forward. But I want you to go in knowing that this is no longer simply a conversation about getting an edit date. You need to understand the financial position, the post-production structure and exactly what rights you have before you make any commitments.

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MARK

And you are coming with me?

ANNA

I think I should. Tom knows the production and can explain what happened during the shoot, while I can deal with the contractual side if the conversation moves in that direction. I would rather be there than try to sort out a problem afterwards that could have been handled properly in the room.

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MARK

Are you both seriously suggesting that we need three people in Cannes for one meeting? The company is already worried about the money.

ANNA

I am suggesting that this may not be one meeting anymore. We are dealing with the final production costs, the remaining post-production finance, your involvement in the edit and the way the film is going to be represented in the market. I would rather have the right people there than discover afterwards that we misunderstood where the other side stood.

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MARK

Fine. If you both think you need to be there, then come. I still want the other meetings, though, because I am not going to Cannes simply to sit in one room and wait for the French side to tell me what happens next.

ANNA

I am not asking you to cancel them. I am asking you to be disciplined about what you say and show, because I want Cannes to improve your position rather than accidentally weaken it.

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TOM

I have gone through the latest cost report, and there are some things I think we should deal with before we leave. I can explain the production decisions, but there are also areas where I think we need to be completely clear about what we can defend.

MARK

I will go through the report. I know the numbers are a problem, and I am not pretending otherwise. I just do not want the financial position to become an excuse for them to take over the film.

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TOM

That is exactly what we need to prepare for. I have spent most of this production trying to keep everybody moving, and I am getting some of the pressure from the company now as well. I do not want to arrive in Cannes and discover that the people on the other side of the table think we have been avoiding the financial questions.

ANNA

Then that is the argument we need to prepare. We are not going to tell them that they have no rights, and we are not going to tell Mark that he has no rights left. We need to establish exactly where their contractual rights end and where there is still room to negotiate Mark's involvement.

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MARK

That is fine. Send me everything, and I will go through it properly before we leave. I still want an edit date, I still want to understand what they are actually doing with post, and I still want to know what happens to the film now.

ANNA

That is what we will try to get. Before we go, the three of us need to agree what we are prepared to compromise on and what we are not, because I do not want us making those decisions for the first time in front of the French producer.

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NARRATOR

The Cannes meeting is still to be confirmed.

For Mark, the immediate problem is an edit that has not yet started. For Tom and Anna, the bigger issue is how much control each side now has over the next stage of the film, and how much room remains to negotiate before they sit down with the French company.

Mark has spent ten years trying to get the film made.

Now the question is how much control he still has over finishing it.

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CREATIVE SPEAK / FILM
END OF PART THREE

3/3

CONTINUE TO REFLECTIONS
AFTER PART 3

REFLECTION POINTS · PART 3

Consider the competing positions before Cannes and what Mark should do next.

05

WHO HAS THE STRONGER ARGUMENT?

You are in the meeting with Mark and the French co-producer.

Mark argues that he should have meaningful control over the edit because he is the director. The French producer argues that they are financing most of post-production and therefore need control over how that money is spent.

Who has the stronger argument?

Make the strongest case for Mark.

Then make the strongest case for the French co-producer.

There is no single correct answer. The point is to understand where each side's leverage comes from.

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06

HOW WOULD YOU ADVISE MARK?

You are advising Mark the day before he leaves for Cannes.

He has no confirmed edit date. The French company is financing most of post-production. He has started arranging his own meetings and has commissioned a short piece of material to help him talk about the film.

What would you advise him to do before he gets on the plane?

What would you tell him not to do?

Then:

Who do you have the most sympathy for: Mark, Tom, Anna or the French co-producer?

Make the strongest argument for the person you sympathise with least.

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