• Produced by Jack Binder

Top 4 Critical Elements For Film Finance

The Top 4 Critical Elements For Film Finance

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

Times are changing as always in the world of film finance. Today it is just as difficult as ever, if not more so, to obtain financing for your film.

Filmmakers must be aware of the challenges and be armed with current information in order to attract funding for their movie production goals. So here are the top four critical elements required based upon realtime, real world analysis by FilmBudget.com Founder Producer Jack Binder (Reign Over Me, The Upside of Anger, The Mind of the Married Man)

An Amazing Screenplay

An amazing screenplay is fundamental to getting finance for your film. Likewise it is necessary to attracting the remaining three critical elements.

Notice I did not say “good”, or “great”. This might have sufficed in the past however in today’s market and competition for limited film finance resources your screenplay must be amazing!

Once you have established a good or great screenplay is in hand, you must run it by your most observant colleagues, friends and family to obtain honest criticism to enable you to improve the script to its utmost potential. Writing is rewriting and before you do anything else – make it Amazing!

An Outstanding Team

Investors not only look to an amazing screenplay in which to invest but they are also looking for an outstanding team. Surround yourself with established and successful filmmakers whom augment your credentials.

This includes an experienced director and producer. An experienced director is recognized as showing a track record in delivering on the writer’s vision. They are deemed competent to bring your story to the screen based upon past success.

Likewise an experienced producer is extremely important in building confidence in your film. Investors look to the producer as the manager of the production and someone who has the knowledge and understanding of the filmmaking and movie industry process.

Together these two collaborators bring a sense of comfort and reliability to your production. Again investors invest as much in a team as they do the idea, story and screenplay.

Strong Cast Attachments

Now more than ever independent film production is driven by cast. With the above elements in place the likelihood of securing top talent is formidably increased.

Finance, international (foreign) sales and distribution are fundamentally driven by the cast committed to your movie. Of course, these must be real and verifiable involvements and not wishful thinking. 

Some of the talented stars involved in productions Produced by Jack Binder

An Accurate and Realistic Film Budget

The fourth and perhaps most important aspect of securing film financing for your motion picture is a realistic and accurate film budget. Knowing and demonstrating your knowledge and comprehension of the costs of bringing the production to market is a basic factor in a financiers decision to fund.

Your film budget, created by an industry professional line producer or unit production manager, will speak volumes to your investors as to your appreciation of the complexities of finding the right balance in the expense of creating the product. Your budget represents a roadmap to the production for yourself and the investor.

As the industry consolidates upon viable productions, your movie budget determines your awareness of the current market value of your production. Finding the right balance of high production value for the lowest cost is the direct purview of the knowledgeable and experienced line producer engaged in budgeting your film.

In Conclusion

Combining the above four critical elements of obtaining film finance will put your movie and your production goals at the head of the line in attracting investment. Money has become much smarter over the recent years and is increasingly risk adverse.

By arming yourself with these fundamental elements you are putting you and your team in a much better position to achieve success than only having one or a few of these in order.

Contact FilmBudget.com to discuss your production, budget, development, production and finance requirements. Our services include budgeting, scheduling, consulting, film finance business plans, film tax credits analysis, creative producer and line producing services. 

Oscar Worthy Insights: Producer, Director and A Movie Budget

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services.  We gathered some Oscar worthy insights to share as an Oscar Nominated Producer.  Contact Us

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

Oscar Worthy Insights: Producer, Director, And A Movie Budget

As the winners and nominees enjoy some well deserved celebrations, it’s time we all look back on some Oscar worthy insights and what makes these men and women such great filmmakers. In a video posted by the Producers Guild of America, directors Clint Eastwood, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Richard Linklater sat down to discuss the relationship between directors and producers.

Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.

Clint Eastwood kicked the discussion off by stating the ambiguities that come with the title “producer,” and realizing that a producer is ultimately a businessperson who allows the director to work creatively and unencumbered.  Recalling his past, the legendary director of “American Sniper” tells the story of his first project, made with a movie budget of only $750,000, and how he had to come to terms with its constraints.

