day of principal photography along with the five per cent of the producer's
profits as the film starts to recoup.
While development is the most essential money for a movie, it is also the most
difficult to raise. Financiers, be they private or industry, consider this money to
be the highest risk, and therefore the least attractive from an investment
point of view. From a practical level, the more time (and therefore money)
that can be put into a film before financing is sought, the better the chance
of finance, be it development or production. And the further you can carry
the project along without resorting to outside finance, the greater your profit
share will be when the film finally comes into a revenue stream.
Sources of development finance
1. Film industry money
Many film production companies have their own in-house development
departments, which work on script evaluation and rewrites. The money used
to fund these ventures can come from a variety of sources, including private
investment, share offerings, European government money and profit from
previous projects.
Hint: Get a production company interested in your project. This will usually be
triggered by a certain actor attached to your project, or because you have
already secured a distribution deal in one or more countries allowing the
production company to see a potential recoup.
2. Housekeeping deal
Sometimes a major distributor or production company will really believe in
your ability to find the next hot project. They will offer you money to pay for
your time, office expenses and writer's fees. In return, they get a first-look or
right of first refusal on anything you develop. If they pass on the deal, they will
then expect to get the cost of developing that project, plus 50% profit from
whomever you eventually sell the project to.
3. Distribution Companies
Distributors may read your script and agree to pay for a number of rewrites in
order to turn it into a more marketable commodity for their market. When the
film is finished, they will take back this money with an agreed profit.
4. Government finance (if you're based in the UK)
The British Film Institute is known for believing in writers and creative
producers. They finance a wide range of scripts and production slates. Details
of their application requirements, and their compensation expectations are
at their website.
BFI development funding is available for all stages of Development up to preproduction. The fund will consider funding the following costs:
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