Producing

Thank you Patrick!

@PatAlexander Thank you for the question, fellow Patrick. Balancing artistic vision with commercial viability is usually the producer’s responsibility. Creatives are often focused on the emotional and artistic truth of the story, which is exactly what you want, but they are not always thinking about market position, cast value, or the financial realities. The producer’s job is to take the tools you actually have and make the strongest possible version of the film within those limits.

You might have an incredible script, but you may not be able to send a fully financed offer to the star you want. You may love a creative idea that becomes impossible once you look at the schedule or the budget. This is where communication becomes essential. Everyone has to be on the same page, and expectations have to be aligned early.

There is no formula that works every time, but gut instinct plays a real part in this. It helps if you understand your audience before you begin packaging. Who is the film for, and how do we serve that audience while still giving the creative team the freedom to execute their vision? If you can hold both of those priorities at the same time, you usually end up with the best version of the movie.

@RowanTaylorLaska Thank you for the question. I recently hired a director for an indie erotic thriller I am putting together. In this case, it is a first-time feature director, but she has directed many episodes of television. TV and film are different, but the experience still matters. It showed us she could handle performance, workflow, and the pressure of a real set.

When I hire a director, I look for qualities that fit the specific needs of the project. My producing partner and I knew exactly what this film required in terms of tone, style, and leadership, and we found those qualities in this filmmaker. Once we are confident in someone, it becomes much easier to present them to financiers, cast, and all the stakeholders involved.

I also look for directors who are naturally collaborative and entrepreneurial. The good ones understand that the journey is difficult and that there will be moments of give and take. That mindset is incredibly important on an independent film. And yes, professionals absolutely consider indie directors and directors who have only made shorts. Shorts, proofs of concept, commercial work, and episodic work can all demonstrate voice and capability.

What matters most is a clear vision for the material and the ability to bring that vision to life within the real limits of production. If that is there, the door is wide open.

Thank you very much for your response. It’s truly appreciated Patrick Raymond

Thank you Patrick Raymond ! I copied your replies into my knowledge file. My feature has some high-dollar scenes (airshows, etc.) but I have connections for free performances & locations. I think those (high-value/free) scenes cause doubt about my low budget.

Randall Scott White Good question. All over the map from free to how much money is in existence, to don't you dare touch our footage. You should have a representative or entertainment attorney clear rights, or at least and experienced director

I've known producers, and have seen studio projects not back a project where the writer also wanted to be the lead. Once money is involved, and I'll use $200K (because I had a friend who made movies for this amount), the producer (and studio) has to protect the investment by using talent that is recognizable from other films and TV shows. This helps the distributor sell it so audiences who will be interested in viewing. As the money increases so does the talent. If you wish to write, and be the lead, go finance and shoot for under $50K, distribute, and do it again. Build your recognition! (and make some amazing short films that can be used as calling cards). All this is very doable. Break a leg! (And I've seen writers, whom also wish to produce, and they have zero experience doing this so it makes getting financing next to impossible).

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth thank you for the advice. Out of curiosity, would you say it’d be easier or harder to request a supporting role I wrote instead?

Always mention it, like it will happen. If you ask, it's easier to say, "No." It also depends on the supporting role.

You'll have to find a producer that has the power to make you play the lead. I have been working with known people in the industry that stated everything is possible, so better believe it. But it will be a hard find, so you have to have some luck.

I'm loving the global reach Stage32 is establishing with real value for those involved Maurice Vaughan - thanks for posting this :)

You're welcome, Sebastian Tudores. I'm loving it too. Which Certification course did you take?

Maurice Vaughan I'm working my way through Key Production Legal Agreements Master Certification - I'm one down and quite a few to go ;) are you doing any of them?

Congratulations, Sebastian Tudores! I haven't, but I've been thinking about taking a Certification course.

Very cool. I'm Croatian. I live in Canada, and have only visited my relatives back in Croatia twice in my life. I'd love to go there again. I haven't looked into their films or film industry though.

