List of Sundance Film Festival 2019 Distribution Acquisitions Deals as they occur.
This week kicks off an active acquisition spree of indie films by distributors. The pace of Sundance Film Festival acquisitions has been steady with majority of top selling titles going for eight digits.
‘Where’s My Roy Cohn’ acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for mulitple territories, directed by journalist Matt Tyrnaeur adding to growing list of Sundance Film Festival distribution acquisition deals.
AFM is The American Film Market. With over 400 distributors, 1,000 production companies, and 8,000 industry professionals, it’s no surprise the American Film Market is the place to be come November. What makes this event so special? Unlike the numerous film festivals throughout the year, the AFM’s sole purpose is to offer seven days of world-class networking opportunities. And to add to that the AFM takes place in beautiful Santa Monica, CA overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the beautiful beaches of Southern California.
AFM Holds Valuable Film Industry Seminars & Conferences
Update: Security to be Tightened at AFM
Security will be tightened at AFM this year. Organizers have announced the Loews Hotel lobby will be accessible only to participants with credentials, expanding on the previous policy of closing access to the pool area. The main goal is to make the lobby of the central facility of the market more of a hub of activity for credentialed industry members, enabling those professionals to avoid the unsolicited approaches and nature of conduct in past years.
When Is AFM?
When: Early November
Where: Santa Monica, CA (Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel & all 21 screens on Santa Monica Promenade)
Inside the Halls of the AFM
Online Registration: According to the official AFM website, passes fall within six different prices. On the low-end of the spectrum you have the Day Pass, which will cost you $275. On the high-end you can opt to pay $1,495 for the platinum “all-access” pass. According to the chart, the Executive Pass is the best value at $1,095. Make sure you head to the website in the next week, as the online registration window closes November 2nd.
On-site Registration: On-site registration will be available for all packages, though they will cost you on average $50 more than the online registration.
Badges & Prices – Full details on badges, packages and conference pass can be found Here
Reminder: Online Registration Closes Oct 26, 6:00 PM PDT “October 29th is the deadline to submit badge photos in advance. After this date photos must be taken on-site. Materials to be received at off-site warehouse to guarantee delivery to AFM offices prior to check-in.
Information for Buyers: Buyer accreditation has closed. Click here for more information.
Conference Series:
Another aspect of the AFM that makes it so special is its incredible conference series. Whether you’re an industry professional or not, you’ll want to attend at least one of these insightful events. Below are just a few of the ten separate sessions: Finance Conference, Marketing Conference. .
AFM Campus:
For a great, interactive map of the AFM campus click the image below.
Is AFM a Good Networking Opportunity?
Remember, this is “non-stop” networking with real film industry insiders. Whether you’re trying to sell your film or gain finance for a new project, AFM is where you want to be. Finally, if you need a finance and camera ready film budget and schedule package contact www.FilmBudget.com the international leader in worldwide film budget production services.
FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services.
Be sure to follow us on twitter and FB for the latest AFM 2018 News, Conferences and Seminars. Contact us for a quote on our services for your investors.
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.
ContactFilmBudget.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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
FilmBudget.com is the international leader in worldwide film & TV budget and schedule production services. Contact Us
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.
“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.”
via : Perfect Storm Entertainment
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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.
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
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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.
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.
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.
‘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).
‘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.
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.
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.
Jack Binder is an American Major Hollywood Studio & Independent film & television producer (Producer, Executive Producer, Line Producer & Directors Guild of America DGA-UPM) with a career spanning over 25 years.
Jack is currently Producing & financing ‘First Reformed’ starring Ethan Hawke & Amanda Seyfried for Writer/Director Paul Schrader with Omeira Studio Partners Ltd.
Producer Credits
