Michael Youn

Lionsgate executive MICHAEL YOUN came to the Judith Weston Studio to speak and answer questions on September 28th. Michael is a Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning & Business Development at Lionsgate. His responsibilities include evaluating studio strategy for theatrical pictures, direct-to-video releases, DVD, iTunes and VOD strategy. He plays a vital role in film and library financing and acquisitions – as well as helping to evaluate film greenlights and ultimates. Besides a background in managing investments prior to joining Lionsgate in 2003, Michael also at one time pursued acting and stand-up comedy. I met Michael through his wife, actress Kristen Alaniz, who has taken classes with me.

Michael was so generous, and so clear and articulate, as he shared his experience and knowledge of film financing and distribution. He was FULL of information – and many who attended told me afterwards that they got information from his talk that is not available ANYWHERE else. There were many questions, and he responded to each one with a bracing clarity, grounded in kindness and support. He took an extremely complex subject and made it understandable and real.

While stating that a well-written script is still the most important thing, Michael stressed how important it is to know and research the target audience for your film – who will it appeal to? What is the size of that audience? How expensive is it to get to that audience? It’s important, he said, for filmmakers to be able to discuss a marketing strategy in pitch meetings with distributors and financial people.

He talked about genre, he talked about New Media, he talked about Walmart. He gave specific examples of how to calculate a budget and end up making money on the project. He gave very specific advice on calculating how much a movie will make, and why you should know about these things when talking to distributors and financial people. He gave specific projections of how low, or how high, a budget needs to be in order to make money for each genre (Drama, R rated Comedy, Horror, Western, Family, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Action).

The questions were extremely thoughtful and interesting – it was a great audience! Thank you all for coming. But most especially, thank you, Michael – for sharing so graciously your knowledge and experience – it was an invaluable contribution to all who attended.