All three directors seemed to agree on the importance of choosing a producer with whom they can maintain a healthy working relationship. As Linklater puts it, “finishing each other’s sentences.” What it seems to come down to is the director’s ability to know which hat (screenwriter, director, producer) to wear and when to wear it, and the ability of the producer to make that possible.

Be sure to follow us on twitter and FB for the latest movie industry news and happenings! Contact us for a quote on our services for your investors.

Why it is Critical to Obtain a Professional Film Budget & Why Whom Creates Your Film Budget Matters As a Reflection Upon Yourself the Filmmaker & Your Team

Why it is Critical to Obtain a Professional Film Budget and Why Whom Creates Your Film Budget Matters As a Reflection Upon Yourself the Filmmaker & Your Team

Your movie budget is a reflection on you, the filmmaker and your team. A professional film budget is critical to obtaining film finance, production and distribution for your film.

In the world of film finance and movie production the figures are more significant then ever. The details and reliability of the figures created in your movie budget by a veteran line producer are critical to the success of the film you are setting out to make.

What is often not appreciated is the compounding nature of those numbers which can lead to make the financing elements largely in error.

As the basis for the funding equation which goes into the packaging of the equity, pre-sales, debt and gap financing elements to finance your film, your movie budget is enormously important in that it be accurate and all inclusive.

film budget movie stars

Stars of Films Produced by FilmBudget.com Producer Jack Binder

Likewise the quality of the line producer’s credentials, associations and experience a filmmaker chooses to engage to create their budget lends significant value to your film stature, finance plan and the funding package overall.

The importance of having a film budget and schedule created for your screenplay for potential buyers is widely known and accepted in sophisticated film finance circles. So much so, that it is the first question asked when a project is submitted: “can you send us your budget?”

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film budget and schedule production services, and creates accurate and proven film budgets for filmmakers.

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

What Are the Benefits of Providing a Film Budget for Financiers?

The benefits leading to your script being picked up by someone, which you have invested to have budgeted and scheduled, and the advantages, are numerous. For one, putting forth the effort to create a film budget and shooting schedule for your film production immediately sets your script ahead of the ones whom have not taken this key step. Financiers and investors are accustomed to reviewing project documentation. This preparation sets you ahead of the crowd.

Knowing the cost of producing a film is critical to obtaining financing and distribution. Being able to articulate to an interested party how much funding will be required to produce a film enables them to make multiple decisions which they would not necessarily be bothered nor able to entertain with a screenplay alone, for which one presumes they might receive literally thousands.

Gone are the days where a production company will do this work for a production in advance of a full commitment. More and more, the responsibility of these efforts are put onto individual producers and production teams.

Additionally, this effort and resourcefulness demonstrates initiative on the part of the writer/producer/director to ascertain the fundamental fact of the film production: the cost to produce the film.

Knowing the Cost of Production, Filming Location & Film Tax Credits Available

Further to this point, knowing the cost of the film production overall and where it will be shot, aids in determining what film tax incentive amount the filmmakers might expect to receive from local government institutions, funds, grants, etc. Knowing the budget of the film enables a buyer to be able anticipate what type of foreign sales (advances) they might be able to expect as well.

This all leads to potential purchasers to able to figure what amount of equity, or hard cash, will then be required on their part, or their financiers, to proceed to produce the film, and most importantly, if it indeed fits into their business model.

How Do You Stand Out in a World of Thousands of Film Project Submission?

Knowing your true cost of production sets you and your film apart from others submitting only a screenplay, leaving as only a guesstimate what it will cost, as opposed to those whom have made the effort to enable the key factors required to make an informed decision. It also conveys your commitment to getting the film made and willingness to  have an understanding of the process of filmmaking, for the budget and schedule is the roadmap to the production and expenditure.

A Film Budget & Schedule is a Reflection on You and Your Team

It is a reflection upon you and your team that you have undertaken to understand how the film will be made by having a professional film budget and schedule created for you by a veteran line producer, for what you will then have, a package, not just a screenplay, to present and they, to investors and financiers.

