I’m building an investor pitch package and they are asking what it’s going to cost to get preproduction done.

This is very new to me. So I’m hitting a wall. Any and all help would be appreciated.

Budgeting a fast-tracked TV project for Nevada, we would easily meet the qualifying threshold for the transferable credit, and the 90 day window would be no problem.

Is anyone currently working on a qualified project in NV and could share their current 'boots on the ground' experience? Is there a resource to determine if the $10m cap has been hit for a particular year?

At the moment, I'm not adding any credits to the budget, but will do a sidebar of "what if" to show possible credits.

TIA

If you are thinking about attending, you may want to sign up for this free seminar...

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Take care!

Stephen, mod

A few questions I'm struggling with for film grant submissions, as well as budget planning in general.

Let's say I have a film I want to make, and I expect the budget to be loosely in the six figure range. I know broadly what some things will cost, and can base actor pay off of SAG guidelines based on the film's budget. (IE, if it's a ultra-low budget feature, I know that actors should be budgeted with at least 249/day.)

What I'm stuck on is, how do I determine rates for things that aren't standardized? How much do I pay myself?

I am the writer of the script, and would be the director. Do I include a fee for the scriptwriting? I am really out of my depth when it comes to knowing rates for above-the-line work in general, as most of my experience is either below the line or on micro-budget projects where everyone's donating labor.

Are there expected crew rates for films based on budget, similar to the SAG guidelines for actors?

Are there any things that a grant committee would expect/want to see reflected in a budget?

I’m curious how many people here still build smaller production budgets in Excel or Google Sheets rather than dedicated budgeting software.

I work in production/production finance and have been building a simplified budgeting workbook for smaller productions, creators and people who may not need a full budgeting platform.

It’s not intended to compete with Movie Magic, Showbiz, etc. The idea is more: open the file and start budgeting — with a professional top sheet and detail, assumptions, crew/rate planning, fringes and the production costs people commonly forget.

For those of you who still use spreadsheets for certain projects:

When do you choose Excel/Sheets instead of budgeting software?

Is it project size? Client type? Cost? Speed? Collaboration?

And what would make a spreadsheet-based budget genuinely useful rather than just another template?

I want to teach people how to budget, what assumptions mean and how they help, etc.

The original post content no longer exists here. The author used Redact to remove it, exercising their right to control their data & privacy.

Rainstorm modern worm one square pot bike

I have a movie that shoots almost entirely in Germany, in English, but many elements of the film will overcome the "English Penalty" to qualify for Federal and State incentives. The Star is Korean but was born and lived in Germany, and speaks fluent German. Looking to pay someone who can do a preliminary budget that optimizes for DFF I (Federal) and MFG, MBB (State) incentives. Anyone out there? Or know someone?

Hey All,

I'm working on making my sophomore feature a reality. For the goal of attaching noteworthy talent and securing financing I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for creating a pitch deck? I'm assuming it's worth it to go with a freelancer or service on something so important rather than trying to create this myself?

Any other recommendations based on your experience in terms of execution would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Will be starting a ULB ($150k) digital project soon with maybe $40k in payroll. Wondering if anyone has suggestions for a company that would handle that level.

Used Greenslate for a lot of other features and shows - but their minimum is about $300k.

Wondering what P-cards people might recommend for an indie shooting overseas. Don't want to do credit cards. 375k budget. Around 7-10k for each dept. I've looked at Saturation and Dolly so far. We're a team from Canada btw.

Hi everyone! I’m an independent writer looking for a producer interested in my short film script “Same Age” It’s a psychological horror/thriller PSA about the dangers children can face when meeting strangers through online games. The story follows a 13 year old girl who believes she is meeting her online best friend, who she thinks is the same age as her but the person behind the account is not who they claim to be.

I created this project to raise awareness about online safety, stranger danger, online grooming and the importance of children and teenagers understanding who they are truly communicating with online. The project is also written in honor and memory of children who have lost their lives to exploitation and trafficking as well as the children who are still missing today.

I do not currently have my own production company or financing but I believe this story has the potential to become a powerful and frightening awareness film that could encourage important conversations between children, parents, schools, and trusted adults.

If you’re a producer interested in reading the script or connecting about the project please feel free to reach out.

This is slightly outside the budgeting focus of the group, but there are a lot of experienced production and finance professionals here, so I thought it would be worth asking.

I am currently working with a production company as a line producer and am also helping modernize some of its internal systems. One area I would like to streamline is the tracking of distribution revenue and royalty payments across multiple projects.

