43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

Each year, thousands of potential filmmakers ask, "How can I finance a feature film?" Yet, until this unprecedented new book by John W. Cones, there has been no comprehensive answer to the question. Writing in a clear, informative style, Cones outlines and explains the numerous and diverse forms of financing available to independent film producers. As an objective adviser, he refrains from advocating one form of financing over another, choosing instead to provide specific, concise information regarding the many possible financing strategies.
Cones groups his forty-three methods of film financing into four major areas: industry financing, lender financing, investor financing, and foreign financing. In each of the forty-three chapters, he focuses on one kind of film finance, summarizing its financing vehicle, entity, and technique or transaction and analyzing its advantages and disadvantages. At the end of each chapter is an extensive bibliography of additional information about the particular form of film finance discussed. In covering the scope of film financing, Cones ranges from a discussion of studio-based independent production company methods to an examination of lender financing without distributor contracts to a detailed analysis of active and passive investor vehicles and foreign tax shelters and incentives.
Although the book focuses on financing feature films, its information is relevant to the financing of other kinds of projects, such as short films, documentaries, videos, and multi-media and theatrical endeavors. For those individuals considering making or investing in a feature film—such as producers, executive producers, attorneys, screenwriters, and investors—it is an indispensable resource, one that will serve them well in determining the best methods to finance the production costs of a specific project.

Business & Money

Cones, John W.

Finance

Southern Illinois University Press

The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement

John W. Cones, whose real goal is to stimulate a long-term film industry reform movement, shows how the financial control of the film industry in the hands of the major studios and distributors actually translates into creative control of the industry.Cones discusses the pros and cons of the debate relating to the industry’s so-called net profit problem and the way in which the distribution deal plays an integral part in that problem. He then breaks down five major film finance/distribution scenarios, explaining various distribution deals and suggesting ways of negotiating distribution.Critically examining the specific terms of the distribution deal itself, Cones covers gross receipts exclusions, distributor fees, and distribution expenses. He also investigates the various forms of interest, issues of production costs, matters of creative control, and general contractual provisions.For handy reference, Cones includes an extensive checklist for negotiating any feature film distribution deal. The list deals with distribution fees, distribution expenses, interest, production costs, creative control issues, general contractual provisions, distributor commitments, and the limits of negotiating. His nine appendixes present a "Motion Picture Industry Overview," "Profit Participation Audit Firms," "ADI (Top 50) Market Rankings," an "AFMA Member List, 1992–1993," a "Production-Financing/Distribution Agreement," a "Negative Pickup Distribution Agreement," a "Distribution Rights Acquisition Agreement," a "Distribution Agreement (Rent-a-Distributor Deal)," and a "Foreign Distribution Agreement."Cones wrote this book for independent producers, executive and associate producers and their representatives, directors, actors, screenwriters, members of talent guilds, distributors, and entertainment, antitrust, and securities attorneys. Securities issuers and dealers, investment bankers, and money finders, investors, and financiers of every sort also will be interested. In addition, Cones suggests and hopes that the book will interest "Congress, their research staff, government regulators at the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and law enforcement officials such as the Los Angeles District Attorney and the U.S. Justice Department."

Industries

John W. Cones, whose real goal is to stimulate a long-term film industry reform movement, shows how the financial control of the film industry in the hands of the major studios and distributors actually translates into creative control of the industry.
Cones discusses the pros and cons of the debate relating to the industry’s so-called net profit problem and the way in which the distribution deal plays an integral part in that problem. He then breaks down five major film finance/distribution scenarios, explaining various distribution deals and suggesting ways of negotiating distribution.
Critically examining the specific terms of the distribution deal itself, Cones covers gross receipts exclusions, distributor fees, and distribution expenses. He also investigates the various forms of interest, issues of production costs, matters of creative control, and general contractual provisions.
For handy reference, Cones includes an extensive checklist for negotiating any feature film distribution deal. The list deals with distribution fees, distribution expenses, interest, production costs, creative control issues, general contractual provisions, distributor commitments, and the limits of negotiating. His nine appendixes present a "Motion Picture Industry Overview," "Profit Participation Audit Firms," "ADI (Top 50) Market Rankings," an "AFMA Member List, 1992–1993," a "Production-Financing/Distribution Agreement," a "Negative Pickup Distribution Agreement," a "Distribution Rights Acquisition Agreement," a "Distribution Agreement (Rent-a-Distributor Deal)," and a "Foreign Distribution Agreement."
Cones wrote this book for independent producers, executive and associate producers and their representatives, directors, actors, screenwriters, members of talent guilds, distributors, and entertainment, antitrust, and securities attorneys. Securities issuers and dealers, investment bankers, and money finders, investors, and financiers of every sort also will be interested. In addition, Cones suggests and hopes that the book will interest "Congress, their research staff, government regulators at the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and law enforcement officials such as the Los Angeles District Attorney and the U.S. Justice Department."

