The Fan-Driven Distribution Company

Occasionally, someone will ask me if I think they should invest in a movie. My answer is, invariably, the same: you should only invest in movies you really believe in; you should understand that even if you invest, the movie will likely never get made because most movies never do; and you should only invest if you’re willing to lose everything you put in, because even those movies that do get made tend to show a loss.

I lead with this because today I’m talking to Jeff Annison of Legion M, a production and distribution company built on the idea that fan investments are a great way to both develop seed capital and drive enthusiasm at theaters. Legion M is not a fly-by-night company and has a number of productions under its belt, including My Dead Friend Zoe and The Man in the White Van. Jeff will be the first to tell you that investing is risky and should only be done if you’re comfortable with losing it all, though he obviously has staked his claim with Legion M and put no small amount of his own capital at risk. And they’ve certainly seen some successes with films like the Nic Cage-starring Mandy (one of my favorites of the 2010s).

We discussed how changes to investment laws in 2016 helped spur a shift in indie fundraising from crowdfunding models to models that allow individuals to earn equity in the movies they contribute to the production of. We also discussed the Legion M Film Fund, their distribution-minded arm that provides last-in, first-out money for films seeking a domestic release. And we chatted about the effort to build a consistent fan base via the cultivation of retail investors.