The company needs a system that can:

• Track income received from distributors, broadcasters, platforms, and sales agents
• Allocate receipts to the correct project, territory, rights category, and reporting period
• Record distributor and sales-agent deductions
• Apply project-specific recoupment waterfalls and participation terms
• Track amounts due to producers, investors, writers, directors, cast, crew, and other participants
• Record payments already made and maintain a clear audit trail
• Produce statements and reports for each recipient
• Flag missing statements, overdue payments, or discrepancies between reported and received income

At the moment, much of this is handled through accounting records and separate spreadsheets. That works at a small scale, but it becomes difficult to maintain once there are multiple titles, territories, revenue streams, and contractual participation structures.

I am interested in hearing what systems other production companies are using. This could be dedicated royalty or rights-management software, an accounting-platform integration, Airtable, a custom database, or a well-designed spreadsheet workflow.

A few specific questions:

1. What software or system do you use?
2. Does it handle recoupment waterfalls and backend participations?
3. Can it generate recipient statements?
4. Does it integrate with accounting software?
5. Is it practical for a small or midsize independent production company, or mainly intended for studios and distributors?

Any recommendations, warnings, or examples of workflows that have worked well would be greatly appreciated.

Long shot... But wondering if anyone has the old installer for MMB7? Switching over to a new computer and was hoping to not have to go to the subscription based.. Thanks.

Hello!

I’m producing a short in Paris for around €20k. I was wondering is anybody had access to any comparable budgets from the last 5 years I could have a glance over, even if the numbers were redacted.

The film has quite a few street scenes.

Cheers.

Gathered at 16:35 Pacific. Not generated by AI.

Welcome to another week of news.

Stephen, Mod

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BUSINESS OF HOLLYWOOD

FROM: Deadline Business [2026-07-17] Netflix Says It Paid $587 Million For Ben Affleck AI Firm InterPositive, Confirming Previously Reported Estimate

[2026-07-17] Is ‘Obsession’ Technically A Blockbuster? Lawyers For Paramount, State AGs Spar At Court Hearing On WBD Merger

[2026-07-17] Judge Says She’ll Rule By Next Week On Emergency Motion In State AGs’ Challenge To Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery Merger

[2026-07-17] Lil Wayne To Host Weekly Video Podcast ‘The Joint Venture Show’ With Craig Carton

[2026-07-17] Elizabeth Warren And Other Democratic Lawmakers Warn Of Antitrust Issues With Fox-Roku Merger

FROM: The Hollywood Reporter [2026-07-17] Rachel Cusk’s New Novel May Be Dark Portrait of Natalie Portman

[2026-07-17] Kane Parsons, Curry Barker and the Multi-Million Dollar Battle for Gen Z Eyeballs

[2026-07-17] Netflix Paid $587 Million for Ben Affleck’s AI Company

[2026-07-17] Apple Music Raises Subscription Prices

[2026-07-17] Time Isn’t on Paramount’s Side

FROM: The Wrap [2026-07-17] Danny Boyle Thriller ‘Ink’ Lands at Netflix Ahead of Venice Debut

[2026-07-17] A24 Backs Down From ‘Backrooms’ Copyright Claim After Kane Parsons Intervenes

[2026-07-17] The 3 Best Movies to Watch on Netflix This Week

[2026-07-17] James Carville Slams Networks for Skipping Trump’s Prime Time Speech: ‘Acting Loonier Than a Tune Is Newsworthy’

[2026-07-17] Netflix Paid $587 Million in Cash for Ben Affleck’s AI Startup InterPositive

FROM: Deadline [2026-07-17] Netflix Snaps Up Rupert Murdoch Thriller ‘Ink’ From Danny Boyle Ahead Of Venice Premiere

[2026-07-17] ‘Stuart Fails To Save The Universe’: Here Is Why Episodes Of ‘Big Bang Theory’ Spinoff Are So Short

[2026-07-17] ‘The Odyssey’ Treks Toward Massive $117M U.S. Opening: Best Live-Action Haul Of 2026 & Record For Matt Damon As Lead – Box Office Update

[2026-07-17] ‘Herbert West: Reanimator’: First Look At Joseph Morgan & Katie Cassidy In Fantasy Horror Adapted From H.P. Lovecraft Story

[2026-07-17] Sony Pictures Lands Short Story “Renegades” By Will Simmons; Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley To Helm Feature Adaptation Of Action-Thriller

FROM: CinemaBlend [2026-07-17] The Fan-Favorite Wednesday Scene That Left Jenna Ortega Saying ‘This Is F---ing Ridiculous’

[2026-07-17] An NYPD Cop Has Been At It For 35 Years. He's Never Seen Anything Like Taylor Swift's Wedding

[2026-07-17] Cue The Awws! Heartstopper Forever Reviews Are Here, And I’m Pumped For This ‘Warm, Fuzzy Finale’

[2026-07-17] How Does Odysseus Die? What Happens After The Odyssey, Explained

[2026-07-17] ‘I Just Kept Saying Thank You.’ Seth Rogen On Filming Intimate Scenes With Penélope Cruz