This updated edition of John W. Cones’s now classic guide to independent film financing includes a discussion of new federal laws. Focusing on feature films, the comprehensive guide is also relevant to projects such as short films, documentaries, videos, multimedia presentations, and theatrical endeavors.

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film, Updated Edition: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

Economics

John W. Cones has updated his now classic 43 Ways toFinance Your Feature Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance with a substantially reorganized and expanded third edition. 
An essential reference guide for film professionals on every side of film financing, 43 Ways answers the question that every filmmaker and producer ultimately faces, the issue that can make or break any venture into the film industry: How do I finance my feature film? The third edition includes updated information and coverage of new options for financing. 
In his clear and concise style and with expertise amassed over his nearly twenty years of experience in the film finance industry, Cones breaks financing options down into six main areas: gifts and grants, investor financing, domestic government subsidies and tax incentive programs, lender financing, international finance options, and studio or industry financing. Beginning with the forms of financing most likely to be accessible to independent feature film producers, Cones proceeds to other forms that become increasingly available as the producer’s career matures. 
As an objective adviser, Cones provides specific, concise information regarding the many possible financing strategies and lists the distinct pros and cons of each strategy. This guide covers the options for film financing in rich detail so that even first-time producers and filmmakers will be able to make educated and informed decisions about the best approaches to financing their films. An extensive bibliography contains additional information about each form of film finance. Cones also counters much of the bad advice being provided by pseudoprofessional film finance consultants and points out scams that may separate unwary film producers from their money. 
Although the book focuses on financing feature films, much of its information is relevant to the financing of other kinds of projects, such as short films, documentaries, videos, and multimedia and theatrical endeavors. Anyone considering making or investing in a feature film will be well served by this practical and helpful guide.

The practical and legal aspects of writing a business plan for a film venture can be daunting to navigate without a firm grasp of know-how. With this in mind, John W. Cones's Business Plans for Filmmakers arms independent movie-makers and students with everything they need to successfully tackle the confusing intersection of law, business, and art when creating a business plan for a movie. This pragmatic volume offers plenty of examples and strategies for success, sharing straightforward insight into some of the toughest challenges independent filmmakers face when encountering these documents. With simple yet thorough detail and clarity, Cones outlines the legal requirements affecting movie proposals, including ways to evaluate the necessity for a business plan or a securities disclosure document, as well as the legal definition of "an active investor." Also addressed are the numerous subjects filmmakers and students must consider before a film offering, including the efficacy of a business plan to fund the development, production, and distribution phases of a film; common elements of fraud of which fledgling filmmakers should beware; the intricacies of revenue sharing; and how to render financial projections. Cones also imparts useful distinctions between such industry terms as "company financing" versus "project financing," along with many others. This bookalso includes in-depth guidance through the murky paths of investor analysis and key strategies to find and attract parties interested in financing film. Drawing upon his many years as a securities and entertainment attorney, and his experiences advising independent film producers, Cones offers the tools necessary not only to understand investors' motivations but also to use that knowledge to the filmmaker's advantage. Also provided are perceptive studies of the investment vehicles commonly used in business plans seeking investors, with analysis of each method's pros and cons. Throughout the volume, Cones uses sample plans to offer a real-world grasp of the intricacies of the business. In the business of this art, knowledge is power. Business Plans for Filmmakers dispels the myths and misinformation circulating among filmmakers to provide accurate and useful advice.

