The Producer's Business Handbook (American Film Market Presents)

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The Producer's Business Handbook delivers filmmakers a comprehensive examination of the business of entertainment and provides the information and tools required to engage all related aspects of global production and exploitation. Together with its companion CD-ROM, this handbook presents both instruction and worksheet support to independent producers at all levels of experience. The handbook also provides a global orientation to the relationships that the most successful producers have with the various participants in the motion picture industry. This includes how producers direct their relationships with domestic and foreign studios, agencies, attorneys, talent, completion guarantors, banks, and private investors. It provides a thorough orientation to operating production development and single purpose producing companies, from solicitation of literary properties through direct rights sales, and the management of global distribution relationships. Also presented is an in-depth discussion of the team roles needed to operate these companies, as well as how to attach and direct them. Worksheets and instructions are included for the business processes of development and production financing operations that are used by many of the industry's consistently profitable companies. The companion CD-ROM features extremely valuable spreadsheets available nowhere else, including the bank financing worksheet and the producer's share analysis and internal greenlight summary, the development and production activity projection spreadsheet, the development and production cash flow projection worksheet, and other breakthrough forms. This interactive CD-ROM also provides examples and exercises using the various worksheets provided.

Series: American Film Market Presents

Paperback: 192 pages

Publisher: Focal Press; 1 edition (April 26, 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0240803965

ISBN-13: 978-0240803968

Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.9 x 0.4 inches

Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,844,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #423 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Television > Direction & Production #633 in Books > Business & Money > Industries > Performing Arts #739 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Industry

Make no mistake, this is NOT a book about producing a film or running a production. This is a great book about the 'business side' of the film business.Lots of information on how prodco's are set up, figuring out distribution (although nothing about going the direct-to-video route) deals.No matter what kind of production company you are setting up you will find information of use in here but it's not about production planning from the sense of scheduling or day-to-day running a prodco.

Finally, we have a comprehensive guide to the business of making movies the way movies are supposed to be made -- and written by someone who knows whereof he writes. No longer do filmmakers need luck or magic to succeed; The Producer's Business Handbook lays out all the details of show BUSINESS in a straightforward format that's as readable as it is informative. Lee's affable style of writing, which features a refreshing dose of enthusiasm for the ethical integrity still to be found in Hollywood, renders this book the perfect and indispensable blue-print for anyone -- novice or veteran -- hoping to succeed in the business of making motion pictures.

As a practicing attorney and filmmaker, I found John J. Lee, Jr.'s book to be practically useless. While the table of contents is impressive, his discussion of each topic is cursory and usually limited to a couple paragraphs of very broad and general language. The limited industry data provided is dated and the few documents that are provided, mostly arcane excel spreadsheet forms, are so specifically tailored to extremely large studio multi-picture deals as to be useless to anyone other than a major studio executive without legal counsel (unlikely) or a first-time producer of a multi-million dollar feature and a large legal budget (again, not likely ) or an accountant. For your money and time, there are much better books and materials out there that provide good, solid practical advice and information for independant filmmakers and attorneys alike.

This is a great book if you are looking at film development and production as a serious, ongoing business at which you expect to make money for yourself and your investors. This is not the book for you if you just want to produce one movie now, and (hopefully) another one in the near future. This is more a book that describes a business model for producing mainly relatively risk-free films -- in other words, films that are not being done entirely on spec, but actually have interested parties who can monetize the film.I would say it could be helpful to one-off producers in that it helps you understand the position savvy exec producers are in (who are, by the way, the ones you most likely want to deal with). This is helpful because if you can understand that, you can understand how to approach them.Again, if you are just looking to produce a one-off film (which I'd say is most people), this book will be of limited value, but if you are more money motivated and risk averse (or at least understand and appreciate the value of money in the process of developing and producing films for profit) you can definitely benefit from the advice contained herein.Extremely highly recommended, but only for the serious-minded feature film entrepreneur.

"Access is something you create in the same way you create credibility. You do the job right." The Producers Handbook presents deal structure and organizational practice for independent producers which do not require relationships with stars, super-agents and heads of studios, but rather rely on accepted, salient business practices -- which in turn not only engender such relationships, but successful, profitable, mainstream film making -- with distributors, agents, stars and investors who are pleased to be involved, and remain involved time after time. This material offers the most exciting, dynamic and pivotal business information and applications readers are likely to encounter in their entertainment career. Perhaps as life-changing as the day one sees their first motion picture or first determines to make motion pictures their life's work.

This book is a MUST have for those seeking to do business in the film industry, especially those writers and producers who are hoping for their big break. Dreams can and do happen, but this book arms those who are inspired with detailed and strategic information that can maximize their time and effort, by helping them to structure a solid and realistic business foundation around their creative work. Basically, it demystifies how the big boys play the game worldwide.

From the appendix the book is based on a lie. He first states all of the forms that are presented on the CD. He claims the AFMA International Multiple Rights Deal Letter is on this CD! It most certainly IS NOT! All of the rest of his forms, which are for the most part, pretty much irrelevant are there, and presented in a very outdated fashion. The information in the book is logical and methodical and is a sensible approach to producing films, but I am certain he has never done so. He has a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, priority approach to financing and distribution which is seldom the way in which situations transpire in the world in which films are produced. His book is a text book world for students in a class room, as is his world best served "giving" his seminars, then in actually producing films. The book certainly disseminates a wonderful amount of options and fully exlores them all in detail and accuracy, in a way that breaks incredibly complicated information into simplicity which is terrific and most appreciated. This is by far my favorite book on film producing. But I purchased the book for the CD and that agreement and he did not honor that agreement or his word, therefore, I have no respect for him or his publisher.

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