Why a Professional Movie Budget by a Line Producer is a Film Finance Requirement

Why is a professional movie budget by a line producer a film finance requirement?

For anyone living under a rock the last few years it should be extremely evident that the financial world was rocked, stirred and shaken.  As it begins to recover certain truths have emerged:

1. Scrutiny – Finance sources are under more pressure than ever to engage in more intense scrutiny of investments than ever before.

2. Risk Aversion – Capital markets have adopted a new risk aversion that makes the past laughable and seemingly like wild party days.

3. Return on Investment (ROI) – Investors were smacked over the last four years.  They want, rather need to see a strong return on investment.

For these three main reasons alone the intensity of the importance of a movie budget created by a professional line producer is critical.  Film financing today demands a fresh look at the markets for film distribution and correspondingly the true cost of the film budget associated with the expenditure of their funding.  A movie budget must be created with experience, be detailed, accurate and created by a veteran producer with extensive experience analyzing every aspect of the production.  No formulas, templates, sample film budget or software program can inject the knowledge of a production manager scrutinizing every detail, parameter, contingency and aspect of the movie budget that investors would expect them to have undertaken.

Filmmakers should be prepared, invest in themselves and present their investors and lenders with qualified, professional film budgets for analysis.  Shortcuts most often lead to dead ends.

Jack Binder

Producer

FilmBudget.com

Summer 2012 Studio Tentpole Film Budget List

Summer 2012 is shaping up the be the summer of the most expensive blockbuster production film budget expenditure of all time.  With the Major Hollywood Studio’s revenues on decline the ‘Tentpole’ movie with its enormous budget is seen by the bean counters as the certainty in a changing and declining revenue landscape.   As digital proliferation of films, piracy, the economy and falling dvd sales take their toll on the bottom line the studios and larger indie production companies like Lionsgate / Summit are betting big on the VFX / CGI laden popcorn, super-hero action movie like never before, clearly.

With a continually more fragmented audience, growing cable channel line-ups and expanding reality television programming it has likewise become increasingly more difficult to reach the fans to put ‘bums in seats’.  Part of the calculations certainly must include the broad reach of the superhero, sequel, ‘based on the television series…boardgame…’ franchise which aids in the marketing of these productions.  Utilizing the convenience of familiarity the bet is on recognition factor.   Not detailed in the proliferation of newsworthy budget figures are the massive amounts being spent to promote these behemoths and guarantee the return on investment at this massive scale.

Summer 2012 Studio Tentpole Film Budget List:

The Lorax                                  $70,000,000

John Carter                              $250,000,000

Hunger Games                          $80,000,000

The Avengers                          $220,000,000

Battleship                               $200,000,000

The Dark Knight Rises             $250,000,000

Men In Black III                      $215,000,000

Prometheus                            $200,000,000  (rumored)

The Bourne Legacy                 $90,000,000 (unconfirmed)

Total Recall                           $200,000,000

* Film budgets are gathered from available industry trade data, news articles and published reports.  Actual film budgets are intentionally guarded secrets by the studios and released, confirmed or denied for marketing and/or corporate rationale and should always be taken with a good dose of scrutiny as to the actual figures.

By Jack Binder

Cannes Film Festival – Festival de Cannes – Marché du Film – 2012

Update:  Cannes Film Festival Screening Schedule Released

Cannes Screening Schedule | Film Budget.com

Hollywood Reporter Launches Cannes Film Festival App

Cannes Film Festival

The world famous and extremely prestigious Cannes Film Festival is upon us once again as it is each May of the year.  The festival remains the foremost event on the film calendar as the central gathering point for feature films, media, movie stars, filmmakers, entertainment business, fashion and audience participation.   As a champion of both arthouse productions with a low film budget as well as large movie budget Hollywood spectacular productions Cannes brings together the entire international cinema community which is involved in the motion picture business.

Marché du Film

The Film Market or Marche’ du Film has likewise become the most important film market event of the year thereby becoming a determining factor in the finance and production of movies and film for the worldwide markets.  Having a film at Cannes is critical to launch a film into production.

Here are the basic facts of the festival and market:

What:  Cannes Film Festival

When:  May 16 – 27, 2012

Where:  Cannes, France

President of the 65th Jury:  Nanni Moretti

President of Un Certain Regard Jury:   Tim Roth

Official Website:  http://festival-cannes.fr

Opening Film:  The Opening Night film is ‘Moonlight Kingdom’ directed by Wes Anderson

The complete list of films in competition:

Cannes Film Festival – Films in Competition Trailer Videos 

 Great site with listing of all the trailers for the films in competition.

Meet The Jurors of the Palme D’or Award – Cannes 2012

  The Jury which will decide the winners of the Palme D’or (Best Film) Cannes Film Festival award.

