Meet Jeff Knite

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Knite. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.

Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I get my worth ethic from my parents. Both my parents are hard working and goal achieving individuals. My dad is more calculated and meticulous. My mom is more of a go getter. Once she puts something in her head, she’s going to do it or get it. They both achieve their goals in different ways, but they get there nonetheless. So I am a mutant hybrid of them both. I will stop at nothing to achieve my goal, but I will conceive of a way to do it that is very precise, but unconventional.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My name is Jeff Knite, and I am a filmmaker. I produce, direct, and write, films, commercials, and music videos. I love being a filmmaker. I believe anyone who is a filmmaker has to love it, because it is a very difficult job that does not compensate you for what you’re worth for a very long time, sometimes never. It’s like being in the longest internship.. for yourself. You’re an artist, so you have to make things people like. In the hopes that one day you find an audience that will pay for your art. I have a new film coming out that I’m just finishing up called THE OMICRON KILLER. I have been working on this film for over a year and a half now, with a bunch of talented people who most of them are not getting paid. And the ones that are getting paid, are working for below scale. They do this, because like me, they love the art, and they want to be a part of this entertainment world of filmmaking, and the only way to do that is to build a resume working on non-union projects like mine. I myself did it for most of my life. I worked on so many projects where not only did I not get paid but I had to contribute money or find money to get the project done. This is the life of an artist.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I believe perseverance had the most impact on my journey. My persistence in wanting to succeed one day. I get people till this day say to me “I can’t believe you’re still doing this, I would have gave up a long time ago.” Because most people’s idea of success is making a lot of money, and I’m not going to knock that ideology. I mean everyone needs and/or wants money to help them achieve a goal in life. But if that’s all you care about, you will never be happy. I need money to help create my art. I don’t create art just so I could have money to spend. Anyone who has that train of thought in this business is in for a rude awakening. Because there are much better, faster and more lucrative ways you can make money than in the film business.

A skill that was very impactful was being an actor. It was a gateway into the world of entertainment and filmmaking. I learned so much as an actor on set, by watching what everyone was doing and what their jobs entailed. I would ask a lot of questions and help them so I could learn every aspect of filmmaking.

And last but not least, was my knowledge of the modeling business that my father bestowed upon me. You see, my father worked for the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in the 80’s, and he not only dealt with models, but actors and directors as well. It was all intertwined. So I gained a lot of knowledge over the years of how things work in and out of Hollywood.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
My number one obstacle right now is trying to secure a distribution deal for my film THE OMICRON KILLER, that would benefit me and my producing partners. Most people might not know this but when it comes to making movie deals with the studios, even the ones on the low end of the totem pole, they treat independent filmmakers horrible. They don’t want to pay us for our film projects, even if all we want is the small budget we put into it. A low budget film in Hollywood is anything under 3 million. A lot of independent filmmakers make films for much less than that. So you would think that with such a small budget, it’s an easy sell right. They pay you for your cheap film, which is way less then an average film in Hollywood. They spend a few million to market your film, and since the overall costs are so low, there is literally no way they can lose, right? Instead, they offer us something called an MG, which means Minimum Guarantee. Which is usually like 15 – 25 thousand dollars, which is not even a fraction of what an independent film costs. The average independent film costs anywhere between 150,000 and 5 million dollars, so what the f–k am I going to do with 20 thousand dollars. It’s a slap in the face. Meanwhile they’ll pay hundreds of millions of dollars just for the rights to an existing IP (Intellectual Property), not the film or films themselves, just the rights to distribute it. Then they have to pay to make it. For example, Universal & Peacock paid Close to $400M for a new ‘Exorcist’ Trilogy. So if the first film bombs, all that money is out the window, probably a tax write off. But somebody like me has to beg for a few measly bucks to recoup the budget for my film for my investors.. It’s ridiculous. And this is why the WGA and SAG AFTRA Strikes have been going on for more than 4 months now. Everyone in Hollywood at the top continue to take a large portion of the revenue and benefits from a film or TV project and all the people who actually make said project get the crumbs.. like slaves.

As for how to overcome this challenge. Since I am not in the union, all I can do is hold firm with my requests to the distribution companies. I am in a unique and beneficial position right now because of the strikes. Since no union films in Hollywood can move forward with production. There will be very little films being released beginning next year by the studios. So that leaves lots of empty film release slots to fill. I’ve also partnered with Verdi productions. They were the company that got The Robert Deniro Film THE IRISHMAN sold, so fingers crossed.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Jeff Knite Paul H. Johnson

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