Contact FilmBudget.com to obtain an immediate quote on our services, which include a finance and camera ready film budget and schedule package, film finance plans and film tax credit analysis and production consulting.

Follow us on:

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Movie budgets as impacted by changes in the indie film market

The Current State of Film Budgets

The 5 Steps To Creating a Professional Film Budget for Your Movie

5 Steps to Creating a Professional Film Budget for Your Movie

Creating a professional film budget for a feature film or a television show is a time honored tradition and craft of the Line Producer or Unit Production Manager. Using extensive experience in making films over many years the process draws on skills learned during these years of production and filmmaking.

To create a film or tv budget Line Producers and Production Managers apply their knowledge and process to create a real film budget and schedule which is used by financiers, investor, banks, film tax credit authorities, foreign sales companies and distributors to evaluate and execute the vision of the screenwriter and the director in coordination with the goals of the producer.

Here are the steps undertaken in creating a professional film budget & schedule:

1. Screenplay Reading – Creative Pass

The screenplay or teleplay is read for creative value and consideration first in order to take on the story, characters, dialogue and plot of the script. 

The stars involved in productions Produced by Jack Binder

2. Screenplay Reading – Production Pass

A second reading is undertaken to evaluate the script from a production viewpoint. Attention is paid to the overall elements, setting and style of the work.

3. Screenplay Breakdown

The next step is a complete breakdown of the total production and creative elements in the screenplay which are required to bring the production to life. Key considerations include bringing experience to bear to determine what the budget level for the picture will fall into: big budget major studio, indie film budget, low-budget or micro budget.

Cast – What level of cast does the story and production call for? How many? Will the highest level of stars be required or a variety of talent levels.

Setting/Locations – Using the Setting as a guide, location considerations are analyzed. Are there multiple countries? Multiple cities? Are there a large amount of locations or is the screenplay contained in its requirement?

Set Dressing – Is it Period? Will it require extensive Set Dressing components or will existing decorations be utilized and sufficient to achieve the vision?

Costumes/Wardrobe: Again, Period? Large Cast and various time periods which will affect the scope and amount of wardrobe required?

Special Effects: Are there needs for extensive Practical Effects (SFX)? Stunts? Pyro-technics? Mechanical rigging?

Transportation – Are there specific Transportation requirements? Travel? Picture Vehicles? Animals? to consider?

Post Production – Is the film, movie or television series heavy in VFX and CGI? Where will post production take place?

The list goes on to include all the departments and which are required to fulfill to requirements of the production. These are a few of the many, many considerations and preliminary decisions which must be analyzed during the screenplay breakdown process. 

4. Create the Shooting Schedule

Based upon the Breakdown and the analysis of the screenplay elements a Shooting Schedule is then created. A veteran Line Producer or Production Manager will have great experience in creating and delivering productions based upon their Shooting Schedule.  With many years of production experience, they have created and executed with the First Assistant Director and Director of their films.

  • Each day is scheduled according to the scene work balance of the overall schedule.
  • Best practices and knowledge gained over years of experience guide the creation of a realistic and efficient plan for the work to be done.
  • Scene descriptions are included in the Stripboard Shooting Schedule to guide the crew.
  • Character Identifications are included to advise what Cast members are working each day

Using the above information a Cast Schedule can be created indicating the amount and which days the Cast work. Likewise Locations Schedule and all unique equipment (cranes, rigs, steadicam, etc.) days are included in the Master Shooting Schedule.

5. Creating the Film Budget

Once these processes are undertaken we are ready to commence with the actual film budgeting for the movie. With the above information in hand realistic budgets can then be created.

Knowing the scope and scale of the production will guide this step. Is it a big budget requirement, low budget or micro-budget or somewhere in between? Is this a Major Studio movie or an independent film production? These are critical factors in the creation of the professional film budget.

Based upon the Setting and Locations envisioned for the picture then the best production center is chosen to shoot the film. The budget will consider these factors in selecting the ideal location to base the production.

Creative consideration is the top priority: can we shoot what the screenplay calls for in this particular region, country and city?

Production viability is then determined. Is there a sufficient film production crew base at this location? Will crew members need to be transported to this location? Is there adequate production support for equipment, materials and services? Hotels?, etc.

