There are a number of ways to get your film financed these days, but by far the most lucrative from a financial and career perspective is through a studio such as Sony, Paramount or Warner Bros who have the capital to fund independent films. Unfortunately they rarely do unless you have a pre-existing and somewhat successful relationship with them or a cool and very high concept story.
Now if you believe you do have such a story then the next step is to pitch your idea or story to a development executive. If you are fortunate enough to be offered a deal it will likely come in one of two forms, a buy out or a development deal. For the purpose of this blog I’ll be focusing on the development deal.
A development deal usually involves a 3rd party such as a studio paying you to develop your property with the end product or intellectual property being owned by them. The deal usually involves them committing to producing the project subject to the final product meeting with all their approvals and the interest or commitment of acceptable talent to star in the film. Assuming there is no commitment to produce the project the deal is typically a step deal, meaning that it will be evaluated in stages and may or may not proceed beyond each stage.
Sometimes a development deal includes an office on the lot of the studio but this is usually reserved for those with something of a track record, especially these days. Additionally, the office on the lot is usually a hand shake deal and involves them getting a first look at whatever else you are developing. If the development deal is being seriously considered by the studio, then a formal deal memo is entered into, followed by a contractual agreement which includes a salary, schedules for the completion of the project being developed, a screen credit, and some sort of back end participation in the final film.
The salary is usually the sum of money the producer receives upon completing the development of the project and the green-lighting of the movie. Usually, part of the salary is paid during the development stage.
Now there are pros and cons to everything in life and despite the excitement of actually getting a development deal (should you be so lucky), then the following should be considered. Unless it’s your own project, the Studio pays for everything except maybe the initial acquisition costs. The amount the Studio pays for is dependent on both your track record, and the odds of the project being green lit (which are slim at best).
If however the film is green-lit, the likelihood is that it will be a major motion picture with big stars, which will elevate your status, is also slim. A major downside during this process is that you’re an employee of the Studio, and may be fired at any time prior to green-lighting, which means you might never profit from the potential success of your project. Additionally, sometimes projects get green-lit too early, meaning that they are “under developed” and green-lit just to fill release slots, which could in turn result in a very bad movie with your name on it!