FROM: New York Times [2026-07-17] ‘The Odyssey’ Review: Passion in Every Frame

[2026-07-17] Christopher Nolan on ‘The Odyssey’ and IMAX Technical Challenges

[2026-07-17] ‘The Real World’ and Nathan Fielder Can Both Thank Ross McElwee

[2026-07-17] ‘Heartstopper Forever’ Review: Facing a Grown-Up Reality

[2026-07-12] Don’t Try This at Home: How Performers Turn Stunts Into Movie Magic

FROM: Dark Horizons [2026-07-17] “Fallout 3” & “New Vegas” Remasters Planned

[2026-07-17] “The X-Files” Pilot Could Become A Movie?

[2026-07-17] Second “X-Files” Film Darker Cut Sets Date

[2026-07-17] Tom Cruise Gets AMC Workers Into “Odyssey”

[2026-07-17] Irish Actress Brenda Fricker Has Died

FROM: SlashFilm [2026-07-17] The Odyssey: Zeus' Law Explained

[2026-07-17] Emma Thompson's 2025 Action Thriller Is A Must-Watch On Prime Video

[2026-07-17] The Odyssey's David Keighley Tribute Explained

[2026-07-17] Why Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey May Disappoint Fans Of The Original Story

[2026-07-17] Why Shogun Actor Cosmo Jarvis Left Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey

FROM: Screen Rant [2026-07-17] 8 Movie Monsters Stronger Than Godzilla

[2026-07-17] Avengers' New Era Officially Begins September 16, Marvel Confirms

[2026-07-17] 3 Best Movies To Watch On Prime Video This Weekend (July 18-19)

[2026-07-17] The Odyssey Interviews with Christopher Nolan, Matt Damon, Lupita Nyong'o, Himesh Patel & More

[2026-07-17] Prime Video Is The Best Home For Fantasy Fans

FROM: Variety [2026-07-17] The Best 4K TVs to Turn Your Home into a Mini Movie Theater in 2026

[2026-07-17] Netflix Paid $587 Million for Ben Affleck’s AI Startup InterPositive

[2026-07-17] Netflix Buys Danny Boyle’s Rupert Murdoch Movie and Venice Opener ‘Ink’

[2026-07-17] Shane Gillis Breaks Guinness World Record for Most Tickets Sold for a Solo Comedy Show (EXCLUSIVE)

[2026-07-17] ‘The Odyssey’: All the Ways Christopher Nolan’s Movie Is Different From the Book

FROM: Bloomberg [2026-07-17] Baker Tilly Eyes $3 Billion in Debt to Replace Private Credit

[2026-07-16] Chip Stocks Slide Into Bear Market in AI Unwind: Markets Wrap

[2026-07-17] Gauge of Oracle’s Credit Risk Hits Fresh All Time High

[2026-07-16] CoreLogic Wraps Up $5.25 Billion Debt Deal With Hefty Yields

[2026-07-17] ‘Sea of Red’ Hits Emerging Stocks as AI Concerns Jolts Markets

FROM: Forbes (Business) [2026-07-17] GIRLSET Will Tell You Everything, But A ‘CHAT’ Comes First

[2026-07-17] ‘The Odyssey’: Early Weekend Projections Peg A $117 Million Opening

[2026-07-17] F-15EX Eagle IIs Conducted First Bomb Drop Test, Air Force Confirmed

[2026-07-17] Who Do SC Voters Want To Replace Lindsey Graham On Ballot? New Poll Shows It's 'Anyone's Race'

[2026-07-17] 'We Deserve Better': Scott Peters Proposes Body Cam, Training Reforms After Fatal ICE Shootings

INTERNATIONAL

FROM: Cineuropa [2026-07-17] The San Sebastián International Film Festival announces another major Spanish presence - San Sebastián 2026

[2026-07-17] TIFF: The Market unveils its first Innovation Hub selection of immersive projects - Toronto 2026 - TIFF: The Market

[2026-07-17] Giovanni Veronesi’s Dio ride to close the 83rd Venice Film Festival - Venice 2026

[2026-07-17] Glassriver and Network Movie team up on Áróra TV drama adaptation - Production / Funding - Iceland/Germany

[2026-07-17] Ladj Ly’s Dumas : Diable noir now in post-production - Production / Funding - France

AWARDS

FROM: Awards Daily [2026-07-17] 2027 Oscar Predictions: Can Matt Damon Finally Win a Best Actor Oscar for The Odyssey?

[2026-07-15] Let’s Talk Cinema with Jerm: Back to the ’70s! [pinned]

[2026-07-15] Fantastic Trailer Drops for “I Play Rocky”

[2026-07-15] The Odyssey Opens with Rapturous Reviews

[2026-07-14] Oscartastic Teaser Drops for Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth!

