So, you want to have a go at making movies. How might you go about doing it? Could I – a two-time feature film producer and 20-year veteran of the industry – offer you any advice, perhaps?
Yes, I can: don’t do it. It’s a terrible idea. It’s a thankless job and you will hate it.
But listen, if you can’t be dissuaded and your heart really is set on pursuing this ill-judged dream, then maybe I can give you some pointers.
cash rules everything around me (c.r.e.a.m.)
To start with, you’re going to need to raise some money. As an independent feature producer – i.e. a freelancer – you’ll be operating within certain parameters and realities. The starkest and most troubling of these is the bleak fact that the overwhelming majority of independent feature films in the UK lose money for their investors. The money that they bring in – from box office receipts, home entertainment, TV sales and international distribution deals – is very often a lot less than the cost of producing the film in the first place.
Why is that? Well, fewer people go to the cinema these days and they go less frequently than they used to. Moreover, when people do go to the cinema, for the most part they tend to go and see big-budget (think £100 million plus) Hollywood blockbusters, foregoing the less splashy, less starry fare that the average independent budget tends to be able to produce. As of 2023, the average budget of a UK independent production was just over £2 million, while the average UK box office for an independent film is in the region of £200,000. Whereas DVD sales were once a reliable fallback, with per-unit profits of approx £4, that market has been more or less entirely wiped out by the streamers and video-on-demand platforms, where the equivalent return in royalties to the producer is closer to 10p per stream. All that’s to say, in the words of the British Film Institute’s Research and Statistics Unit, the situation for the UK independent filmmaking sector is ‘challenging’.
So how do you get anyone to finance your film when it’s likely going to end up losing money? One way might be to partner up with an existing independent production company – someone like HeyDay (responsible for the Harry Potter series, the Paddington movies and, most recently, Wonka), SeeSaw (The King’s Speech) or Element (The Favourite, Poor Things). These companies have a track record and level of expertise, as well as a book of contacts, that will make it more attractive for potential investors to give you their money. However, this is easier said than done. Assuming you do attract their interest, you’ll soon be fighting a battle to stay involved in your own film. Expect a certain ruthlessness and be prepared to fight for your corner, or you may find yourself being pushed – or at the very least, eased – out of your project.
When I was starting out, I nearly got the support of Sheffield-based Warp Films (credits include Submarine, This Is England and Four Lions) for my debut feature, but was subtly warned off the deal by their production executive Mary Burke (subsequently a commissioner at the BFI) who, without explicitly saying so, suggested that I might soon find myself forced off my own film. Not everyone in the business is as considerate of newcomers.
your money’s soft, mate
As a UK-based producer, though, you do have another option open to you – the public funding sector. The BFI, BBC Films and Film4 are rightly seen as the backbone of the UK film industry. Without them and the ‘soft’ government/lottery funding they provide, the independent sector would be non-existent. Their money is ‘soft’ in that it can be recouped in last position, after your other investors get their money back.
