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I am a starting producer and I just optioned my first feature script and need a great deal of guidance. The budget is about a million dollars. Raising money wholly from private investors is not a realistic option in this case. I know that there is no straight or guaranteed path in rasing money but it is a great script/comedy and any guidance (as far the best way to proceed, best place to go to find financing, best way to attach a name, names of actual production companies/distributors that r known for being open to small projects such as this) would be greatly appreciated.

Also how can I find out how bankable an actor is? What their true quote # is? and what kind of a gross# the final finished film can bring in? ( the way a distributor would evaluate a project).
Thank you very much

2006-11-16 04:16:53 · 3 answers · asked by j j 1 in Entertainment & Music Movies

3 answers

Realistically, if you are a first time producer with no guaranteed financing, you will not get known 'above the line' talent to commit to your project.

You may have to start small and work your way up.

Start by offering a name actor/actress a small fee, say $5-10K for one to two days of filming. Use that period to shoot a short trailer for the film (5-15 minutes depending on the nature of the film and how much footage you can shoot in the limited time that you have) that you can then use to show to potential investors. You can tell them that the person in the trailer has commited to the project (whether he has or not) and that you are just waiting on the financing to be completed.

You may also wish to pay the talent to come with you when you meet with investors. Paying an actor $1000 to sit down for a one hour lunch would be well worth it if he could help convince a would be investor to part with $50,000.00 during that meeting.

Obviously this will require some upfront money but the amount should be small enough that you can borrow it from relatives or finance it with credit cards. (Though the former is exponentially preferable to the latter.)

When you meet with investors, do not tell them that the project has no money behind it and that you need a million dollars. Rather, tell them that you already have 75% of the necessary finances from large investors and that you are just looking to cover some final expenses so you are opening the project up to smaller investors who would be willing to contribute several thousand dollars. Of course, you will inform them, the more they invest, the greater their return would be...As you get collect commitment letters bring them to your meetings so you can show potential investors a sample of the 'many' people who are on board with the project. The more confident people are that the project is real and not a scam, the more likely they will be to give you money.

The other way to raise funds is to sell credits. Guarantee investors that they will receive a Producer or Executive Producer credit if they hand over the desired amount. Let them know, if they don't already that the credit will be their foot in the door to the lucrative world of Hollywood. .

The one major advantage that LA offers to filmmakers is that there a lot of wealthy (or well off) people who would love to be involved in the film industry. There are also a lot of wealthy people loking for the kind of tax dodge that investing in a movie can offer. Take some time to learn about finance and investing so that you can talk with investors about the actual monetary benefits they will receive if they commit money to your film. Additionally, you would be well advised to befriend anyone who works in the credit dept. of an auto dealership or mortgage company. These are people who secure large loans on a daily basis and the financial contacts that they have can be invaluable to you.

You may find a production company that would be willing to by the script from you but if so, that will likely be the end of your participation in the project. Unless the script is brilliant beyond all imagination, it is highly unlikely that they will give you money and let you make the movie as the risk/reward ration would not be in their favor.

If you are looking for contact information, go to LA411.com. This is essentially the Yellow Pages for the industry and will provide you with a lot of useful information.

I wish you good luck!

2006-11-16 05:35:42 · answer #1 · answered by Mr. Irony 3 · 0 0

Wouldn't we all like to know the answer to this??

Even established producers are having a hard time with distributing small budgeted films these days.

I recommend imdbpro to find out how bankable an actor is - but you will be hard pressed to find a very bankable actor for the budget you mentioned.

I would talk to other producers and some production companies who might have some money behind them to help you out. Also, an additional producer's contacts might be very helpful to you.

Good luck! It's not always an easy path, but I hope you find success!

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2016-11-29 04:55:19 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0 0

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