HOW TO MAKE A MOVIE. A 🎥🧵on Hollywood, 2024.
To commemorate my most recent trip around the Sun, below are a few thoughts on getting a film made in today’s Hollywood.
It’s a tough time in the business, but I believe content will always be king.
For context, I’ve been involved in producing 6 studio films with combined production budgets north of $250M. I’ve developed dozens more.
DISCLAIMER: All the normal caveats apply, and there are exceptions to every rule. No film comes together the same way. The business is constantly evolving, so you must continually adapt.
That said, there are 4 paths to studio caliber films.
1.IP
2.Talent
4.Sheer Force of Will
Let’s explore each in more detail.3.Cash
To commemorate my most recent trip around the Sun, below are a few thoughts on getting a film made in today’s Hollywood.
It’s a tough time in the business, but I believe content will always be king.
For context, I’ve been involved in producing 6 studio films with combined production budgets north of $250M. I’ve developed dozens more.
DISCLAIMER: All the normal caveats apply, and there are exceptions to every rule. No film comes together the same way. The business is constantly evolving, so you must continually adapt.
That said, there are 4 paths to studio caliber films.
1.IP
2.Talent
4.Sheer Force of Will
Let’s explore each in more detail.3.Cash
1.INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP):
The most common path to a film is rooted in IP. This comes in a variety of form:
- books (HARRY POTTER)
- comic books (AVENGERS)
- plays (A FEW GOOD MEN)
- true stories (OPPENHEIMER)
- toys (BARBIE)
- video games (SUPER MARIO BROS)
- short stories (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION)
Control the IP, you can get yourself a seat at the table and help produce a movie.
To be clear, it will likely take YEARS to successfully adapt the IP. As one of the more famous examples, Michael Ulsan famously shopped the BATMAN rights to studios for a decade before a film was made. He saw the value of the IP before others, and as a result remains an EP on every Batman project.
Stephen King, one of the most adapted authors of all time, has literally hundreds of titles that have yet to be produced into films and are technically available.
Incredible true stories happen every day. Constantly keep your eyes open to new stories.
The lesson: control meaningful IP, there is a viable path to a movie.
The most common path to a film is rooted in IP. This comes in a variety of form:
- books (HARRY POTTER)
- comic books (AVENGERS)
- plays (A FEW GOOD MEN)
- true stories (OPPENHEIMER)
- toys (BARBIE)
- video games (SUPER MARIO BROS)
- short stories (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION)
Control the IP, you can get yourself a seat at the table and help produce a movie.
To be clear, it will likely take YEARS to successfully adapt the IP. As one of the more famous examples, Michael Ulsan famously shopped the BATMAN rights to studios for a decade before a film was made. He saw the value of the IP before others, and as a result remains an EP on every Batman project.
Stephen King, one of the most adapted authors of all time, has literally hundreds of titles that have yet to be produced into films and are technically available.
Incredible true stories happen every day. Constantly keep your eyes open to new stories.
The lesson: control meaningful IP, there is a viable path to a movie.
2.TALENT
An equally plausible path to getting a film made is rooted in filmmaking talent. There are a number of actors, directors, writers and (to a lesser extent) producers, capable of greenlighting a project based on their track record of success.
In today’s Hollywood, the number of individuals capable of greenlighting a project based on their name alone seems lesser than in the past, but the path nonetheless remains.
The key here, of course, is the ability to get the attention of key talent, either directly through a relationship, or through the talent’s teams, most commonly, their agent or their manager.
Talent is often the missing link in a project’s path to getting made. Get the talent, you can get your movie.
The lesson: attach meaningful talent, there is a viable path to a movie.
An equally plausible path to getting a film made is rooted in filmmaking talent. There are a number of actors, directors, writers and (to a lesser extent) producers, capable of greenlighting a project based on their track record of success.
In today’s Hollywood, the number of individuals capable of greenlighting a project based on their name alone seems lesser than in the past, but the path nonetheless remains.
The key here, of course, is the ability to get the attention of key talent, either directly through a relationship, or through the talent’s teams, most commonly, their agent or their manager.
