Producing : What's Your Budget? Who Cares! by Shane Stanley

I just got finished doing a Producing seminar and I'd say 99% of the gang was stuck on getting their film made because of a budget they've decided it needed to be and cannot come up with the money. Who set your budget, I'd ask? All of them admit to placing that self-imposed price tag on the project which, if you're seeking private equity may be a bit of a stretch to put it kindly. I'm reminded of when my father, Lee Stanley had put a $1M price tag on his big labor of love, "Desperate Passage" (back in the mid-80s) and after 4 fruitless years, he finally got the call. We drove up to Moniesito where a wealthy friend of the family lived and he said he was tired of watching my father talk about his dream without bearing any fruit. He handed over an envelope and said, "Go make your movie!" We got into the car (would'a popped champagne if we had it) and when dad opened the envelope, it had $25,000 in it. Assuming this gentleman was going to put us on a draw payment schedule, my father went back to ask when we'd see the rest of it? A minute or three later, he returned with his head slung low and said, "That's all he would give us. He told us to figure it out and go make your movie!" Well, guess what? We did. Mom, Dad, and I went out, gathered some cheap, borrowed gear and a crew of 4, and made the film. It took 2 yrs for anyone to even watch it after it was done but then a miracle happened. Steve Bell, former Pres. of KTLA somehow saw it, called us into his office and said he wanted to make it the biggest event on television. And he did just that. Michael Landon signed on to the project to open and close it and the show went #1 in the Nielson ratings (twice) and was nominated for 4 Emmys, winning 2 and launched the "Desperate Passage Series", where we did 6 more which gathered 33 Emmy noms and won 13 of those little ladies. And the budgets for the other 6 shows never exceeded $200,000 "Gridiron Gang" was part of that series, which went on to be re-made with SONY Pictures starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and was a #1 blockbuster hit. I tell you guys this simply to encourage you. We have more resources now than ever to make movies look good on a shoestring budget. Don't look at what you want to make something for, grit your teeth and figure out what it'll take to really get it done. I promise you, you'll get a lot more movies made and better, each one will be a stepping stone to the next which can have a bigger budget and a lot better chance to get you where you want to be, rather than talking about it. You've got this! Now let's go make some movies! xo