Today is the start of a new year and the beginning of my new Blog Spot where I shall attempt to enlighten, thrill, excite, engage and educate as many of you as possible to the trials and tribulations of the world of film and more specifically from time to time, Film Financing.
I’m sure many of you reading this will know everything and more about what I will write about over the coming months but there will no doubt be an unfortunate few that will know little to nothing. My tips are more of an education than anything, but will also endeavor to provide some pros and cons to the various financing vehicles that every film producer should know.
I intend to cover, pre-sales, debt financing, soft money, deferrals and credits for dollars, brand integration, the beast that is the ‘finder’, development, distribution and many other topics. I will also blog about what makes a good producer or a good film, the practicalities of how to reach actors and making sure that your investors and of course yourselves, don’t get screwed, and I will attempt to make the blogs entertaining by employing my dry British sensibilities and wit.
The lesson or Tip/s for today are:
Never put your own money into your films unless it triggers a larger investment that essentially closes the deal.
Always treat making films as a business because it is a business. You might think you have the greatest script since sliced bread or that your actors are re-known TV stars from your favorite TV show, but does anyone else.
Only make your film for a price that you can reasonably justify that you can sell it for and ask the experts what that price is. You wouldn’t build a house for $1m if you were told it’s only going to be worth $500k when its finished.
Stay tuned for the next episode of FILM… FINANCING….. TIPS
(by Mark Andrews)
