It blows me away every time someone emails us with something like, "I have an awesome script and need $1M in funding."
Can you believe with ALL the free information out there about film financing, there are still potential filmmakers who think this is what they should do? You might as well email with "I am really lazy and have no intention of ever making my film. Would you hand me $1M?"
Saying “I have a script about XYZ and need $1M to make my film” is exactly like saying “I made this awesome pasta dish in my home kitchen and need $1M to open my restaurant”
Being a great chef and being a great restaurant manager are two entirely different skill sets. Can one person be both? Of course. Can you have a successful restaurant without both? No. Would YOU give your money to someone because they made you a great dinner? (We hope not!)
A great chef alone is not enough to get investors. You must have a plan for how you are going build, run and maintain the restaurant. Physical build, marketing, branding, ordering, publicizing, systems, staff and on and on. Since those things are where the money is going, those things are the investment.
A script is not a budget or a business plan. A script is not an investment, unless you are optioning it to a studio. If you are looking for film financing, then you want to focus on your film production, which is your business.
Once you create a
business in which to invest, you'll be amazed at the amount of funding you can raise. If it's a good business, with strong management, concept and an execution plan, people will invest in it. When you get clear on what you need the money for, it almost comes naturally. If you have a great script in your hands today, how will you turn it into a
business?
