INVESTING SERIES - #1 Financing Movies

At the start of this blog, I mentioned I would cover a variety of topics including screenwriting, producing and investing. This is the first in a series of topics on financing and investing in movies.

The Gist
Filmmaking is only made possible by those that invest in it. As a filmmaker, I can tell you, I'm really in the fundraising business. Investing in film can be fun and exciting, profitable, and simple...not always easy. There are so many ways to structure a project or package that it could make your head spin. I'll keep this pretty simple to start with.

Investing in film can be just like investing in any other product, security, commodity, or private investment. There are rules involved with those that want to invest. So, you can't just start asking everyone out there to invest in your film. Since there are rules and regulations, you need to consult an attorney (preferrably an ENTERTAINMENT attorney). A good Attorney will make your life a lot easier by helping you set up all of the forms (see PPM) needed to register your investment. The following are a (short) list of the essentials in any investor packet:

PPM
What is it? PPM stands for Private Placement Memorandum and it will be your friend when you are talking with potential investors.

Business Plan or Prospectus
The Business Plan is just as important as the PPM to help get your investors. Fact is, the PPM has all of the legal mumbo jumbo, while the Biz Plan has all the glitz and glam of a marketing slick. That's the intent. You want them to want to invest in you and your film....so you add all the frills such as the projections of the film, comparables of other films like yours, your marketing strategy, and a cashflow projection (how you'll spend their money).

There is a lot more involved in this, but I won't go into it just yet. Check back soon for the next post.