Summary
Learn every step you need to know to make your $5-$15 million film from a successful producer of over 45 film and television projects with Netflix, Disney, Sony, Paramount, HBO, Showtime, and more.
We are in a great moment in the global entertainment industry to make your movie in the $5-$15 million budget range.
Films like CODA ($10MM), MOONLIGHT ($5MM), BRUISED ($10MM) and GET OUT ($5MM) have won Oscars, made huge financial returns all around the world and launched dozens of careers on all sides of the camera. This year's breakout hit SOUND OF FREEDOM ($14.5MM) has grossed $182MM to date.
Providing her experience and insight is Jeanette Milio. She has worked on over 45 films and television programs for companies like Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, HBO, Showtime, and many more. Her projects have also starred Academy Award-winning performers, including Halle Berry, Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, and Mickey Rourke. She's also a member of the Producer's Guild of America, Women in Film, and the Cannes Film Festival Producer's Network and structured her own media fund in 2009 that financed theatrical features with a production volume of $60 million.
This exclusive Stage 32 6-session on-demand class will teach you every step -- from the inception of an idea to generating profits – leading producers and investors toward the path of creating a film that can be profitable and creatively fulfilling. You'll learn how to pick or write the appropriate script to create the value proposition, how to understand the marketplace and your distribution options, and how to structure your finance sources so that you can optimize your returns through mitigation strategies to protect the project, the producer, and the investor(s).
Films in the $5-$15 million budget range often have the advantage of allowing enough money to be allocated to the above-the-line talent to secure a name cast. The tricky balance producers and filmmakers face, and the challenge they must overcome if they want their film to be successful, is matching their budget with what the marketplace is willing to pay for their film. The key to success is avoiding common pitfalls producers, investors, and distributors face when making films in the $5-15 million budget range.
The $5-$15 million budget range also is one of the most critically successful and finically viable in today’s marketplace. Producers who find or create a story that can sell, attach strong talent, bring quality onto the screen, and understand the importance of structuring a balanced finance plan that generates profits, will be very successful in this budget range.
Don't miss this detailed, step-by-step guide to producing a $5-$15 million film that can sell and generate profits!
Plus! Jeanette will provide you with exclusive handouts that you can use when making your film. Downloads include:
- Template Option Agreement (short form)
- Template Pay-or-Play Offer Agreement
- Template CAMA (Collection Agent Management Agreement)
- Template/Adjustable Finance Plan
PRAISE FOR JEANNETTE'S PREVIOUS STAGE 32 EDUCATION:
"Jeanette has invaluable knowledge and made me feel like seeing my movie on the big screen was possible." -- Phillip F.
What You'll Learn
Session 1: Understand the Industry Today
In recent years the industry has shifted in many ways that impact producers, both negatively and positively. As content providers, we must understand the industry and how to optimally navigate its constant shifts, so we can succeed in today’s marketplace.
- Industry overview: The independent film finance model vs the studio finance model.
- Comparing the studio finance model with the independent finance model
- Learn why the marketplace today is looking for films in the $5mm-$15mm budget range
- Understand what films are being bought today, and by whom.
Q&A With Jeanette
Session 2: Learn about Distribution Options for $5-15 MM Films
Low- to mid-budget films have the advantage in that they can make a huge profit from distribution. But they also face the risk of either not being distributed or not generating enough distribution revenues to be profitable. The mid-level budget range requires a balanced handholding. The balance between how much can be spent and how much is being paid by the distributor(s) is important because it directly relates to generating a profit or having a loss. In this week’s session, we’ll discuss the steps you should know about to get distribution. Understand your options and learn how to optimize them to generate meaningful distribution revenues.
- Understand your options for distribution, and avoid the most common pitfalls
- Understand the distribution value of your film in the marketplace today
- Learn about Sales Agents and why they are important to you, your project, and your financing
- Understand the reality of selling your film to a streamer in today's marketplace
- Financing from Distribution – Understand how you can make money before your film is even shot
Q&A With Jeanette
Session 3: Learn about the Financing Options Available Today
While low- to mid-budget films have a huge upside, it is not easy to secure funding for them. Knowing what steps to take to identify the finance sources that work best for $5-15 mm films and choosing a project and a distribution path that works for investors and other financing partners is essential in securing funding. In this week’s session, we’ll identify the various finance sources that are available today, how they fit best together to optimize profits, and what steps to take to secure them for your low-budget project.
- Learn about the sources to finance in today's market (banking, equity, branding, production incentives, and more)
- Understand the steps during the financing process that lead you to optimize profits.
- Learn what finance plans work with investors and how you establish them
- Understand the steps you must take to protect revenues when your film is produced and money comes in
Q&A With Jeanette
Session 4: Learn About What Projects Sell Today and Why?
Not every genre and not every script works for distribution in the US and abroad. Knowing what kinds of stories sell is the essential first step. Securing and protecting the idea is as important as developing a strong script that can attract meaningful talent, distribution, and financing. It is critically important to know how to break down that script into a budget that delivers a high production quality as well as a commercial film.
- Learn how to protect your project (and your investor)
- Learn what projects to choose and why
- Develop a strong story and apply techniques that help sell it
- Understand the importance of securing the right talent package
- Verify the demand for your film before producing it
- Understand how to optimize your budget and what you can do to streamline costs
Q&A With Jeanette
Session 5: Avoid Pitfalls & Mitigate Risks
When you go out with your film project and talk to investors, you often find yourself fighting against Hollywood’s generally negative reputation when it comes to film financing and making a profit. That conversation can change when investors realize you understand the risks and know how to mitigate them and make a profit with the project. This week you’ll learn about important terms and conditions that protect you from pitfalls, help establish profits, and enable you to answer tough questions from investors, so they feel good about investing in your film.
