Part 37: How I Asked for $5 Million for THE ONLY WAY OUT
- Amy Giaquinto
- 18 minutes ago
- 9 min read
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June 2025
I called my film's producer, Marty Katz, with the goal of coming up with some actionable steps to move forward with THE ONLY WAY OUT and we had the most amazing talk. We got caught up on what's been going on in our personal lives, then dove into what's next for THE ONLY WAY OUT.
Marty has been working tirelessly to get the script in front of A-list actresses and find financing for the film. Like me, he's frustrated by the state of the industry. When he was making movies through Marty Katz Productions banner at Disney Studios, he'd pick up the phone, make some calls, speak with decision-makers and voila, financing and A-list talent would follow.
But that was then and this is now. Hollywood has changed a lot in the last couple decades and financing films and attaching talent has become about as likely as getting struck by lightning while winning the Powerball Jackpot.
Marty and I talked about why that was and agreed that one of the biggest problems with the Hollywood studio system right now is that every decision is made by a committee and nobody seems to have the power to say yes. It's a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. If person A loves the script, they pass it up the chain to person B. If person B likes it, they pass it along to person C.
Eventually, the script makes it to the head of development. If they like the script and believe it's a fit for them, they'll call a meeting with other studio executives.
As a team, the execs will determine if the script is aligned with the studio's current mandate and make sure there are no similar projects in development. For example, if a studio has a thriller with a female lead in development, guess what? It's an automatic no for THE ONLY WAY OUT. (God-forbid you have two thrillers with female leads in development at the same time.)
Anyway, if the script passes the first couple of tests, the studio execs then try to figure out if the script is worth the financial risk to produce. In other words, do they believe it will attract A-list talent (they often have someone very specific in mind), or someone who is guaranteed to bring in a certain amount of money to the box office even if the film tanks. And even if they think the film will get that person, the next obstacle becomes scheduling. Can they attach an A-list actress whose schedule will permit her to shoot within the next 1-2 years. If not, the film dies.
Additionally, studios are now relying on AI and other apps to determine which scripts will make money versus which ones won't, based on the history of what's worked and what hasn't worked for the studio in the past. Also, it doesn't help that studios are more risk-averse now than ever before.
This means that if there's an original project, with no previous IP or audience platform and no A-list attachments, the algorithms aren't going to like it. All of this is the studio's way of attempting to guarantee the film will turn a profit. But nothing can guarantee a film succeeds, which is why they rely on known properties to generate profit. Even that doesn't always work.
The problem is that when it doesn't, studios become even more determined to avoid original IP. It feels like they believe if they can't profit from a huge IP-based film, then original IP doesn't stand a chance. No, it's not fair, but it's life.
Unfortunately, the issue with the committee and algorithmic decision-making process is two-fold and it's killing the industry. First, studios go through executives like teenagers go through toilet paper which means if you get lucky and a group of execs likes your film today, there's no guarantee those execs will stick around until tomorrow.
When they leave, they're replaced by new execs with very different ideas on what should and should not be produced. It's unbelievably frustrating and I believe wholeheartedly this is what happened with THE ONLY WAY OUT and Netflix.
Remember, a couple years ago, the people at Netflix were dying to help get the script produced and didn't want to let it go? They needed help financing the script and turned to SKYDANCE and THUNDER ROAD. Nothing happened, but they told us to keep in touch because they LOVED the script.
Fast forward 2 years. With Netflix turning a profit again, it was time to revisit the studio with THE ONLY WAY OUT. This time, it was sent to a different group of executives because the original execs were no longer there. This time, we received the message that they loved the script but had "a similar project already in development."
Maybe they do, maybe they don't, but the point is when execs change, studio mandates also change and those changes often occur overnight, so as a writer or an independent producer, it feels like you're trying to hit a moving target.
Also, as Marty was saying, there's no one person who can say yes nowadays. The script keeps getting passed around to people who have the power to say no, but no power to say yes. This is so frustrating! When you're trying to sell a project to one of the big studios, how do you get a yes from someone when no one has the authority to give a yes?
And even if you miraculously happen to find someone in the studio with that authority, how do you get a yes before they leave the studio or the studio changes their mandate to something that doesn't match your film's plot, genre, theme, etc. Even if you find the yes person, you're still at the mercy of the industry. If a comparable film fails at the box office while you're submitting. You're toast. The only way to get a studio's interest and hold onto it is to go to the studio with a fully financed film with A-list talent attached. Even then, your film is no guarantee.