I'd love to see more topics like: How to Produce, Finance, and Distribute Your SAG Ultra-Low Budget Film... The development funds breakdown sheet, distribution agreement, talent agreement and a film slate template are some of the things writers and new producers want to learn here - (I'm speaking for myself).

I love these topics. How about one that helps screenwriters work with producers- letting us in on the terminology and points producers look for so we can have that info available for them during a pitch? I know it seems basic- but not everyone goes to film school and not everyone knows the best way to not just find a producer, but also to help a producer, even if it means becoming one yourself.

Hi, James Lagrimas. How about Education for producing a video game?

Hi, James Lagrimas. I said I'll be back :)) Here are some suggestions: The Producer as Entrepreneur: Building a slate, pitching investors, and scaling your career. From Shorts to Series: Scaling Your Producing Career Transitioning from indie shorts to episodic television; Mentorship & Networking in Global Markets How to connect with film commissions, festivals, and financiers worldwide; Building Festival-Ready Narratives What programmers look for in 2026, with examples from Sundance, Berlinale, and Cannes; Tax Incentives & Rebates Masterclass How to leverage incentives in Europe, Latin America, and Asia; Alternative Financing Models: Crowdfunding, NFTs, and Impact Investing Practical strategies for producers outside traditional studio systems, and last one Distribution in 2026: Hybrid Release Models Balancing theatrical, streaming, and festival circuits for maximum ROI. I hope this helps.

I second video game production. I know some developers in startups that might be interested if they become available.

Michael Bennett This is essentially what the Producing Unique New Creators program does for early stage producers. Although, they don't just follow it, they work on it and get the entire behind the scenes story and mentoring along the way. But of course it's a black box to everyone on the outside, as it is a real produciton. The concept you describe is problematic for a number of reasons, not least of which is confidentiality with your funders. I cannot think of one who would be amenable to the idea. Transparency is in no one's interest, especially the producers of the film. Would it be of interest to other filmmakers? Surely. Would it be of use though? Well 99.9% of the "community" will never move beyond dreaming, so... not really IMO.

I agree with part of your assessment to my query.. I would never reveal the names of funders nor sales agents/distributors for that matter, although I have had a couple of seasoned professionals who think I'm on to something if I can figure out a way to structure it. I've been at this for nearly 4 decades...that's an absolute no. Transparency in this business, unfortunately doesn't exist. I mentor a lot of people about the film business, and as you might imagine the first question out of their mouths has to do with funding, and I find there is a complete lack of understanding about the entire process. When I broke into this business back in the 80s, the access to information was awful, and to some degree it still is when it comes to film finance.

AI makes us all smarter, and more valuable to investors when we can show real numbers. As a writer, my expertise in the legal, pitch and other elements is rudimentary, I watch, learn shoot and edit because of what I have learned from real industry pros. But the legal, pitch, and refinement aspects - complete newb, and AI has shown me things about all the elements I am weak in and helped me to be a better producing story teller. Now when I come to the table, it's made me a much more coherent participant.

Tom Schaefer Good points. Someone here (I wish I could recall who) said that AI will make the best of us better and the worst even worse. That's my observation so far.

I am currently producing an AI shortfilm and encourage crew and cast to use as much AI tools as possible and be creative about it. I, or better together we will look at the output and see if it will bring the good stuff we envision as talent filmmakers. I personally do work with ChatGTP as much as possible and have had several (including breaking) professional succes with it.

This site acouple of months ago: Total AI FearThis site now:

Wizard Of Oz - "it's ok children, the AI won't hurt you, c'mon out now".I remember crickets on this site when Hwd writing community was in AI Fear Mode. posted a couple of comments, articles and got crickets.

Once you have your AI breakthough you will see how much the fear was all bullshit.

The Authenticy Ruse

This notion that somehow what we sell has to have some kind of seal of approval about how we obtained the creative result, that somehow, AI enhanced or improved or even written was somehow going to tarnish the authenticity of the produced IP. If that's where your head is at, you're only seeing a tiny corner of the big picture.