Next, finance consideration is analyzed. Assuming the best location is chosen for the creative and production value, what local film tax credit or production incentive is offered by this geographical area?

Countries worldwide offer film tax credits and incentives to film in their region. U.S. States likewise offer lucrative film tax incentives to draw production dollars and generate economic impact in their locales. Your film financier will most definitely consider and insist upon this as a key factor in choosing a location to shoot the movie or tv program.

Based upon these factors, with the right location chosen to shoot, the costs are then calculated.

What are the local crew rates?

What are the local materials and services needed and how much do they cost?

How much are the costs of getting the cast and crew to the location?

All of these decisions are evaluated and the studio or indie film budget process gets down to the nitty-gritty of evaluating the costs of each element involved in the production. Cast fees, location expenses, production crew, logistics, travel, permits, etc. are included.

Productions are unique and each must be analyzed individually. The overriding goal is the create the greatest production value for the most efficient price.

Once these matters are analyzed and included based upon extensive experience the final step is to ensure inclusion of all expenses, including: Completion Bond, Insurance, Contingency, Finance Costs, Union and Guild Health & Pension costs, Cast Perks, etc. to create a realistic budget for the movie production.

While this is a summary of the work and knowledge that goes into the film budget process it is certainly not complete but should give an approximate overview of the process.

Financiers, Producers, investors, government institutions, production companies and sales companies rely on the accuracy of the work of the Line Producer or Production Manager to effectively and precisely understand and present the true cost of bringing the film to the screen. Small errors can compound to create enormous gaps in the overall financing of the film which can seriously impact the completion and delivery to distributors and therefore returns to investors.

 

Contact FilmBudget.com to obtain an instant quote on your film for a professional film budget and schedule, film tax credits and production incentives analysis and Film Finance Plans for your production.

Film Budget Inc. has created hundreds of budget and schedule packages for individuals, the Major Hollywood Studios, Mini Majors and independent production companies, financiers, investors and banks in addition to all of those of our own projects.

Jack Binder is Major Studio and Indie Film Producer with over 25 years of experience and the Founder of FilmBudget.com 

Jack has served as an On-the-Lot Producer at The Walt Disney Company and Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment) and as the responsible Producer on productions for those Studios as well as New Line Cinema, Lionsgate Films, HBO, Sunlight Productions and many more major and independent film and tv production companies.

Binder’s international film production company is Greentrees Films

FilmBudget.com Founder & Producer Jack Binder Producer Credits 

 

– Actress Keri Russell, one of the stars of the new comedic drama film “The Upside of Anger,” poses as she arrives for the film”s premiere in Los Angeles. The film stars Joan Allen who plays a suburban housewife with four young adult daughters who is left to raise them on her own, but soon falls in love with a neighbor played by Kevin Costner. The film opens in Los Angeles and New York March 11. REUTERS/Fred Prouser PREMIERE

Hollywood Looks to China for Capital

Hollywood Looks to China for Capital

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services.  Contact Us

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

 

Hollywood Welcomes Chinese Investors

Frenzied consumers aren’t the only ones looking for a good deal this December, as Chinese conglomerates turn to Hollywood for the best holiday shopping. With a red hot market on the line, Tinseltown is more than happy to receive capital from Chinese investors.

pastedGraphic_1.png

credit: Diane Panosian

In a recent article featured on China Daily titled, Hollywood Could be Saying Hooray For More Chinese Capital producer Jack Binder, president of Film Budget Inc., had this to say about Chinese investments in Hollywood:

“Amid the huge risks and rising costs of production, distribution and marketing, Chinese capital ‘is providing and will continue to provide much needed operating financing to the US film business’, said Jack Binder, founder of Film Budget Inc, a Los Angeles-based consultancy that helps moviemakers plan their budgets.”

Whether you’re making a Hollywood blockbuster with a movie budget in the hundreds of millions or a shoestring indie flick, the American box office seems to have reached its peak. With that in mind, Chinese box offices have been growing exponentially. To illustrate, the Chinese movie industry is “expected to reach $6 billion in 2014, according to EntGroup, a Beijing-based entertainment consultancy.”

