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Know What Your Screenwriting Audience Wants: The Business of Spec Scripts

04.3.13 @ 1:22PM Tags : business, chrisfenton, gointothestory, sales, scottmyers, screenplay, screenwriting, script, spec

Many of us here on NFS will write screenplays for our own films that we plan to make ourselves. That said, it’s always good to know which scripts are selling in the marketplace: 1) to know what movies may be coming to a theatre near you soon so your script is different (or better); 2) to know the styles and genres of scripts that studios and financiers are buying should you want to sell your own spec; and 3) to know who represents and manages writers of scripts like your own to help you find representation. To shed some light on the spec script market, Scott Myers at Go Into The Story has been running a weekly series on this very topic, covering the history of the spec script market, the buyers of spec scripts, the spec screenwriter-representation relationship and more. More »

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What if Everyone Could Profit from Crowdfunding -- Even Backers?

11.9.11 @ 3:23PM Tags : business, crowdfunding, fundraising, kickstarter

What if all of you who backed my campaign to make Man-child could actually have a stake in the film, so that if it makes money, you make money? I couldn’t offer you this, because in America, such profit participation is illegal thanks to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In many other countries it’s legal (see: The Age of Stupid’s brilliant campaign in the U.K.). However, thanks to the U.S. House passing the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act last week, it seems this profit participation may soon become legal. If it does, crowdfunding as we know it could change tremendously, as will the fundamental structure of raising equity for small businesses (and films). More »

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Should Your Independent Film Incorporate Organize as an LLC?

07.6.10 @ 4:38PM Tags : business, incorporation, legal, llc

Regardless of a film’s credited production and/or distribution company, many movies are in fact their own LLC, created specifically for the purpose of giving rise to one finished film. Even if two different productions share many of the same personell, they would each be formed as their own LLC to ensure if something goes wrong on one project, the financing of the other would not be put at risk. FilmmakerIQ has just posted an excerpt from the book Independent Filmmaking, The Law & Business Guide for Financing, Shooting & Distributing Independent & Digital Films, which might come in handy if you’re wondering whether you should incorporate for a film project: More »