The Independent Filmmaker's Guide to Writing a Business Plan for Investors by Gabriel Campisi

Author:Gabriel Campisi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McFarland
Published: 2018-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

Donald Kushner

A: The chances of seeing smaller movies in theaters is getting more difficult. The market for smaller movies is now on Video-On-Demand and Netflix, or even on YouTube.

Q: You have made films with varying budgets, and they range from film project to film project. How important is financing in general and how does it contribute to the success of your motion pictures, no matter how small or large the budget?

A: Usually we fit the budget of the films to relate to the financing available.

Q: In other words, you could have a very well-made and successful low-budget movie versus a terribly-made high-budget bomb. It’s not always just about the money, is it?

A: No, it’s not always about money. It is about the story, the script, heart and compassion. Many stars have worked for me for just above scale. Renee Zellweger, Charlize Theron, Keanu Reeves, Elizabeth Taylor, Sharon Stone to name a few.

Q: When working with potential investors, buyers, executives or other players, how important is it for you or the production company to have a clear and concise plan of action in place for what you propose to do?

A: I need to know who the audience of the film will be. I also need to evaluate what a film is worth foreign and which domestic distributors would be interested in it. It may be easier now to sell a tent-pole big-budget picture, because that is what the studios are interested in.

Q: Does the success of your prior movies create leverage when working on getting a new movie into production?

A: No, unless you are one of the few star producers, you have to reinvent yourself every day.

Q: We all learn from experience, good or bad. Do you have any interesting stories or anecdotes you can give to readers and aspiring filmmakers, some incident or situation that you will forever remember because of what it taught you in this very fast-paced industry?

A: Be smart, persistent and never give up. Most of all, choose good material and scripts. Keep a keen sense of who the audience is for the picture so you can gage the distributors’ reaction to the script.

Q: How valuable and important do you think it is for aspiring filmmakers to know the business side of motion picture production?

A: It is very important to know who you are selling to. The director has to not only sell the film to the audience, but to actors and studio executives as well.

Q: How different or how similar were the productions of the movies Tron in 1982, and Tron: Legacy in 2010?

A: I think Tron: Legacy had all the resources and tools to make a great movie. In the original Tron, we had to invent the techniques and the environments as we went along. We were pioneers. Though the electronic world was spectacular in Tron: Legacy, it was very derivative of the first film. There were still light cycles, discs being thrown on the game grid and characters that have alter egos in the real world.

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