"Claude, where do YOU see weakness in this part of the story?" is one of the best questions you can ask.

"How can we amp this up into a $300m franchise?" "Help me reduce the number of locations"

As a photographer, videographer, video editor - all of my roles were replaced by AI. The shrieks of horror started back in the 1980's ... OMG he's got a camera with autoexposure! Then came autofocus, that branded you as lazy.

Bokeh is what everybody wants, so now that's Portrait Mode on your phone. I've done pro shoots with the 13Pro, 15pro in portrait mode and folks thought I had an expensive DSLR. I still do some editing, but not near as much.I even used Midjourney for my demo restaurant site at tomslounge.com, Claude did the menus and pricing and locations.

Trailers and other demo assets - I have hidden my old handmade trailers - only as proof of "before AI".

The AI Gatekeeper Reduction Act

The whole pitch industry must have taken collective shit when dark horses like me find out what my show is actually worth. What my true IP value is based upon The Numbers - the numbers AI runs against my work. AI has become the new "authoritative close", the new source of truth.

But that's not a bad thing. Investors can now see if I am full of shit or that wow, this guy has a saleable property, and this could actually work.

Instead of me trying to "divine what the buyers want" and "divine a proper pitch" ... everything they need to know is now possible, before i even get to the table, there's no mystery - it's all right there. IP value, per episode cost, season cost, locations, script samples.

I have NotebookLM explainers, I have my own custom PDF display (thanks Claude) and a few trailers. But I'm not going to 3rd grade level it, a serious scifi producer would understand everything there. They can pass without even saying anything. But there's a producer out there that sees it - and will run with it.

I have a back-stage link on my site for serious inquiries and would love someone to take a peek. But I'm not gonna pay to find out my shit is good. It's very good, and whoever buys it, gets an opportunity to make an epic show, and win awards. I'm the next Gene Roddenbery. He was cocky too, but he knew what he had in hand.

So my premise is a saleable show to folks paying for it - now I can show them immediately - what's it gonna take for the check to get signed?

Helping the suits with numbers seems to be a very good piece of the puzzle. Now the "hunch lottery" is reduced to real numbers, demographics etc.

'Hunch lottery' - "this guy gave us x films that rocked" - who then shits the bed with the next one because the last one(s) were great. But that hunch can be verified now. (i.e. risk mitigation/strategies) <-- words I didnt even have a clue about a couple of years ago.

They can then run all my stuff through their own AI and find out for sure. Which I would imagine they have probably already done before you even get to the pitch.

Tom Schaefer The whole AI thing is reminiscent of the not-so-long-ago Unreal Engine 5 buzz, and the much earlier public advances in 3D animation platforms. One part of the industry cries out in existential fear, while those who have only dreamt of being a filmmaker exclaim that now their creative genius will be seen by the entire world because all they have to do is press a button. At no time in the past has technological advance brought anyone to the fore, who hasn't already got what it takes to be a filmmaker. The AI experience isn't going to be any different.

Fantastic @geoffreyfaugerolas Insightful for certain!

looking very much forward to this

HI! This is amazing. Watching from LA. Thank you!

Hi, Jair Bula. Here's the official post for the Q&A: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Official-QandA-Thread-From-Script-t...

Thank you Ethan! What advice would you have for a multi-hyphenate; Writer-Actor-Brand New Film producer? What is a good starting point once you have a script? Would you recommend finding a producer to work with initially? Or a director, ect...?

I think this is incredible, Ashley Renee Smith! Safety and harassment-prevention should always be the top priorities on set.

Sure, it's good but to be blatantly honest, I really don't know that this is about aside from optics, and to bring IATSE into the new millennium, which they are quite late arriving at. It doesn't seem to add anything to the legal landscape. The California Labor Commission Industrial Relations department , etc, enforces these already and has for many years. As an employer you have to follow very strict legal guidelines on harassment of any kind including sexual harassment, or face legal consequences and that includes consequences for production managers and line producers who don't implement those policies. Anyone who actually manages production knows this.