Back to the story. I reminded Marty that the script was at Utopia Distribution and told him that I think if we have talent attached or some financing, they'd probably be interested in the film. I didn't want to let this opportunity pass us by, especially since Netflix had passed. Marty agreed.
He then told me that he'd been trying to get to actresses, but none of the agents would pass along the script without it being financed. Many weren't even returning his calls, even though he has a long history working with them. It's been so frustrating.
We then discussed trying to get around actresses' agents and the required pay to play money and financing issues by going through their managers. I've read sometimes you can get lucky with managers passing along a script. Marty agreed it was worth a shot.
We also talked about the letter I'd written to Scarlett Johansson last year about offering her a product integration deal to star in the film. He had completely forgotten about the letter. Last year, he'd said that he was reluctant to contact her agent, Bryan Lourd, with the letter only because he has known Bryan for a long time and wasn't sure he would pass the letter along to Scarlett due to the film not being financed.
That got me thinking. What if I could find a way to get it to her? It's worth a shot, right? She'll be booked from now until the end of time, but you never know if you don't ask.
We also thought about trying to get in the door at Simpson Street Productions, Kerry Washington's company. She'd make an incredible lead, and it was my hope that she'd also want to sign on as a Producer or an Executive Producer to help us finance the film or find financing for the film. THE ONLY WAY OUT's budget, as written currently, is too high for Simpson Street Productions to produce on their own.
But then Kerry Washington starred in, SHADOW FORCE, which opened at the end of May or beginning of June. The film bombed. I haven't seen it, yet, but I'm sure the film's dismal box office gross had nothing to do with her performance. I could tell from the trailer that the film lived in that strange land between reality and hyperbole, part ordinary-family/part superhero/Mission Impossible family. That type of film never works.
Not only that, but in the film, Washington plays a mother who will stop at nothing to save her son. After the team and I's experience with Emily Blunt, we figured the role may be too similar for Washington to want to consider. So, we abandoned approaching Simpson Street Productions for now. I say for now because things might change tomorrow or the next day. This is Hollywood, after all.
Marty and I kept brainstorming. He had another plan. He mentioned that he'd been invited to present at the Mediterrane Film Festival in Malta at the end of June. Last year, he found someone interested in financing the film, but that someone wasn't willing to put up first money. This year, they're still interested in investing, so if we can get first money...
This year, Marty hopes that, in Malta, he can entice someone to put in first money so we can move forward with packaging (attaching A-list talent). He said there are a lot of very wealthy investors at the festival and someone should bite.
To increase the odds they do, I decided to update the lookbook so we can go out with a fresh look and feel and replace some of the suggested actors who have aged out of the roles.
I have to admit that I still wasn't feeling overly optimistic about our plan. There'd been a lot of investors at the film festival last year, but that didn't change the fact Marty came away with no cash in hand. Even so, there was some comfort in knowing we now had a plan.
And what was doubly comforting is that Marty reassured me, again, that this film will get made. He said:
"It's been my experience that when you love and believe in a project this much, it will get made and this script is too damn good not to get made."
I smiled and told myself he was right. When you love and believe in a project so much you've given it everything you've got, you're bound to find a way to make it happen. And so, with that, we said our goodbyes and I started thinking. I didn't want to lose out on a potential deal with Utopia, but without money or talent, the script was DOA so... Hum...
A thought dawned on me. Why not craft a letter to Utopia Distribution asking what it would take for them to put up first money for the film?
Why not ask them for $5 million, enough to cover an actress's pay to play money? Why not say we've had a lot of interest from other financiers, but we're struggling to get first money?
Why not tell them that we're confident once we have first money, we can get the rest of the financing and cast the film? Why not tell them why we believe they're the perfect partner for THE ONLY WAY OUT?
And so, I carefully crafted an email to the VP of Original Content at Utopia Distribution and asked what it would take for them to give us $5 million in first money. Crazy anxious and wondering if I was doing the right thing, I felt the need to send her a Starbucks gift card to thank her for her time and consideration and to forgive me if I was being naive. Now I wait and see what happens.
While I wait on Utopia Distribution and wait for Marty to get home from Malta, I'm updating my list of A-list actresses with production companies and making sure the contact info is up to date. I'm also finding new production companies to approach, and, of course, I'm producing new MAMA FIX IT™ episodes, taking care of the kids who are on summer break, all while thinking about how to get Scarlett Johansson to read my letter about product integration for The Outset. After all, what do I have to lose?
And oh, yeah, here's some fun news. I'm super excited because this afternoon, I have a meeting with Dmitri Johnson and Mike Goldberg, from Story Kitchen. I'll write about the meeting in my next post. Wish me luck!!!
To be continued...
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