Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents (Paperback)

"An excellent, insightful guide to attracting financing for indie films. Louise Levison takes a sane, balanced approach to research, comparables and projections, achieving honest outlooks in business plans that are accurate and convincing to equity investors. An important tool for filmmakers and producers seeking innovative financing models."
-- Danny Glover, Actor/Director/Producer

"Thank you so much for all your help from the business plan to the emails and introductions. You have helped this film become what it is today." - Robin Cowie, Producer, The Blair Witch Project

"Levison's book gives filmmakers an inspiring and coherent merger of plain English, film lingo, and traditional business-speak. It helped me create a straightforward and thorough business plan that ultimately raised $2 million for my new project." - Stu Pollard, Producer/Director,
Keep Your Distance

"Buying this book is the first step to becoming a successful, independent filmmaker. It helped me launch my company."
- Rick Pamplin, The Pamplin film Company

"If Louise Levison's Filmmakers & Financing were only about business plans it would be worth more than its cover price. In addition, Levison gives sage, savvy and clear introductions to every important aspect of film business - marketing, distribution, varieties of investors, financing options - it's all here, including a sample business plan. This book is a "must have" for any filmmaker's
bookshelf." --Morrie Warshawski, Consultant, and author of Shaking the Money Tree: How to Get Grants and Donations for Film and Video-2nd Edition

"A 'must have' educational and reference tool to help you conquer current industry practices regarding finance, production and distribution. Louise has consistently delivered a plethora of information that is easy for a beginning filmmaker to understand, while at the same time very useful to the entertainment veteran. No filmmaker's library would be complete without it. -J. David Williams, Distributor, Shiloh and The Omega Code

"Need money for a movie? Here's the road map every indie filmmaker needs to find it. It worked for me!" -Paul Sirmons, Director/Producer, The First of May and Forevermore Films

"Even if you only wrote the script, this is a real important book to read. It will help you understand the market in terms of how independent film companies structure deals with screenwriters. And if you just aren?t finding a market for your script and have considered making the film yourself, Levison?s book is one of the best places to start if you want to find out what you are up against in terms of the kind of dollars you will need, where and how to get them, and the best strategy for getting your hands on the dough. To paraphrase the perennial Passover question: Why is this film financing book different than all other film financing books? It?s pretty simple. No one tackles the dilemma of screenwriters who design to turn their script into independent features as succinctly and logically as Levison does. If you want to make an independent feature you need money, which means you need a business plan, which means you need Levison. Project outlines, industry overview, marketing, sample business plans, distribution, financial planning, loans and partnerships are all included. There is even a nifty CD-ROM supplement that comes with the book."
- Jeffrey M. Freedman, Script Magazine

The first, most crucial step in making a film is finding the funds to do it. Let Louise Levison, who wrote the innovative business plan for "The Blair Witch Project," show you how. Whether you're planning a feature, short, documentary, or large format film, this unique guide teaches you how to create a business plan that can be presented to a potential investor. In jargon-free terms, the author leads you through every step. Each chapter concentrates on a different section of the business plan, including the industry, marketing, financing, distribution. There are supplementary exercises and spreadsheets on the CD workbook so you get comfortable crunching the numbers--no math degree required!

The fifth edition contains completely revised and updated industry data, updated information on the market for short films, as well as a new chapter on nontraditional films such as documentaries.

* Includes a CD workbook with forms, spreadsheets, and hands-on exercises
* A sample business plan is included as a helpful reference
* Learn how to develop business plans for features, shorts, documentaries and more