Business Plans for Filmmakers

The goal of this book is to level the playing field a bit when it comes to negotiating the financing and distribution of films. The large film studios and theater chains employ attorneys and others who are experts in negotiating film contracts, and there are many significant barriers to entry in this industry. The information contained in this volume should prove invaluable to all those concerned at one time or another with film finance and distribution, including attorneys, distributors, executive producers, producers, associate producers, studio executives, screen writers and directors seeking to independently produce a special project, exhibitors, broker/dealers, money finders, motion picture accountants/auditors, investors, profit participants, federal and state government officials and film students. Most independent film-makers and producers have limited knowledge of the law, in part because the film schools and universities that educated them stress the technical, creative or production side of film-making, not the business side. One consequence of this disparity is that independent film-makers and producers are usually at a disadvantage when it comes to negotiating the financing and distribution of a film. The terms and phrases defined and discussed in this dictionary are those of feature film finance and distribution, including film production, marketing, accounting, insurance, securities, legal structures (e.g., corporate, limited partnership and limited liability company financing vehicles), and general financial arenas. All of the principal forms of feature film finance are covered, including studio/distributors, production companies, lending institutions, co-financing, pre-sales, grants, foreign and passive investor financing involving the sale of a security. Why would a book on film finance also discuss distribution? Film finance cannot be adequately explained if no provision is made for how invested money may or may not return to financiers and/or investors (i.e., the financial side of distribution). The feature film industry has a history of anti-competitive practices, and distribution is often at the center of these problems. This book fills a critical gap in the literature of the motion picture industry. As with many industries, the U.S. film industry has developed some unique terminology to describe certain concepts associated with film industry activities. The terms and phrases defined and discussed in this dictionary are those of feature film finance and film distribution, along with numerous other related terms from the production, marketing, music, legal, accounting, insurance, securities (including corporate, limited partnership and limited liability company financing vehicles) and general financial arenas. Some additional terms and phrases are included, not because they commonly appear in film finance or movie distribution agreements but because they are essential to a well-rounded understanding of the industry and environment in which such film finance and distribution agreements are negotiated. Still other terms were selected and included by the author because they may aid in the understanding of additional terms in this dictionary. In many instances, the definitions also show how the defined term or phrase is specifically used in the film industry and with respect to additional terms, certain entries contain a comment from the author which is clearly biased in favor of the independent producer.

Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution: A Guide for Independent Filmmakers

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Algora.Publishing

In Hollywood Wars, Hollywood's No. 1 "outsider" -- entertainment and film attorney John W. Cones -- takes us inside one of the most closed business communities in America and reveals publicly what every Hollywood insider knows privately: that a small group of insiders controls the Hollywood film industry and often engages in unethical and illegal business practices that hurt independent filmmakers and screenwriters as well as the movie-going public. Cones' historical research is thorough and thoroughly convincing. He shows how insiders lure outside investors into financing films and then discard them when the film loses money (as most do), and how insiders destroy most outsiders (including William Randolph Hearst, Howard Hughes, Orson Welles, Kirk Kerkorian) who want a stake in movie-making. After reading this book, you will never want to buy stock in or work for a major Hollywood film studio. "This book," Cones writes in the Introduction, "is dedicated to the proposition that it is not in the best interest of this nation or the world for any single, or even a few narrowly defined interest groups ... to dominate or control any of our significant communication media."

Hollywood Wars: How Insiders Gained And Maintain Control over the Film Industry

Humor & Entertainment

Movies

Marquette Books

Investor Financing of Independent Film

Computers & Technology

Networking & Cloud Computing

Focal Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cones, John W.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Cones, John W.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Cones, John W.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement

The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film, Updated Edition: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

Business Plans for Filmmakers

Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution: A Guide for Independent Filmmakers

Hollywood Wars: How Insiders Gained And Maintain Control over the Film Industry

Investor Financing of Independent Film