The Film Business

Nowadays the tension between commercial and artistic control of film production has become more pronounced. Conflicting financial interests among investors have to be carefully negotiated by independent producer/directors who do not want to compromise their artistic integrity. Investorsare the venture capitalists who put up the money to fund the production. There is high risk in investing in movies, as many become box office flops. However, when a picture is successful, these venture capitalists stand to make a good return on their investments. The director/producer John Boorman has described the production process during the making of The Emerald Forest (1985) in detail. Negotiations with lawyers, studios, financiers, and ego-driven personalities took place over 18 months of pre-production. Finally, a budget of $14 million was agreed, followed by a relatively brief and relaxed period when the film was in production. A crew of 120 was reduced to only 8 in post-production, during which time special effects were produced and a music score composed. Finally, all the sound was mixed together, and the film was guided and controlled through the laboratories. It was only after previews in Washington, Dallas, and San Diego, and more adjustments, that the film was finally completed.

On the other hand, Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which was shot in the Philippines, far away from the dictates of financial control, ran considerably over its budgeted $12 million, was in production for 238 days, and finally cost $31 million. Michael Cimino, the director of Heaven's Gate, similarly overspent by $35 million and brought its distributor and financier United Artists to financial ruin. Even these figures pale in the face of the $180 million that Waterworld (1995) reputedly cost.

These examples demonstrate the unpredictable nature of film production in recent years, with the director, more than the producer, in control, and show how, in so expensive an industry, one error in the production process can throw out all calculations. As a feature film is, generally, a commercial product, all components in the production chain require meticulous costing and control. In part, the creative conflict between the producer and the director and his team is a constructive part of the film-production process, but there is no doubt that the tradition of the “working producer”, well versed in the techniques and problems of film-making, has disappeared. Producers are frequently financiers alone, without the knowledge of the practicalities of film-making, and the new school of director/producers can be self-serving. The history of film production suggests that where tight financial control fails, commercial disaster is likely to follow.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-21