24 A-List Titles Being Sold in Cannes This Year

  A complete listing of the top films being sold by foreign sales agents this year in Cannes at the Marche’ du Film.

List of Titles Screening in Competition:

MOONRISE KINGDOM

DE ROUILLE ET D’OS

HOLY MOTORS

COSMOPOLIS

THE PAPERBOY

KILLING THEM SOFTLY

REALITY

AMOUR  (LOVE)

LAWLESS

DA-REUN NA-RA-E-SUH  (IN ANOTHER COUNTRY)

DO-NUI MAT  (THE TASTE OF MONEY)

LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE

THE ANGELS’ SHARE

V TUMANE  (IN THE FOG)

DUPÃ DEALURI  (BEYOND THE HILLS)

BAAD EL MAWKEAA  (AFTER THE BATTLE)

MUD

VOUS N’AVEZ ENCORE RIEN VU

POST TENEBRAS LUX

ON THE ROAD

PARADIES : Liebe  (PARADISE : Love)

JAGTEN  (THE HUNT)

THÉRÈSE DESQUEYROUX

MISS LOVELY

LA PLAYA DC

LES CHEVAUX DE DIEU  (GOD’S HORSES)

TROIS MONDES ANTIVIRAL 7 DIAS EN LA HABANA

LE GRAND SOIR

LAURENCE ANYWAYS

DESPUES DE LUCIA

À PERDRE LA RAISON

STUDENT

LA PIROGUE  (THE PIROGUE)

ELEFANTE BLANCO  (WHITE ELEPHANT)

CONFESSION OF A CHILD OF THE CENTURY  

THE DAY HE CHOSE HIS OWN FATE

MYSTERY BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Written & Posted by:  FilmBudget.com | The international leader in worldwide film budget production services

Film Budget | European Film Festival in China 2011

EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL IN CHINA

Europe is marketing its movies to China and apparently, the Chinese are loving it!

Such is the success of the annual European Union Film Festival in China that the event, which is now its fourth year, could be expecting greater numbers than ever before!  Last year, the event expanded to showcase films in three Chinese cities and according to EU Ambassador Markus Ederer, the number of moviegoers increased from 5,000 attendees in 2008 up to 13,000 in 2010.

What: European Union Film Festival

When: November 1^st – 30^th 2011

Where: Beijing and two other cities in China (TBA)

The film festival, organized by the Delegation of the European Union to China and supported by the Embassy of Poland,  invited all 27 EU Member States to showcase one recent, popular and successful film.

The organizers of the festival hope that the event will increase the appreciation of European films and culture among the Chinese, hence paving the way for the possibility of importing European movies into China in the future.

The films screened at this year’s festival include a diverse mix of local flavors and a wide-range of genres from comedies and dramas to documentaries. Moviegoers can view their films of choice in commercial theatres as well as in cultural institutions.

Among this year’s selections are some of the following European picks:

France – “The Piano Turner”

Denmark – “Aching Hearts”

Italy – “20 Cigarettes”

Portugal –  ”Beauty and the Paparazzo”

Each film is screened in its original language with English and Chinese subtitles.

Meanwhile, the European Film Academy has unveiled its nominations for the 2011 European Film Awards. You can see a full list of the nominees on their official website – www.europeanfilmacademy.org

Winners will be announced in a December 3^rd ceremony in Berlin.

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Film Budget | The international leader in worldwide film budgeting and scheduling production services for film finance, production incentives and film tax credits.

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Film Budget .com | American Film Market (AFM) 2011 Film Finance and International Sales Roundup

American Film Market (AFM) 2011 Round-Up

The 2011 American Film Market is winding down at the moment and as promised, this year’s event is proving to be quite a success!   Though film financing remains a difficult proposition, projects with the right combination of well known talent, directors and strong marketing prospects funding is on the rise in combination with lenders, equity, gap,  film tax credits, co-productions, government funding and incentives.   The market is indeed hungry for quality films to distribute with solid packages, a film budget with a reasonable recoupment potential and name talent is the constant mantra.

Here are a list of some the deals that were made at this year’s AFM:  (updates forthcoming as we write)

* IM-Global takes rights to ‘The Sister’ for Europe, Latin America

* Universal Pictures International Entertainment has picked up rights to Content Film’s ‘Hard Boiled Sweets’ for the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Benelux and Scandinavia

* Drafthouse Films has picked up crime drama ‘Bullhead’ and raucous comedy ‘Clown’, for distribution in North America

* Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has picked up domestic distribution rights to ‘Bel Ami’, from Protagonist Pictures. The company also picked up comedy ‘Bailout’ starring Jack Black, for multiple territories including North America, South America and Scandinavia.