Talent is often the missing link in a project’s path to getting made. Get the talent, you can get your movie.
The lesson: attach meaningful talent, there is a viable path to a movie.
Cash is king in any business, and the same is true of Hollywood.
Bring a few million dollars to the table, and there are literally hundreds of scripts to select from, all waiting to be produced into films.
Every year films are produced simply because the filmmaking team was able to raise capital. MEGALOPOLIS is the most recent example of a film existing solely because someone (in this case, the director) wrote a check to tell the story.
There are thousands of other examples. Sometimes the motivations are profit driven; other times, the motivations are story centric.
The power of story and its ability to connect with an audience has been and shall remain a magnet for high net worth private investment in Hollywood.
Art in its cinematic form exists to evoke emotion from an audience, and there are people who yearn to participate in the industry because they believe in a story. This will remain true far into Hollywood’s future.
The lesson: raise cash, there is a viable path to a movie.3.CASH
4.SHEER FORCE OF WILL
Without IP, talent, or cash, the path toward a movie shifts to sheer force of will - a passion project that comes together largely because of the belief in the underlying story and the refusal of an individual to quit.
This path often requires countless iterations of the project, many false starts, and eventually some combination of the aforementioned paths of attaching talent and/or raising capital.
Get the words on the page, in their highest and purest form, and KEEP GOING.
The lesson: a relentless pursuit of “yes” through a mountain of “no” creates a path that otherwise did not exist.
Without IP, talent, or cash, the path toward a movie shifts to sheer force of will - a passion project that comes together largely because of the belief in the underlying story and the refusal of an individual to quit.
This path often requires countless iterations of the project, many false starts, and eventually some combination of the aforementioned paths of attaching talent and/or raising capital.
Get the words on the page, in their highest and purest form, and KEEP GOING.
The lesson: a relentless pursuit of “yes” through a mountain of “no” creates a path that otherwise did not exist.
If none of the above works, and you have the next great screenplay on your hands, get it to someone who’s been able to execute a film within a similar lane.
The number one trait of a producer, IMO: the ability to get anyone on the planet on the phone, if the circumstances require it.
Good luck! I will be rooting for you.
The number one trait of a producer, IMO: the ability to get anyone on the planet on the phone, if the circumstances require it.
Good luck! I will be rooting for you.
A couple additions based on direct feedback.
RE: IP - what if you can’t acquire meaningful IP?
Then you must develop something HIGH CONCEPT.
As examples, the films LIGHTS OUT and YES DAY are both super high concept in their DNA. The former, an entity that exists and haunts only in darkness. The latter, one day a year where Mom & Dad can’t say No to their kids. Simple premises that lend themselves to relatively straightforward adaptations.
*Purists will note that both LIGHTS OUT and YES DAY were rooted in IP (a short film, and a book). While true, neither adaptation relied on the underlying story of the IP, but rather, the concept of it.
RE: IP - what if you can’t acquire meaningful IP?
Then you must develop something HIGH CONCEPT.
As examples, the films LIGHTS OUT and YES DAY are both super high concept in their DNA. The former, an entity that exists and haunts only in darkness. The latter, one day a year where Mom & Dad can’t say No to their kids. Simple premises that lend themselves to relatively straightforward adaptations.
*Purists will note that both LIGHTS OUT and YES DAY were rooted in IP (a short film, and a book). While true, neither adaptation relied on the underlying story of the IP, but rather, the concept of it.
RE: Talent - what if you can’t get a project to meaningful talent?
Best advice here is to aim for their respective teams first (agents or managers), and if that remains an obstacle, then aim for producers who have successful made films with the talent, and team up.
I promise, it sounds harder than it is. Everyone is always on the lookout for the best great hit.
The caveat of course, is that you actually have to have the undeniable words on the page.
Best advice here is to aim for their respective teams first (agents or managers), and if that remains an obstacle, then aim for producers who have successful made films with the talent, and team up.
I promise, it sounds harder than it is. Everyone is always on the lookout for the best great hit.
The caveat of course, is that you actually have to have the undeniable words on the page.
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