Financing

You've seen plenty of film sets fall apart over handshake deals gone wrong. Contracts might be boring, but they're what keep your project from imploding when things get messy. And they always get messy when money and deadlines collide! As you may be aware, good contracts save productions. However, bad ones kill them. We’ve seen million-dollar projects collapse because someone thought a text message was enough to secure rights. Spend the time upfront or pay for it later, usually in court!...

This past October, I had the pleasure of attending Iberseries Platino Industria (IPI) in Madrid, a yearly film & television market, organized by EGEDA & Secuoya Studios, where the Spanish and Latin American audiovisual industries come together to collaborate and shape the future of content creation in Spanish, international co-production, and local production incentives. Over the years, in my capacities as consultant for Freeway Entertainment, owner of Zannoni Media, delegate of CANACINE Quin...

Happy Holidays, Creative Army! On behalf of the entire Stage 32 family, I want to wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy, and peaceful Christmas and the remainder of the holiday season. The holidays are often filled with celebration, but they’re also a moment to pause, reflect, and take stock of the journey we’ve all been on together. No matter where you are in the world or where you are in your creative career, I hope you’re able to take a breath, feel proud of how far you’ve co...

Welcome back to TALKING BUSINESS: Insights from the Independent Film Industry, hosted by Stage 32 Certification International Liaison, Thought Leader, and Business Consultant David Zannoni of Freeway Entertainment and Zannoni Media. If you joined us for Part 1 of this conversation, you already understand how critical a properly structured financing plan is to the survival of an independent film. In Part 2, we pick up exactly where that conversation left off and move into the real-world executi...

Happy Tuesday, Creative Army! There are moments in this journey where you pause, take a breath, and truly feel the weight and meaning of the work you’re doing. Seeing Stage 32 Certification spotlighted by IndieWire is absolutely one of those moments for me. This feature is especially meaningful because it represents a partnership I’ve had the privilege of helping bring to life, and it highlights exactly why we built Stage 32 Certification in the first place, to create real, tangible opportun...

I'll spare you the 394th Warner Bros. acquisition digest. I'm sure you've heard enough expert opinions. Instead, I want to take an optimistic view of the business and talk about what can really affect your day-to-day as an independent producer, creator, writer or content maker. While big conglomerates play Russian dolls with M&As, we're seeing smaller platforms targeting audience niches…and that's what excites me. With Tubi exceeding 100 million monthly active users and Angel Studios surpassin...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! Stage 32 Managing Director Amanda Toney and I had the honor of representing Stage 32 at the 43rd Torino Film Festival and Torino Film Industry in Torino, Italy. And let me tell you: Italy is not just open for business, they are hungry to create more opportunities for filmmakers around the world — and Stage 32 is right in the center of it. How This All Started This relationship began months ago at our Stage 32 Film Commission VIP event in Cannes. What started as...

I believe in growth on both a personal and professional level. Next-level greatness is only accessible if we know how to do a regular check-in ourselves and take inventory of where and how our energy is spent. As Aristotle has said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act but a habit." Career longevity of 30 years brings gifts. I have applied myself on many levels, from branding to marketing, to selling to learning how to finance, network, create marketing materials, and be aut...

Happy Friday, Stage 32 Community! The day after Thanksgiving always feels like a quiet crossroads. The world slows down just enough for us to hear ourselves think. And in that quiet, I’ve been reflecting on something powerful that came up during this past week’s November Community Open House (if you missed it, click here and watch for free on demand), a moment that, to me, gets to the heart of what Stage 32 is really about. A new member asked me, very honestly, whether this platform was the...

Happy Tuesday, Creative Army! It’s that time of year again — the time when the business of film truly comes to life. Today marks the start of the 2025 American Film Market (AFM), and I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate what this event represents — not just for filmmakers, screenwriters, and producers around the world, but for Stage 32 as a community. This year is extra special for us because it marks Stage 32’s 10th year as the official Education Partner of AFM. That’s a decade of empo...