Make Your Movie

Chapter 9

The Money, Part 1

WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?

You have a script, a director, and a producer, or you have a script and you are the director or producer. Where will the money come from to make your movie?

Let’s look at a simplified description of how the big boys do it. Studios and major production companies are publicly held corporations. They sell stock, they have shareholders, they have operating funds, and they often have revolving lines of credit from investment banks. These are loans that can be repaid continually, then reborrowed. They produce and distribute slates of several films per year. The idea of producing a slate of films rather than just one or two is that the odds are with them. If one film sinks, another may soar. ...