Financing

HOW COULD CHRIS DODD’S BANKING BILL AFFECT YOUR FILM START-UP?

At his blog A VC, Fred Wilson examines a few provisions of the banking reform bill currently being debated in Congress and highlights a couple of provisions that could affect filmmakers. From his blog: 1) Changing the definition of a “qualified investor” in angel and venture deals. Not just anyone can invest in a startup company. You have to be a qualified investor. A qualified investor is currently defined as anyone with a net worth of over $1mm or net income of over $250k. Dodd’s bill would increase that to $2.3mm and $450k respectively. And then index those numbers to […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 26, 2010
SMALL SCREEN WOES

The Wall Street Journal has a piece up by John Jurgensen about declining budgets in the music video industry, a development that has something to do with both music business economics as well as new modes of viewing and distribution. From the article: But music executives also say the big video budgets of the 1990s are generally unnecessary, now that videos are most often watched on small screens like laptops and video iPods. Reality TV programming and the success of amateur “viral” videos that viewers watch and email to friends have changed the expectations of young viewers, says Monte Lipman, […]
by Scott Macaulay on Apr 23, 2006
FRIENDS IN NEED

The Association of Independent Film and Videomakers is one of the country’s oldest media arts groups as well as publisher of The Independent. It recently announced a reinvention due to a financial crisis and is calling on members and supporters in the indie community to help. Click on the links above and let the organization itself tell you how they are reorganizing and how you can aid them in this pressing time of need, or listen to filmmakers like Paul Harrill, who, on his blog, spells out the reasons why he’s sending them $100 and is urging you to do […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 21, 2006
A FIVE SPOT DON’T COME FOR FREE

Tne NYC production community, which, for the purposes of pitching projects and raising money, has gotten used to automatically knocking off 15% from its production budgets may have to revise its spreadsheet calculators. Articles in The New York Times and Gothamist both reference an upsetting development: the New York City tax credit program for film has been a victim of its own success. The $50 million allocated by the legislature for four years of the program has run out in only 13 months and, for now, producers aren’t guaranteed it will be renewed. (It is due to come up for […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 15, 2006
EARTHSHAKER

Chris Gardner in Variety reports today that producer Michael London has launched a new financing and production company, Groundswell Productions. Starting with a capitalization of $55 million, the company plans to raise a total of $100 million and produce five films a year with budgets under $20 million. From the piece: “Groundswell’s business strategy will be a mix of foreign pre-sales for projects with established stars or pure equity investments in filmmaker-driven projects. The company’s slate will mix films from established directors and emerging talent alongside comedies and genre films. London said with Groundswell he will be looking for projects […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 17, 2006
THE BASEMENT TAPES

Jake Brooks provides the first media coverage of the IFP’s Producer’s Group, a gathering of some 50+ Gotham producers gathered last year to discuss the high costs of indie shooting in New York. With IATSE hiking pension and welfare benefits to over $100 per day per IA crew member, a group of producers, spearheaded by Jason Kliot, Joana Vicente, and Gretchen McGowan of Open City and HDNet and including such folks as John Penotti and Tim Williams of GreeneStreet, Ted Hope and Anthony Bregman of This is That, and John Sloss of Cinetic Media, met to discuss ways in which […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 16, 2005

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