Man, does this make me feel better about my own struggles making our first feature! This is the part that really got me:
"Financing came via foreign pre-sales through STX International, the Italian tax credit, as well as private investors. As such, Ferrari’s credits reveal “a veritable conga line of producers”.
“It’s the best and the worst way to make a film,” notes Mann. “The best is we could control what happened and make the film. Having said that, it was a short schedule. It was a 56-day shoot; I shot it in 58. For a film of this scale, that’s short. Independently financed movies are usually $15m-$35m movies.”
Ferrari, which stars Adam Driver as Enzo — “we’re very similar,” says Mann of the actor, “we’re both committed to do whatever it takes to make a performance or film” — alongside Penelope Cruz as his wife and Shailene Woodley as his mistress, cost much more. Building the replica cars cost almost $6m. “Everybody cut [their fees], starting with Adam and myself. Penelope cut as well, so the picture was made by the will of the people working on the movie.”
The responsibilities of independent financing are “vast”, reflects Mann. “They are more than just legal and financial. There are actual people whose money has gone into the film at different times.” Two, Laura Rister and Marie Savare, provided “generous” bridging loans during pre-production. “You need bridging money to keep going, to set yourself up before you can finally close, which typically happens around the first day of principal photography,” says Mann. “In our case, we didn’t close until about the second week. If catastrophe had struck and we weren’t able to start, there was significant risk to both lenders. So there was an impetus to make sure this thing got made.”
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Great article on the dedication it takes to make an independent film!
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love these stories or resilience. thanks for sharing.
more please :)
Great share, Amanda Toney! I've never heard of the term "bridging money" before I read the article.
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So interesting! Perseverance truly is key.
Man, does this make me feel better about my own struggles making our first feature! This is the part that really got me:
"Financing came via foreign pre-sales through STX International, the Italian tax credit, as well as private investors. As such, Ferrari’s credits reveal “a veritable conga line of producers”.
“It’s the best and the worst way to make a film,” notes Mann. “The best is we could control what happened and make the film. Having said that, it was a short schedule. It was a 56-day shoot; I shot it in 58. For a film of this scale, that’s short. Independently financed movies are usually $15m-$35m movies.”
Ferrari, which stars Adam Driver as Enzo — “we’re very similar,” says Mann of the actor, “we’re both committed to do whatever it takes to make a performance or film” — alongside Penelope Cruz as his wife and Shailene Woodley as his mistress, cost much more. Building the replica cars cost almost $6m. “Everybody cut [their fees], starting with Adam and myself. Penelope cut as well, so the picture was made by the will of the people working on the movie.”
The responsibilities of independent financing are “vast”, reflects Mann. “They are more than just legal and financial. There are actual people whose money has gone into the film at different times.” Two, Laura Rister and Marie Savare, provided “generous” bridging loans during pre-production. “You need bridging money to keep going, to set yourself up before you can finally close, which typically happens around the first day of principal photography,” says Mann. “In our case, we didn’t close until about the second week. If catastrophe had struck and we weren’t able to start, there was significant risk to both lenders. So there was an impetus to make sure this thing got made.”
Just incredible...