To fund new movies, ‘American Psycho’ producer turns to the crowd

A Hollywood production company known for popular films including “American Psycho” has chosen a novel tactic to fund its projects in development: Get the public involved.

Los Angeles-based Pressman Film will allow individuals to invest in its movies, the company told The Times, making it the latest firm to turn to crowdfunding. The campaign, which opens to the public Thursday, is targeting $1.5 million in this round.

By investing in a slate of upcoming projects, rather than a particular film, investors can spread their risk and bet on a variety of genres, said Sam Pressman, the firm’s chief executive and son of founder Edward R. Pressman, a producer known for “Wall Street” and “The Crow” franchise, who died last year. The company’s summer reboot of “The Crow” flopped at the box office.

“There’s great reason for optimism in our industry, but it’s incumbent on the producers to be able to provide fresh movies and fresh ideas and fresh filmmakers to audiences,” the younger Pressman said in an interview. “We need to galvanize audiences to be a part of the future.”

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It’s a strategy that producers have dabbled in previously as entertainment companies look for creative ways to raise money and engage fans. Producers have found it increasingly difficult to raise cash for development from traditional financial sources.

The capital raise is hosted through investment platform Republic, which previously handled fundraising campaigns for “The Walking Dead” maker Skybound Entertainment and English professional soccer team Watford F.C. The minimum buy-in is $200, while the maximum for accredited investors is $1 million. Pressman Film needs to raise at least $500,000 to close this round, which ends in November.

If the company hits its target of $1.5 million, it plans to develop six projects involving its existing intellectual property as well as new stories. Investors begin to get their money back at the start of a project’s production, then will receive a portion of Pressman’s producer fee and any rights fee for every successfully produced film in the slate, the company said. (Movies that go into development often do not get produced.)

Investors also will get a portion of net profits, and Pressman said the company will not take any money from a film’s net profits until investors are paid back with interest. Depending on funding level, investors will be eligible for perks, such as exclusive items, film credits and set visits.

The company said it has already raised more than $250,000 in a private launch.

“This whole industry is eager to find a way forward that gives us all the movies that we want to see,” said Max Loeb, head of development at Pressman. “We’re hopeful this could be part of that path.”

Other companies have used crowdfunding models for individual films, such as 2014’s “Veronica Mars,” which reaped $2 million in a single day via Kickstarter.

Last year’s surprise hit “Sound of Freedom” used crowdfunding to raise $5 million for marketing. Its backer, Angel Studios, employs a unique model that allows fans to invest in projects while influencing what productions get the green light.

Financing for films has gotten more challenging as interest rates have increased, private equity partners and Chinese investors have shied away and so-called “gap” financing has become expensive.

Pressman Film executives began talking about a development raise several years ago and agreed on the need for additional approaches to financing, Pressman said.

“If we look to the future of what the media landscape is, the distance between the producer and the audience is getting closer and closer,” he said. “In connecting with an audience, I think we’ll have a brighter future, and one that continues to shape films and be a part of a cultural conversation.”