* FiGa Films has picked up ‘The Last Christeros’ (Los ultimos cristeros) by Matias Meyer, which had its world premiere in Toronto Film Festival (link to blog on Toronto Film Festival), and ‘Machete Language’, directed by Kyzza Terrazas, which had its world premiere in Venice.

* FilmDistrict has acquired ‘Drive’ the Nicolas Winding Refn-directed film adaptation of James Sallis’ suspense-themed novel

* Sierra Pictures announced the acquisition of ‘Rampart’, a crime thriller starring Woody Harrelson. The company also picked up comedy ‘Darling Companion’, which stars Kevin Kline, Diane Keaton.

* Tiberius Film has picked up a trio of horror sequels – ‘Piranha 3D’, ‘Children of the Corn: Genesis’ and ‘Hellraiser: Revelations’ for the German market.

* Exclusive Media Group picks up international rights for ensemble drama ‘Disconnect’

* Lightning Entertaiment picked up 7 films including ‘Brake’, ‘Columbus Circle’ and ‘Wrath’, making their world premiere debut at the AFM. The other films are ‘Boy Wonder’, ‘Bloodwork’, ‘The Trouble with Bliss’ and ‘Scents sand Sensibility’

* Wild Bunch acquired the international rights to Academy-Award winner Geoffrey Fletcher’s directorial debut ‘Violet & Daisy’

* Los Angeles-based film production, financing and foreign-sales company Unified Pictures has entered into a three-movie deal with Vancouver-headquartered production-finance group Bron Studios

Announcements of major financings include:

* Exclusive will finance Matt Damon’s ‘Yesterday’ with Focus Features handling U.S.

* Endgame Entertainment announced the creation of Endgame Releasing, to provide as much as $500 million in funding for marketing and distribution of four to six wide release movies per year through major studios. One of the first movies to tap into the fund will be the movie ‘Looper’  starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.

* W2 Media has come on to co-finance and distribute ”The Theatre Bizarre 2,” a sequel to Severin Films and Mataluna Prods.’ ”The Theater Bizarre” horror anthology.

* Green Isle Entertainment has entered into an initial $60 million dollar multiple picture financing agreement for film budgets with Allegiance Capital Corp.

* IM Global to finance $20 million action-drama ‘Hummingbird’.

These are just a few of the ‘official’ announcements. With the AFM still underway, many more similar announcements are anticipated in the coming days. With deals being made fast and furious – don’t miss your chance to catch a piece of the  action! For more information on this year’s AFM, check out the blog on filmbudget.com

 Filmbudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film budget and schedule line producer film budgeting production services.  Film finance and camera ready movie budget and schedule packages.

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival

In its 36th annual celebration of cinema The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) returns with a flourish of celebrity appearances and film premieres.   TIFF remains one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, focusing the motion picture industry on quality movie productions, both those with an indie film budget and high brow studio motion pictures.

When:  September 8 – September 18, 2011

Where:  Maps and Locations

“Toronto” as it is more commonly referred to in the inner circles of film industry executives, producers, directors, writers and cinema stars has become a critical destination for filmmakers presenting their pictures and likewise promoting new films in development and production.   The festival has become more of a film market in a way as it comes right after Labor Day and kicks off the fall film festival and film market season.

Films playing at Toronto are increasingly seen as important films and the festival provides a high profile to its cast, director and production company.   Many foreign sales deals are executed with acquisitions at Toronto tending to be a bell-weather of the state of the film production and distribution international economy.  Both overseas and domestic rights deals are consistently undertaken at the festival.

Talent planning on attending this year include:  George Clooney, U2, Brad Pitt, Salma Hayek, James Franco, Werner Herzog and Adrian Brody amonst others.    Following the addition of seven world premiers to its billings the festival will present  336 films, 268 features from 65 countries, a substantial increase from the previous year.

This year portends to be a banner year for TIFF with a stellar line-up of film, eager actors and directors and a seemingly hungry market ready for quality film acquisition.   As a North American film festival with an increasingly  more European sensibility, TIFF seems to support those filmmakers whom understand the artistry of  motion pictures with a more modest film budget and a high quality story with an auteur point of view

Filmbudget.com

How Do I Get a Film Budget?

For many years it was not readily known how one goes about getting a film budget for their movie production.   Jack Binder, Producer of ‘Reign Over Me’ and ‘The Upside of Anger’ realized a gap in this realization back in 1997 and sought to make available for fellow filmmakers a film budget process whereby they could get a film budget for their project.  Jack Binder created the first online film budget production service.

