Financing

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. First up, in this video essay by Frame Voyager, he’s talking about the new Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. Based on Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!, the film chronicles Bob Dylan's rise from a folk music phenomenon to the seismic moment at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where his shif...

On behalf of the entire Stage 32 family, I'd like to wish you all a happy, healthy, and loving Christmas and the remainder of the holiday season. While the holidays are a time of celebration, I hope everyone will take a moment to reflect on the many blessings life has offered and afforded all of us. We personally feel blessed to have had so many of you enter and enrich our lives. The Stage 32 community has grown to over 1,000,000 members from around the globe, and we are beyond honored to prov...

We’ve all heard the stories. Paranormal Activity, a film with a budget slightly less than a used Honda, made $193 million worldwide and launched a profitable franchise. That film’s progenitor, The Blair Witch Project, had a $60K budget and turned out a $250 million box office haul. The most profitable films from 2010 to 2015 were all horror films. 10. The Last Exorcism ($68M gross vs. $1.8M production budget) 9. Annabelle ($257M vs. $6.5M) 8. Chernobyl Diaries ($37M vs. $1M) 7. Ins...

Today, I had an inspiring conversation with a talented writer who is passionately navigating the journey from script to screen. Over the past few years, she has shown remarkable dedication, and as a consultant, I've been fortunate to witness her progress. Yet, the reality of filmmaking is that it truly takes a village to bring a project to life. Depending on the size and scope of the project, various roadmaps can lead you to that coveted finish line: a completed film. My Journey Into Film Fina...

I know it’s thrilling when you’re in the midst of creating something. However, many put off working with publicity, even for consultation, because many think it’s going to be really expensive. To be sure, a full-scale publicity campaign can get quite expensive—depending on several factors. However, consulting with publicity in a limited capacity can be a smart investment to help you figure out your specific publicity strategy without making a total commitment until you’re ready. Which in the lon...

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! I hope that the last month has been joyful and productive for you all! Our Stage 32 Education Team has certainly been hard at work to bring incredible education opportunities and resources to this fantastic community. This September, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, award-winning writers, producers, directors, cinematographers, actors, consultants, assistant directors, authors, distributors, financiers, and representa...

Animation is one of the few genres that has continued since the 2020 pandemic in a relatively unharmed way. The fact that animation can to a large extent be produced entirely remotely, put it in the spotlight of the film and television production community when the world came to a halt during the first months of the pandemic. The ability to produce animation remotely, in combination with the availability of cross-border high-quality animation and talent, production incentives, and lower costs,...

Something I observe frequently is how often overlooked soft equity is in the finance plan. Counterintuitive, right? Why counterintuitive? In understanding film finance as a filmmaker and a producer, it can be explained relatively easily as this; soft equity is anything that doesn’t carry an obligation to be repaid or have the expectation of a recoupment attached. Hence I both preach and practice to seek out as many sources of soft financing as possible. Outside of tax credits or rebates (o...

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! I hope that the last month has been joyful and productive for you all! Our Stage 32 Education Team has certainly been hard at work to bring incredible education opportunities and resources to this fantastic community. This August, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, award-winning screenwriters, producers, directors, cinematographers, actors, consultants, authors, script coordinators, attorneys, financiers, and representa...

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! I hope that the last month has been joyful and productive for you all! Our Stage 32 Education Team has certainly been hard at work to bring incredible education opportunities and resources to this fantastic community. This July, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, award-winning screenwriters, producers, directors, showrunners, actors, consultants, dialect/voice coaches, authors, script coordinators, VFX artists, attorney...