Ron Perlman’s financing startup Watrfall has opened submissions for its first slate, a $275,000 creator fund in which audiences decide which projects get backed.
Filmmakers and showrunners can pitch original film and television ideas until Nov. 15. Creators keep significant ownership of their intellectual property and creative control through financing and distribution. Watrfall and its community of investors hold the remainder and share in revenue.
Perlman, the “Sons of Anarchy” and “Hellboy” star, co-founded the company in 2025 with Oscar-winning “Bowling for Columbine” producer Michael Donovan, Dana Landry, a former CEO of DHX Media, and entrepreneur Willie Morris. The pitch: realign entertainment’s value chain so creators stay in control, those who make content share in its success, and viewers get “a real seat at the table,” Perlman said at launch.
The name plays on an industry grievance. In Hollywood accounting, a “waterfall” dictates the order in which revenue is paid out, and creators often see little at the bottom. Watrfall says its model keeps the flow transparent.
The company raised money from fans through Republic, a crowd-investing platform. Roughly 1,100 backers filled that round in about three months, according to one business outlet. Early terms promised investors 100 percent of net profits from the first slate of films and 5 percent of platform profits in perpetuity. Beyond investor funds, Watrfall plans to earn revenue from tiered memberships, creator tools and platform fees. It also uses blockchain-based tools to manage access to its data.
Supporters see an alternative to studio gatekeeping. Perlman has cast the industry as one where a handful of people collect enormous sums while everyone else is left out. The model remains new and untested in Hollywood, and a $275,000 fund is small beside the budgets of most studio projects. Crowd-funded stakes in an unproven company also carry risk for the fans who buy them.
The company has not said how many projects the fund will back or when winning pitches will be chosen.