Jack continued to evolve the concept but the basic working structure was that a film budget would be required in order for a director, actor, writer or producer to embark on obtaining film financing for their film production.  By using his extensive experience in creating motion pictures and likewise film budgets for all of his movies and television shows, Binder realized that he should have a ready answer for the many co-production partners, film finance executives, bank lenders and major studio executives who were approaching him about creating a film budget and schedule for their productions.

Finally it really hit home when reworking a film budget over and over again, that it became very evident that the process and knowledge involved was fundamental to receiving that elusive of all treasures, the Greenlight.  Through an ability to respond to questions and by knowing his film budgets inside and out, and through meticulous film budgeting experience Jack was able to remove the obstacles to getting the film into production.

Contact Filmbudget.com for an accurate and proven film budget for your production – and get that greenlight!

Michigan Film Tax Incentives Economic and Fiscal Impact Report

Ernst & Young just released their analysis of the film tax incentives program in Michigan.    It is titled “Economic and Fiscal Impacts of the Michigan Film Tax Credit” February 2011.

The report was commissioned by the Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Traverse City, Michigan organizations.

The Fiscal Impact Report clearly states what the proponents have been stating:  the film tax incentives work, creating a thriving and job creating industry.   The Michigan film industry has grown enormously since its creation in 2008.    The study finds an economic output ratio of $6 of activity for every $1 of film tax credit.  This has translated into an $812 Million successful return for the State of Michigan on a net outlay of $127 Million.    The incentives have created over 6,000 jobs and attracted major feature film and television production to a state badly in need of investment.

Read the entire Ernst & Young “Fiscal Impacts of the Michigan Film Tax Credits” report.

Presented by Filmbudget.com | The international leader in worldwide film budgets and schedules services, global film tax incentives and production services

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Apple Itunes Leads 2010 Internet Film Consumption

Apple Inc.’s ITunes media store ended 2010 as the online go-to destination for electronic sellthrough, or EST, and Internet-based video-on-demand, according to a new report.

IHS Screen Disgest reported that ITunes held off challenges from Microsoft’s Zune Video (via Kinect 3D motion-control launch), Sony Playstation Store, Amazon VOD and Walmart’s Vudu as the EST/iVOD market increased more than 60% from 2009.

Read the full Home Media Magazine article

FilmBudget.com – Film Budgets for Professional Filmmakers

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BAFTA Awards: British Academy of Film and Television Arts 2011

The Orange British Academy Film Awards announces its nominees for 2011.

The BAFTA Awards is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 13th, 2011 at London’s Royal Opera House.  Celebrities and the stars behind the scenes are going to be attending and receiving awards for their work in 2010.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards is an annual event set to recognise, reward and honor individuals for their outstanding achievements in feature films that were released theatrically to a paying audience in the UK within the awards year.  Further eligibility requirements can be found on their website.  The event is put on by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

BAFTA’s primary activities revolve around staging award ceremonies for the UK and Internationally.  It is a charity with close to 6500 members within its organization and was originally set up to advance and promote education via its events, whose aim is to create and clarify the public’s taste in the television, film, and gaming industries.

Through two rounds of voting of its members they have compiled the following nominees for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts:

For BEST FILM

BLACK SWAN – Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin

INCEPTION – Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan

THE KING’S SPEECH – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

THE SOCIAL NETWORK – Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT – Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

For BEST DIRECTOR

127 HOURS – Danny Boyle

BLACK SWAN – Darren Aronofsky

INCEPTION – Christopher Nolan

THE KING’S SPEECH – Tom Hooper

THE SOCIAL NETWORK – David Fincher

For BEST LEADING ACTOR

JAVIER BARDEM – Biutiful

JEFF BRIDGES – True Grit

JESSE EISENBERG – The Social Network

COLIN FIRTH – The King’s Speech

JAMES FRANCO – 127 Hours

For BEST LEADING ACTRESS

ANNETTE BENING – The Kids Are All Right

JULIANNE MOORE – The Kids Are All Right

NATALIE PORTMAN – Black Swan

NOOMI RAPACE – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

HAILEE STEINFELD – True Grit

For BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

CHRISTIAN BALE – The Fighter

ANDREW GARFIELD – The Social Network

PETE POSTLETHWAITE – The Town

MARK RUFFALO – The Kids Are All Right

GEOFFREY RUSH – The King’s Speech

For BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

AMY ADAMS – The Fighter

HELENA BONHAM CARTER – The King’s Speech

BARBARA HERSHEY – Black Swan

LESLEY MANVILLE – Another Year

MIRANDA RICHARDSON – Made in Dagenham

For a complete list of Award Nominees for the Orange British Academy Film Awards, you can visit:

http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/2011-film-awards,1572,BA.html#jump11

For location and transportation information regarding visiting Londons Royal Opera House, please visit http://www.roh.org.uk/visit/locationandtransport.aspx to help find your way to this extraordinary event.

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