A Winning Formula for Transformers

It seems Paramount’s “Transformers” understands the potential of China’s mega market, going as far as to have the premiere there. So, why does the franchise love China so much? Because China loves “Transformers”. According to Pras Subramanian in an article on Yahoo.com titled Why China, not the U.S., is the audience Hollywood Wants, “Transformers has pulled in over $300 million from China alone, whereas box office receipts in the U.S. are around $241 million for a movie that just crossed the $1 billion mark in worldwide ticket sales.”

Considering “Transformers 4” was made with a movie budget of $285 million, China’s sales alone make the film profitable.

Largest Chinese-Language Movie Ever To Be Filmed in L.A.

As Hollywood’s grasp on the American film industry starts to loosen, foreign productions are more than welcome in Southern California. That’s why many see the filming of the biggest Chinese-Language movie on Hollywood soil, titled “Hollywood Adventures”, as a step in the right direction.  Made with a movie budget of$30 million, “Hollywood Adventures” brings some much needed capital to the area. In a recent publication on the L.A. Times website titled Chinese movie ‘Hollywood Adventures’ is being filmed in L.A., Lindsay Conner of Phelps & Phillips believes the movie:

“reflects a growing trend toward Hollywood and China continuing to find ways to work together, whether it’s exploring themes that are relevant to both sides, or using locations or crews that are valuable to both.”

pastedGraphic_2.png

  via : Perfect Storm Entertainment

Be sure to follow us on twitter and FB for the latest happenings in the global film industry!  Contact us for a quote on our services for your investors

Film Financing Tip: Never Use a Template or Cheap Website for Your Investors Money

Film Financing Tip: Never Use a Template or Cheap Website for Your Investors Money

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services.

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

 

A Misleading Lure

A misleading and seductive lure in the online ease of use filmmaking that is extremely disturbing is the promises and offerings of cheap templates, sample budgets and other such websites offering users a film budget for “$99 Dollars!”.

In 25 years of filmmaking, I have never had a financier say to me “Just get me a cheap template for your movie budget.  I don’t need real numbers”.  It doesn’t happen.

The stupid money left the business in 2008.  Today’s film finance executives and financial analysts realize that the integrity of your numbers are critical.  Movie investment is returning, that is undeniable.  However, the new funding is smarter, wiser and undertaking much more scrutiny of the film budget presented to them.

The financiers are savvy.  They can tell real film budget numbers from made up ones; those using cheap online sample film budget website, or template number generator.

A line producer with extensive experience and a long track record of major film production credits is what they are looking for when it comes to investment.  They want to know their money is well placed in an accurate film production budget plan.

Twenty-five year veteran film producer Jack Binder created Filmbudget.com for this very reason, to provide fellow filmmakers with a finance and camera ready film budget and schedule package for investors.

As the Producer of ‘Reign Over Me’ for Columbia Pictures starring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle and Liv Tyler and ‘The Upside of Anger’ starring Kevin Costner for New Line Cinema, he knows the ropes of indie and studio filmmaking and what a budget truly entails.

Your film budget is a reflection of you and your team.  Get a veteran producer on yours.

Have a film budget question? Tweet us: @FilmBudget

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest film industry news? LIKE us on Facebook.

CAA Agent Reveals Netflix Film Budget for Television Series, Scripted Shows Budgets

“Netflix Series Spending Revealed” 

In a UCLA Symposium on entertainment law a CAA literary agent revealed the programming costs for Netfilx. The movie and television streaming service, on original series.  He stated that the film budget for the their shows had the lowest cost at $3.8 million. That ‘House of Cards’ started at $4.5 million per episode before EP David Fincher escalated it above the figure.

The agent advised that the reason they pay such large amounts is that they acquire tv worldwide rights for four years.  He went on to cite the television budget levels for other networks. He advised XBox was getting into the game as well as Amazon.

