Why Invest in a Movie?

by James Jaeger

A movie is the best investment one can make for the up-side potential vs. the risk. They’re better than real estate, blue chip stocks, gold, silver, precious stones, income-producing rental properties, futures, treasuries, international currencies . . . better than anything, with the possible exception of investing in your own education and spiritual enlightenment.

There simply is no business with manufacturing capital entry requirements as low as motion pictures where the potential return can be as unlimited over the short, medium and long terms. For instance, a movie such as HALLOWEEN, costing as little as $320,000 to produce, earned $75,000,000 and it does not stop earning money – for a lifetime. RETURN OF THE SECACUS 7 cost only $60,000 and grossed $2,500,000. BENJI cost $550,000 and grossed $45,000,000; NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD cost $114,000 and grossed $40,000,000, GRIZZLY cost $700,000 and grossed $31,000,000, DAWN OF THE DEAD cost $700,000 and grossed $55,000,000 and BLAIR WITCH PROJECT costs $5,000 and grossed over $150,000,000. And just when we thought nothing could top BLAIR WITCH, along comes MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING which was produced for about $1.5 million as an independent film (turned down by all the studios for financing I might add) and it has so far generated over $200,000,000 and it hasn’t even hit home video or foreign yet. There are thousands of other examples where the return was at least three times anything done by securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ.

5 Tips To Help You Become A Film Producer

EZINE

Here are the 5 important skills one needs to develop to become a successful film producer:

The first and fore most important skill you need is organization. If you were the kid who kept the minutes of the club meetings, edited the yearbook, or organized the prop-closet by era, you already have this skill. It is something that is very difficult and hard to teach, but you can certainly learn it, to become more organized.

If you are the person who can’t find his or her keys and has no idea how much is in your checking account, you need help. Get organized. There is simply no proxy for it.

Read books like “How to Get Organized When You Don’t Have The Time,” by Stephanie Culp and many more books available on Amazon. You get, at least, some idea about it. Or do whatever you have to do, but just get organized.

The second important skill you need is ability to make decisions quickly. Despite the best planning, things change moment-to-moment during film production. You will have to decide right on the spot whether to set up the next shot despite the looming storm clouds, or to move on to another location, completely distracting the schedule. Whatever but you will have to take right decision at right time.

One of the best ways to develop this skill is to completely bury your doubt. Know that you are the boss, and any mistakes to be made are yours to make and you will suffer the consequences of wrong decisions. If you act decisively, and accept responsibility when necessary, your team will accept your decisions unquestioningly.

Be a good negotiator. This is the third important skill you need to develop. You will have to make deals for every single thing on the set or on location – the equipment, the set properties, the crew, the film stock, everything. Everything will have to be negotiated. When negotiating rates, you can easily save 15 percent or so off what you expected to pay for almost anything in any branch of filmmaking.

There is one important thing you need to know when negotiating: You can always say no. If you can’t get the deal you want, simply say no. Practice it. No. Just make it clear that you will take your offer elsewhere.

Want to Become a TV or Film Producer?

Better Learn the Art of Making a Deal

EMORY.EDU

“There are a gazillion great ideas out there, but it comes down to who you can get to buy into your product,” says Tracey Baker-Simmons, the co-owner of Atlanta-based B2 Entertainment Studios, LLC who has produced such shows as “Being Bobby Brown.” “This is business and you have to consider to whom you’re pitching your idea, which audience they attract and who you can get attached to your project to make it more viable.”

Baker-Simmons, for example, was able to get Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston to agree to a show about their lives. While the show took only a little over three months to film, crafting a deal took twice as long.

The deal, Baker-Simmons explains, is the business behind the glamour and it’s the hard work and detail that can make or break a TV show or film before it ever comes to light on the screen. Art aside, Baker-Simmons stresses, “this industry is 80% business and 20% creative.”

According to Baker-Simmons, the business acumen stretches beyond creative projects, and begins with selecting a professional team, which includes an agent, attorney, etc, with years of experience who embrace her company’s vision. We spent a lot of time interviewing for our professional team and we checked references,” she explains. “We also made a decision to select a team that had a presence in Los Angeles and New York because those cities are essential in the industry and having representation there makes a big difference.”

As for the creative aspect, Baker-Simmons says an idea is merely the starting point. “The first thing networks and studios consider is how a project will fit into their network, film or theater.”

Therefore it’s vital that would-be producers thoroughly research a potential client to whom they will pitch their idea. Why? “Because the buyer needs to satisfy his or her client, such as advertisers, and make money,” she says.