- Learn how to identify and avoid pitfalls in production, distribution, and financing
- Identify the risks associated with every step -- from the inception of an idea to development, packaging, financing, production, distribution, and revenue protection -- and know how to mitigate them.
- Investor deals – Understand what deals investors prefer, what industry standards dictate, what’s best for you and your project, and how to balance it all to get the most optimal deal.
Q&A With Jeanette
Session 6: How to Prepare a Business Plan Pitch Deck that Attracts Investors
The most important document you will likely ever create on the path of greenlighting your film is the business plan pitch deck. This document must be adjusted depending on who sits in front of you. It must include important project information and financials, and it must exclude the fluff and distractions. Understand what elements investors want to see, and why you must keep it short but precise. Understand the do’s and don’ts when pitching
- Why investor pitch decks look different
- What is essential to include in your pitch deck
- How to lay our risks and mitigation strategies
- How to optimally lay out financials
Q&A With Jeanette
WHAT TO EXPECT:
PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 class will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis. The opportunity to work this closely and for this long with an executive and an expert in the field is an incredibly unique and valuable opportunity. If you are interested, please book quickly. Once the spots are gone, they’re gone for good.
- This class is designed for beginner and intermediate students looking to learn the fundamentals of making a $5-15MM feature film. This is an in-depth, practical, and detailed class with significantly more content than a standard 90-minute webinar.
- This class will consist of six sessions, each roughly two hours in duration and spaced one week apart from one another. In addition to the presentation-style lessons, you will have the opportunity to ask questions during each session.
- PLEASE NOTE: This exclusive Stage 32 class is now available to watch on-demand but we highly encourage you to do any assignments to get the most out of the educational experience.
Who Should Attend
All levels of filmmakers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to specialize in creating a $5m-$15m project.
All levels of writers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to develop compelling stories and characters that resonate in a $5m-$15m project.
Producers with an interest in the strategies and tactics with producing a $5m-$15m project.
Executive
Jeanette Milio has over twenty-five years working across three continents as a producer, executive producer, and financier of motion pictures and television programming. She has worked on over 500 hours of film and television content in the US, Europe, Dubai and South Africa, with a combined total production value of over $250 million. She produced the Netflix Original THE EXPERIMENT starring Adrian Brody and Forrest Whittaker and has worked with ABC/Disney, USA, Showtime, TLC, CW, Discovery, Lionsgate, Paramount and more. She has also consulted for the international co-production department of Warner Bros. in the U.S. and Germany, which was focused on producing local feature content in Europe.
Born and raised in Germany, Jeanette B. Milio started her career in the entertainment industry as an assistant with the German network station RTL, where she was involved in the production of German formats of internationally renowned shows such as THE PRICE IS RIGHT, FAMILY FEUD, and JEOPARDY, among others. Five years later she produced 5 seasons of the prime-time drama series WILDBACH for the German network ARD, and the feature KREIS DER ANGST for the PRO SIEBEN network.
Jeanette immigrated to the United States and produced theatrical motion pictures and television content for U.S. studios and network stations. Credits include TIMESHARE starring Nastassja Kinski, Timothy Dalton, and Kevin Zegers (distributor: FOX Family/ABC Disney), 13 starring Jason Statham, Academy Award® winning actor Mickey Rourke, Sam Riley, Ray Winston, Michael Shannon, and Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent (distributor: Paramount Vantage); THE EXPERIMENT directed by Paul Scheuring, starring Academy Award® winning actors Adrien Brody and Forrest Whitaker, as well as Cam Gigandet (distributor: Sony Pictures, Netflix); and DARK TIDE, starring Academy Award® winner Halle Berry, directed by John Stockwell (distributor: Lionsgate), etc. Throughout her career, Jeanette was involved in financing over 45 film and television projects for HBO, Showtime, ABC, USA Network, Disney, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and others.
Jeanette managed a media fund for Far East National Bank, which funded 40 film and television projects, which lead to her structuring her own media fund in 2009, that financed theatrical features with a production volume of $60 million.
She co-created, co-financed and executive produced the beauty competition series GLOBAL BEAUTY MASTERS (TLC) and its spin-off series THE LOOK ALL-STARS (CW Network). She further managed the renowned dog series TV series and brand DOG WHISPERER WITH CESAR MILLAN, which aired for 9 seasons on the National Geographic Channel and sold in over 180 countries. In 2020 Jeanette co-created, financed, and produced two seasons for the new series DOG MASTERS, starring Laura Nativo and Alex Rossi, which is being represented by The Gersh Agency for the U.S. and international distribution.
Jeanette B. Milio is a member of the Producer’s Council for The Producers Guild of America, an executive member of Women in Film, and a member of the Cannes Film Festival Producer’s Network. Jeanette was a co-founder of the Film Finance Forum in Zurich with Winston Baker, teaches Entertainment Finance at UCLAx, and is the author of the industry guide for film and television finance: ENTERTAINMENT FINANCE TODAY, a comprehensive guide in film and television finance.
Jeanette B. Milio holds a bachelor’s degree in Business (Fachhoschule Cologne, Germany), and studied screenplay writing (USC, Los Angeles).
Credits