Read the full article

House of Cards

camera logo of the film budget company

FilmBudget.com Worldwide The Film Budget Company

Toronto Film Festival 2018

Toronto Film Festival 2018

Toronto International Film Festival “TIFF”

We hope you are all geared up because Toronto International Film Festival will be well underway in a few weeks. The film festival used to be called the “festival of festivals” due to the fact that it is a collection of films from film festivals all around the world. You will be sat watching a Hungarian documentary and the next film could be an action thriller from Hong Kong. You encounter both rising and established stars. The festival shows upwards of 300 different categories of films due to the overwhelming amount of categories, genres and countries being represented.

tiff poster artwork

Toronto International Film Festival 2018

Whether you are a movie fanatic or simply a star struck tourist Toronto is the place to be in the beginning of September.

The Line Up

The line up will surely excite you with a diverse range as always, Steve McQueen’s white-knuckle thriller, from the director of 12 Years A Slave, comes ‘Widows’ about four women left in a deadly lurch when their criminally connected husbands are all killed.

‘Hidden Man’ actor-director Jiang Wen’s energetic action film about a spy, who on the cusp of the Second Sino-Japanese War, returns to China set on revenge, but finds himself plunged into a high-stakes game of intrigue, love, and scheming.

poster for Hidden Man film

‘Hidden Man’ Actor-Director Jiang Wen’s Action Film

Felix Van Groeningen’s ‘Beautiful Boy’ chronicles the meth addiction and recovery of a young man (Timothée Chalamet) through the eyes of his pained father (Steve Carell).

movie photo 'Beautiful Boy'

‘Beautiful Boy’ Timothée Chalamet & Steve Carell

Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut ‘ A Star Is Born’ reimagines Hollywood’s most enduring story of love and ambition, in which Cooper plays a troubled rock star on the decline just as his lover (Lady Gaga) begins her ascent to fame.

A star is born movie still

Bradley Cooper’s ‘A Star is Born’ at Toronto Film Festival

These are just a few picked out from a variety of beautiful films being showcased in TIFF this year that should all be in you ‘Must Watch List’ this summer.

 

Watch the official trailer for TIFF 2018 here

Check out the Full Line Up at Variety

 

 

The Details & Information

What: Toronto Film Festival 2018

Where: Toronto, Canada

When: Thursday, 6 September to Sunday, 16 September 2018

Tickets: Tickets are available to buy from the official ‘TIFF’ site , with thickets ranging from $20 (regular) to $40 (Premium) tickets.

Venue: Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Roy Thomson Hall, Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales, Elgin and Winter Garden.

Press

Contact the Communications Department at 416-934-3200 or proffice@tiff.net on weekdays from 9am – 5pm EST.

Tanya Warren
Senior Manager, Communications & Strategy twarren@tiff.net
416-599-8433 ext. 2203

Cathleen Finlay
Manager, Communications cfinlay@tiff.net 416-599-8433 ext. 2364

Emma Kelly
Manager, Communications ekelly@tiff.net 416-599-8433 ext. 2604

Amanda Gun-Munro
Festival Communications Manager agunmunro@tiff.net
416-599-8433 ext. 3308

 

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services. Contact Us

Be sure to follow us on twitter and FB for the latest Berlin Film Festival 2015 news and happenings! Contact us for a quote on our services for your investors.

75th Venice Film Festival | Biennale

Venice Film Festival 2018

Biennale | 75th Venice Film Festival

The 75th Venice Film Festival 2018 is coming up in the next week! According to the official site of Venice Film Festival 2018 will “add two new international collateral awards: the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) Award and the Fundación Casa Wabi – Mantarraya (Mexico) Award. Both will be bestowed upon filmmakers at the Venice Film Festival and provide winners with residency opportunities.”

The Venice Film Festival was one of the first international festivals of its type along side it’s others

in “the big three” Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals. From Hollywood features made with large movie budgets to foreign films made with independent film budgets, festival goers are set to enjoy an impressive lineup.

photo of the venice film festival

75th Biennale The Venice Film Festival

In an article by The Guardian the 75th Venice Film Festival has the “Best programme ever” including “ The festival’s 75th edition will open on 29 August with First Man, a Neil Armstrong biopic starring Ryan Gosling.

