Deck 4: Movie Financing

Question 1

Why is film an expensive art form?

Answer 1

Development, production, and distribution of commercial motion pictures requires significant amounts of capital

Question 2

Why is financing multiple films less risky than financing a single film?

Answer 2

Of multiple films, 1 or more may earn profits. With 1 film, there's only 1 chance

Question 3

Do studios generally finance 1 film, or a slate of films?

Answer 3

Studios finance a slate of films

Question 4

Describe coproduction financing.

Question 5

What is equity financing?

Question 6

What is the SEC's Reg CF and how does it relate to Crowdfunding?

Question 7

Why are studios the first stop for agents, writers, directors and producers?

Question 8

What is an advantage that independent producers have over studios?

Question 9

The major studios are now divisions of larger publicly traded parent companies, so these are possible funding sources

A) Internally generated from the film division's cash flow
B) Movies are funded by the parent company
C) Crowdfunding
D) Capital can be raised in the private equity markets

Question 10

Soft money is

A) Any source of financing that does not have to be repaid
B) A negative pickup
C) Grants
D) Production incentives

Question 11

Other sources of film financing could be:

A) Product Placement
B) Music recording rights advances
C) Services deals
D) Robbing banks

Question 12

Independent producers finance films 1 at a time using:

A) Funding from a distributor
B) Bank loans
C) Equity investors
D) Subsidy funding (soft money, production incentives)
E) Or some combination

Question 13

In film finance, the green-light means

A) Funding go-ahead
B) Shoot faster
C) The director is green and has never made a movie before
D) The film budget is too high

Question 14

Film financing is risky.

Question 15

Studio financing is usually picture financing.

Question 16

Independent producers use picture financing.

Question 17

Studios are divisions of large media companies, using funding by their parent companies and have many sources of financing available to them.

Question 18

A PFD is when a distributor finances full development, production and owns the film.

Question 19

A producer may try to negotiate for "turnaround" rights to a film if the distributor. doesn't complete it.

Question 20

Celebrities never use crowdfunding to finance their movies.

Question 21

Limited Partnership and Limited Liability Company are never used to raise picture financing.

Question 22

Presales are when a producer develops a project, and "presells" or "prelicenses" the distribution rights to create collateral for a loan to fund production.

Question 23

Describe why financing film as a product is so inherently risky.