Finding Film Production Money Outside the Studio System

As the studio system shrinks and the studios have less and less money for film production  — Sony stopped buying in October — more and more people are going outside the studio system to find investors and they are having success with this strategy!

For example, I just read a great article in the November 16th Wall Street Journal by Lauren A. E. Schuker about Sarah Siegel-Magness and her husband Gary Magness, a pair of novice film investors who put up roughly $12 million to finance PRECIOUS directed by Lee Daniels.

It is a dark movie about an overweight African-American teenager dealing with incest.  No studio was going to touch this movie with a 10-foot pole.  Yet the producers cold called Sarah Magness, who runs her own clothing company, and convinced her to invest in director Lee Daniels (who produced MONSTERS BALL and earned an Oscar for Halle Berry).

Now with Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey promoting the story there are projections that the film could make $25million or $50 million.  That is a huge return! (You can read the article at http://bit.ly/4AvdYh)

There are countless examples like this.  In fact, another top-grossing film that is out right now did more than $50 million on a very small production budget. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY was made for $11,000 and grossed over $61 million in 31 days!

These successes just go to show you that you don’t need to wait around to get your movie made.  You can go out and find the money to make your film now!

P.S. If you want to hear more about independent film financing, come hear me speak at Ascent-Hollywood this Wednesday, November 18th, at 6 p.m. FilmIndustryBloggers.com members get a discount!  Register at http://nov09-ascent-hollywood.eventbrite.com now to reserve your space and pay at the door where you’ll get your discount off the $15 fee.