Film Financing - Hollywood Cheats Investors? What?

Film Financing - Hollywood Cheats Investors? What?

Here's a shocked-demeanor article about how some dreadful "mistakes" have been made.

It seems Hedge funds have put billions into Hollywood, only to find that...

• Somehow the accounting may have been managed, in Hollywood's favor.
  
• Hollywood has projected large returns, that just didn't happen.
  
• In fact, some of these deals have lost hundreds of millions of dollars.
  
• A lot of these deals are not win/win! They seem to be designed - gasp - to be win/lose.
  
• Hollywood keeps the better films for itself.
  

To which I say, imagine that.
Almost unbelievable, isn't it?

Now you guys, I don't know who you've been playing with, but Hollywood has some rough characters in it. Always has.

They play hardball, they play to win, and they're gonna keep all your marbles.

Gosh, you guys. I'm sorry.
Hollywood, play nice!

Film Financing

Film Financing - Hubs a Go-Go

Film Financing - IndieGoGo

The web is a natural place for symbiotic relationships.
Writers and readers, Filmmakers and Financiers.
Predators and prey.

There's certainly overlap in those categories, so who's
who isn't clearly defined, but there's definitely stalking
and bounding, trailing and fleeing, even a spring prom
and courtship quadrille, thrown in for good measure.

The most recent Filmmaker / Financier symbiotic
environ is IndieGoGo.com, running berserkeley in
Berkeley, California. Their slogan is:
"Where Independent Happens."

Hmm. Given the state of the indy film world, and
what else "happens," I hope it gets a better slogan
eventually. The project itself is encouraging though,
and that's because of the people.

Danae Ringelmann co-founded and CFOs this film
funding dating service, hooking up filmmakers to
financiers and cineastes, to support all the filmmaking.
IndieGoGo works fundraising magic for indy filmmakers,
connecting new project money channels.

Danae was a Cowen & Co. securities analyst, focused on
entertainment and video game companies like Disney,
Pixar, Electronic Arts, and Lions Gate. She also worked at
J.P. Morgan's Investment Bank.

She is an MBA candidate at UC Berkeley's Haas School of
Business, and co-chaired the 2007 Global Social Venture
Competition, and still guides the Haas Digital Media &
Entertainment Club there at Cal.

Danae completed the CFA curriculum and graduated the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a Morehead Scholar.

That's a lot of scholastic activity. I hope school's out, and
Dana can now guide her film financing ship successfully.

IndieGoGo looks good, actually.
Filmmakers can learn about it here.


Film Financing

Film Financing Blog - Statement of principles

Film Financing - Statement of principles

I've been raising money for movies since I was 14 years old,
and now I'm 51.

I figure I can make my movies, the movies I want to make, for
another ten years.

During that time, I also want to teach others the tricks I've
learned over the years, and help them make the films they want
to make, rather than just settle for the films they think they
can afford.

Sam Longoria
Hollywood CA USA


Film Financing