Mike Leigh’s Peterloo, a drama about the 1819 massacre, stars Maxine Peake and Rory Kinnear and will have its first screening on the Lido… Yorgos Lanthimos’s royal comedy The Favourite also premiers… Another British director, Paul Greengrass, will join Leigh in Venice with 22 July, a painstaking dramatisation of Anders Behring Breivik’s 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway, which killed 77 people, including teenagers at a summer camp… László Nemes’s first film since the Oscar- winning Holocaust drama Son of Saul will also screen in competition” are just a handful of the brilliant films set to premier and play at the Palazzo del Cinema for the 75th Venice Film Festival this year.

photo of the film First Man Ryan Gosling

‘First Man’ Opening Night Film Starring Ryan Gosling

What: Venice Film Festival 2018
Where: Venice Lido, Italy
When: Wednesday, August 29 – Saturday, September 8 2018

Tickets: The tickets are available to the public to buy on the official site of Venice Film Festival 2018 , however Children under the age of 6 are not permitted to enter the screenings. “Furthermore, all screenings with a minimum age limit of 14 (12 if accompanied by a parent or whomever has parental authority, both providing a valid ID document) are specified in the program.” If you have any problems you can send an e-mail to the Biennale Cinema Ticket Office at the following address: biglietteria.cinema@labiennale.org.

Venue: Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi and in other venues nearby

Press
Institutional Press Office

LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA PRESS OFFICE Ca’ Giustinian, San Marco 1364/A, 30124 Venice Tel. +39 041 5218857 / 859 / 861
Fax +39 041 5218815
E-mail ufficiostampa@labiennale.org

HEAD OF PRESS OFFICE Paolo Lughi

Cinema Department

CINEMA PRESS OFFICE
Ca’ Giustinian, San Marco 1364/A, 30124 Venice Tel. +39 041 2726656 – 550
Fax +39 041 5218815
E-mail foreignpress@labiennale.org

HEAD OF PRESS OFFICE Paolo Lughi
Tel. +39 041 5218857
Fax +39 041 5218815

FOREIGN PRESS ACCREDITATION Tel. +39 041 5218852 – 726
Fax +39 041 5218815
E–mail foreignpress@labiennale.org

Be sure to follow us on twitter and FB for the latest Berlin Film Festival 2015 news and happenings! Contact us for a quote on our services for your investors.

FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services. Contact Us

Why Professional Financial Documentation is Critical to Obtain Film Finance

Why Professional Financial Documentation is Critical to Obtain Film Finance | FilmBudget.com Worldwide | Film Budget Inc.

film budget movie production

FilmBudget.com – Provider to Hollywood of Film Budgeting Services

As a film financier, producer, line producer & DGA Unit Production Manager based upon my experience it is critical to have the very best in professional film financing documentation for your movie funding goals. Investors are scrupulous and intelligent as ever before and we are fighting against the fact of a challenging, alternative investment. The key question of “how to obtain film finance” must be addressed by every filmmaker.

Wealthy Investors Read Documents

Wealthy investors are very accustomed to reading extremely detailed and precise financial documentation. They are pitched continuously and understand a quality presentation from one lacking in the important details.

Business proposals are very solid, professional documents. Think real estate, start-ups, manufacturing, etc. Financiers generally have people to review and evaluate proposals. That is their trade, investing in smart endeavors which will make them money. That is what investors do, make money. They want and need to see that a proposal can demonstrate the viability of the project and a thorough understanding of the business fundamentals behind it.

Producer Jack Binder movie posters and artwork

Produced by Jack Binder | Film Budget Inc. & Greentrees Films

Film Proposals Take Many Forms

I see film proposals everyday. Many do not convey the proposition correctly or can be incomplete. Perhaps some elements are interesting, the screenplay, the talent proposed, a source of potential funding, etc., but for a large part they have something in common – they can tend to lack professionalism of the real financial world.

Why? The film business is complicated and success is not easily quantifiable. Some in the film business do not fully understand the business. For example, a filmmaker may think they are in the “great screenplay” business. If I just get a “great” screenplay, nothing else matters!

Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, a great screenplay is a basic foundation of the creation of a viable film, movie or tv series, but their is much more to the equation.

Likewise, they will have a dream cast list and pictures showing who they think they will get to star in their film production. Nicely packaged graphics, photos and subtitles, elaborating on the virtues of the actor or that actor. Yes, cast is extremely important, but it is not the only factor to be determinative of a movie’s success.

Why Is It So Important to Have Professional Film Finance Documents for Investors?

Ah, now we are asking the important question. Some investors can be swept away in the dream of the motion picture industry, Hollywood, movie stars, romantic locations and the glamour of the show. Some. As I have often said, and remains true, the stupid money left the room on 2008, if not sooner.

Film investment took on a new format following the crash of Wall Street amidst the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the resulting credit crunch on the world financial system. First off, at the time one of the biggest sources of private equity for the independent film sector, and the Major Hollywood Studios off-balance sheet financing, was Hedge Funds. Well, these instruments of cash accumulation were hit very hard and you could hear the sound of hedge fund money being sucked off the streets of Sunset Boulevard and beyond throughout the entertainment industry.

What Do Investors Need Then to Invest In My Movie?

Even better question. Due to the above, the evaporation of capital and combined with the word-on-the-street reputation of film investment entailing a good amount of risk. Filmmakers often put together the most urgent paperwork required to get their film into production, the financials. They google, ask a friend, hire an editor to put together some nice graphics and video, etc.(or do it themselves) but they tend not to grasp the simple fact: Investors invest in a Finance Plan. Not your dream nor your lovely presentation of your dream.

What Do Film Financiers Need?

Standard materials for a sophisticated film financier, investor, producer, executive producer, studio executive, independent production company partner or development manager to evaluate a production for investment include:

  1. A professional film budget (or tv budget & tv series budget) created by an experienced film and television line producer or production manager, and
  2. A professional film finance plan, created by a veteran producer, attorney or consultant with extensive experience in the value chain and route to market for a film or tv product.

These are the two basic documents which will determine whether your dream movie idea gets made or not. The rest is nice, fun, interesting and great that you spent hours and hours of time and money upon, but they generally will not be the determinative factor in the decision for the savvy investor.

What is So Important About the Film Budget?

The film budget (or tv budget, tv series budget) is the roadmap to how an investors money will be spent. Created by and industry veteran, experienced professional with substantial track record, the film budgeting is the critical factor in determining the cost of the film production and where the money will go. (There is a wealth of description of the film budget on the main page and accompanying pages of  FilmBudget.com  

Why Does a Filmmaker Need a Film Finance Plan?

The Film Finance Plan is at the mercy of the film budget. For one, nothing can make sense to an investor, bank, lender, film tax credit or film tax incentives government official without the movie budget that explains the expenditure of the funding; how it is spent, when it is spent and for whom and for what it is spent upon.

A quality film finance plan details the sources of potential funding, how and when it enters the filmmakers working environment, and how it gets out. The most important question a financier wants to know is: how do I get my money back. The second most important question is: When. The finance plans answers these questions in great detail. From the investment finance sources, to the quality of the product under consideration (the bells and whistles and dream concepts) to the detailed route-to-market, marketing plan, distribution plan, projected revenue, evidence upon the projections, collateral, debt, bank and other lending institutions involved, film tax credits and production incentives. All of these factors go into the determination for the investor if this product is a worthy investment for their sacred money, with the understanding, the first rule of investing is – Don’t Lose Money.

FilmBudget.com is the International Leader in Worldwide Film Budgeting & Scheduling, Film Finance Plan and Film Tax Credits Services. Founded by veteran Major Hollywood Studio & Independent Film Producer Jack Binder whose credits include: ‘First Reformed’ (Ethan Hawke), Reign Over Me (Adam Sandler), The Upside of Anger (Kevin Costner), Man About Town (Ben Affleck), Londinium (Colin Firth), The Search for John Gissing (Alan Rickman) and many others.

Contact Jack here for a free consultation and custom quotation on film budgeting, film finance plan and consulting package services.