The millionaire who offered to finance my first film... in exchange for sex!

The Indecent Investor:

Every would-be filmmaker is always thinking about his first project. That may manifest itself as simply working on a script or things might be at the next level either preparing to jump into development actively or simply laying the ground work to take the next step. But once you understand the complexities of the business and come to accept that raising money is always the toughest part, an element of your consciousness is always in “raise money” mode. Obviously, dealing blackjack at a casino is not the best place to find money for a film and management would frown on that sort of thing anyway. However, talking for hours to players, peoples interests come up. My love of film and focus on a career in that field was a fairly common subject of conversation while working at the Hard Rock in Vegas.

One day, I was dealing to a particularly nice fellow from Texas who was betting pretty big – up to $5000 a hand. He was playing alone and we were getting along well (in no small part because he was winning). We talked about my background and interest in film and how I was hoping to leave The Rock soon to make my own film. He suddenly seemed very interested. So much so, that we met the next day for lunch as he wanted to learn more about the prospect of possibly investing in my film. Sweet, right? Well...

His name was William and we met at a fancy restaurant in the Bellagio. I had learned the day before that he owned a farm equipment manufacturing company and made big rigs like harvesters and tractors and other (presumably) big ticket items like that. He struck me as someone with a lot of money, though many (if not most) people that represent themselves as wealthy rarely are. If I hadn't seen him betting so big the previous day, odds are he would have just been another bullshitter.

I showed William my materials and we talked about the project I wanted to do. The budget was $100k and I told him I hadn't even officially started looking for investors, but was going to be looking at 10 units at $10k a piece. He seemed to like what he heard and he was clearly a big film buff. Then the first shoe dropped...

He mentioned the possibility of funding the entire project himself. He asked about working the name of his company into the film somehow, as perhaps the place one of the characters worked, as a form of advertising (called “product placement”). Of course, I was open to this. The conversation was going well. Now, since I hadn't just gotten off the bus, I wasn't letting myself get too excited, but things seemed to be going in the right direction. Then the other shoe dropped.

William prefaced his next request by reminding me that he knew film was a very risky endeavor and he might lose all his money. He expressed that if it happened, he'd be investing in me more than anything and that I impressed him with my intellect, passion and knowledge of film. He then went on to explain he'd feel better about the investment if he got a little something more out of the deal. Yep, you know where this is going.

So, maybe I hadn't just gotten off the bus, but I guess so little time had passed that I could still see it in the distance. William wanted sexual favors as the “icing on the cake,” so to speak. I didn't even know how to respond to this at first, so I didn't. In that interim, while I was processing, he explained a bit more what he was thinking.

He was actually very forthcoming and, it seemed, honest about his intentions. He wouldn't expect anything until I'd received the money and we'd just need to figure out how many “special points” he'd get for his investment. These “special points” would be, ostensibly, how many sexual encounters he'd be entitled to. Now, William knew I wasn't gay as we'd talked about my girlfriend prior to this. Perhaps he thought I might be bisexual, or in the closet or simply pegged me as straight and that was part of the challenge. He seemed to try to soften the blow (no pun intended), by letting me know that he was a “bottom” when it came to sex. Basically, his thing was going down on young men, which I admit, would probably be the most palatable sex act in which to be involved with a man - if I was so inclined.

So, here's the thing. It was awkward, to be sure, but I wasn't outraged. I was a bit disappointed, but I also remember thinking that what he was proposing was little more than a complex form of prostitution. I'm a bit of a Libertarian when it comes to what people want to do with their bodies. I'm not a drinker or drug user, but espouse the decriminilization of these things in all their forms (with age limits, of course). I believe in a free society, people should be free to do whatever they want with their bodies. If a person is sick and wants to die to end their suffering, I support that (assuming they are of sound mind). If a person wants to take money in exchange for sex, that's their right.

Since I feel there should be nothing wrong with a person paying someone else $100,000 for sex, it would be hard for me to say I thought what he was proposing was “wrong.” I also appreciated the fact that he didn't misrepresent his intentions and drag this on for a period of time before dropping this bomb. I think many in this situation would spend a while teasing the interest and promise to invest, only later making this additional condition known. Now, this was twenty years ago and times have certainly changed. Many/most people would be outraged (or pretend to be outraged) if they heard this story today. I wasn't. I was a bit disappointed at the (totally) unexpected turn of events, but I also remember thinking - “This guy can get far better looking guys than me to let him blow them without spending $100,000. Indecent and awkward as this offer may be, from a purely business standpoint, it was a generous offer.”

I've learned early on in life to try to never burn bridges. William obviously saw I was less than enthusiastic and didn't press the issue, simply leaving me with a, “think about it.” I thanked him for his time and the fancy lunch and left.

When I got home to my girlfriend, I told her what happened. Like me, she was a pragmatist. She was also one of the least judgmental people I've ever know. A great woman all around. She simply asked me, “Are you thinking you might do it?” I really wasn't, but her question made me wonder if I should have really given is serious thought.

“Not really. Do you think I should?” I asked.

She gave me a very logical, intelligent response to that, “It's your dream. I know how important it is to you, but I can't weigh the costs to you if you take this deal. Obviously, I wouldn't be crazy about the idea of you fooling around with someone else, but in this case, I'd give you my blessing if you decided it was something you really wanted to do and thought it would help you realize your dream. I said I'd never judge you. I never will.” I think I loved her a bit more after that talk.

I ended up not taking William up on his offer. When I let him know, he was cool about it. A couple friends I told about this think I should hate him for putting me in that situation. In truth, I don't. I still think it was a generous offer even knowing how many people will vilify him after reading this.

I was able to put that movie together a while later. It ended up being my debt feature, Impact. Since I was able to make the film after all, the story with William ended well. But I can’t help but think – If for some reason I hadn’t been able to make Impact happen and nothing else had materialized in pursuit of my dream, I very much believe I would harbor regret to this day for not taking that offer.

I won’t presume to state a lesson here other than to say there probably is one, but it’s very much defined by the person who finds that he or she is in a position like this. If you ever find yourself in a position like this, choose wisely.

EPILOGUE: I've just finished a book on independent filmmaking which includes a number of interesting vignettes like the one above. "Film Schooling" will be out later this year. Please follow my Steemit account for updates on the release date!!