One thing I've been thinking about lately is that most bad deals in the film industry aren't made because producers don't understand contracts.
In many cases, they understand the risks perfectly well. Yet they still sign.
Sometimes it's because financing is falling apart. Sometimes it's because they're afraid the opportunity won't come again. Sometimes they've already invested so much time and money into the project that walking away feels impossible.
I've seen producers accept unfavorable MGs, give away rights too early, agree to unrealistic delivery schedules, or stay in partnerships that clearly weren't working simply because they believed things would improve later. Looking back, the contract usually wasn't the real problem.
The decision was. It made me wonder whether psychology plays a much bigger role in film financing than we like to admit. How much of deal-making is actually driven by logic, and how much by pressure, optimism, ego, sunk-cost thinking, or fear of missing out?
I'd be interested to hear from producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors.
What do you think is the biggest reason experienced producers still end up making bad deals?
In many cases, they understand the risks perfectly well. Yet they still sign.
Sometimes it's because financing is falling apart. Sometimes it's because they're afraid the opportunity won't come again. Sometimes they've already invested so much time and money into the project that walking away feels impossible.
I've seen producers accept unfavorable MGs, give away rights too early, agree to unrealistic delivery schedules, or stay in partnerships that clearly weren't working simply because they believed things would improve later. Looking back, the contract usually wasn't the real problem.
The decision was. It made me wonder whether psychology plays a much bigger role in film financing than we like to admit. How much of deal-making is actually driven by logic, and how much by pressure, optimism, ego, sunk-cost thinking, or fear of missing out?
I'd be interested to hear from producers, financiers, sales agents and distributors.
What do you think is the biggest reason experienced producers still end up making bad deals?
- Genre
- General / Multiple Genres
