Page Ostrow contacted me claiming a rep had seen my film at a film festival. She claimed to love my film and that she had had recently received a lot of calls for Native American documentaries. She explained her price — at that time $10,000. When I told her I made my film on grants for 35K, she didn't miss a beat, but kept pressing. She pursued me for months with calls and entreaties.
Finally, she wore me down, and I signed — handing over cash I did not have so she could rep my film in Toronto. As soon as Page Ostrow got my money— she stopped taking my calls. She handed me over to an assistant. I received monthly disposition reports— places where my film was sent— places such as animation distributors, places looking for Oscar nominated films, action-adventure, even places approaching soft-core porn. No direct calls. No direct one on one contact the way she had promised with anyone who would have been interested in a niche film about a Native American elder.
She did finally land me a deal— with a company that refused to pay the SAG actors I had used for recreations in my doc. Those payments would have to come out of my pocket, and from the paltry percentage I would be making minus their take and expenses. That deal that would have ended up costing me money. When I sent her email after email about this deal— I received no reply.
I called and my calls went unanswered. I wanted specifically to know if she would continue to represent me if I did not take the deal as it was not a good deal for me as per my attorneys. No reply. She has an ironclad clause in her two page contract: "best effort." And she knows it. No lawyer would take my case. I sued her in small claims court. I lost. But it was a thrill to tell her to her face and to a judge exactly what I think of her.
I just heard she is now going after filmmakers to the tune of 25 thousand. She was recently at The American Film Market and was "very interested" in a company that was trying to find some backing for a film— a film that I had co-written. Very interesting. Even after I had sued her? Buyers beware. This one is a ripoff artist of the highest order.
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