The A24 film Sing Sing presents an inspiring true story while also pioneering a groundbreaking approach to compensation in filmmaking.
Based on real events, Sing Sing follows Divine G (Colman Domingo), a man imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group with other incarcerated men. When a wary outsider joins the group, the men decide to stage their first original comedy, in this stirring true story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art, starring an unforgettable ensemble cast of formerly incarcerated actors.
The creators of this film, Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley, decided to trial a different pay model in which everyone who works on the film, from the PAs to the director to the lead actor, are paid the same wage based on industry rates. And then additionally, to compensate for the ‘losses’ they set up an equity model in which folks received ownership opportunities.To allocate equity, the filmmakers divided the film's lifecycle into distinct phases: development, prep, production, post production, and promotion.
In an article from The HollyWood Reporter, Kwedar shared, "We've migrated people from an employee to a partner mindset, what that does is erases that line between above and below the line and in flattening that hierarchy it encourages a culture where the best ideas can actually come forward.”