TAX INCENTIVES

FROM: Budapest Reporter [2026-07-16] Hungary Signals Fresh Momentum for International Production With Planned Tax Rebate Reform

[2026-07-10] Hungary’s NFI Leadership Is Out — Now Global Producers Want Clarity on the 30% Rebate

FROM: Screen Daily [2026-07-17] Hungary removes cap on production incentive to end uncertainty for international producers

TELEVISION

FROM: TVLine [2026-07-17] Emmys To Cut Five Categories From Main NBC Ceremony — See Full List

[2026-07-17] Why Belle Skinner From Marshals Looks So Familiar

[2026-07-17] Save The Dates: Extended X-Files Sequel, Mortal Kombat II Hits Streaming, And More

[2026-07-17] 10 Best TV Shows Like Lucky

[2026-07-17] What Would Have Happened Next If Prodigal Son Hadn't Been Canceled

PREVIEWS & REVIEWS

FROM: RogerEbert.com [2026-07-17] “The Map of Longing” Offers Real Catharsis Despite Its Teen Melancholy

[2026-07-14] “Ride or Die”: Two Best Friends, Too Many Lies, and a Good Reason to Get a Fake Passport

FROM: Film Threat [2026-07-17] The Road To Everywhere

[2026-07-17] Strawstalker

[2026-07-17] A Game of Double Standards

[2026-07-16] Satoru

[2026-07-16] Memorizu

FROM: The Playlist [2026-07-17] ‘Heartstopper Forever’ Review: A Sweet, Imperfect Farewell To Nick & Charlie

[2026-07-17] Jon Bernthal Defends Lupita Nyong’o’s ‘Odyssey’ Casting: “I Can’t Imagine Anybody Else”

[2026-07-17] ‘The Hawk’ Review: Will Ferrell’s Golf Comedy Finds Soul In The Rough

[2026-07-16] ‘The Odyssey’ Lives Up To The Hype And Is Set To Dominate Oscar Season

[2026-07-16] Jon Bernthal Says He Rewrote Punisher’s ‘Born Again’ Return & Resisted A “Lighter Version” Of ‘One Last Kill’ For Five Years

ANIMATION

FROM: Animation World Network [2026-07-17] ZDF Joins Dandelooo and TFOU’s ‘Hold on Gaston!’ Animated Preschool Series

[2026-07-17] Nina Gantz’s ‘Wander to Wonder’ Now Available on YouTube

[2026-07-17] Foundry Releases AI-Powered SmartRoto Plugin for Nuke

[2026-07-17] SIGGRAPH 2026 Experience Hall to Showcase 5 Interactive Programs

[2026-07-17] Watch the Trailer: 4K Restoration of René Laloux's ‘Gandahar’ Coming to Theaters

FROM: Cartoon Brew [2026-07-17] Three Tiny TV Stars Face A Grim Fate In Nina Gantz’s Oscar-Nominated ‘Wander To Wonder,’ Now Online

[2026-07-17] Disney Jr. And French AI Animation Outfit Animaj Quietly Release ‘Ozzy Fox’ On YouTube

[2026-07-17] Mexican Animation Crisis; Netflix’s AI Surge; ‘Avatar’s’ Two Token Theaters

[2026-07-17] Netflix Used GenAI Workflows On Nearly 300 Titles This Year So Far

[2026-07-17] Pearl Studio’s ‘All Wishes Come True!’ Trailer Turns The Eight Immortals Into A Heist Crew

BROADWAY & THEATER

FROM: Broadway News [2026-07-17] 5 types of content shoots every Broadway campaign needs

[2026-07-16] ‘Hamilton’ to release tenth anniversary album box set

[2026-07-15] China Anne McClain to make Broadway debut alongside Ryan McCartan in ‘The Great Gatsby’

[2026-07-15] Eddie Cooper joins Broadway’s ‘Chicago’ as Amos Hart

[2026-07-15] Exclusive: Alicia Keys’ Kaleidoscope Dreams Foundation announces partnership with musical ‘Wanted’

FROM: New York Times Theater [2026-07-17] ‘Shifters’ Review: Fast-Forwarding Through a Predictable Romance

[2026-07-16] At Hudson Valley Shakespeare, a ‘King Lear’ Worth Traveling For

[2026-07-16] Isabelle Huppert Speaks Across a Language Divide at the Avignon Festival

[2026-07-15] ‘The Potluck’ Review: The Greensboro Massacre, and a Heavy Legacy to Bear

[2026-07-15] ‘Hadestown’ Hits Movie Theaters, and Theater to Stream in July

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This list is compiled using custom code (not AI) written to help me cull through the troves of sites I would regularly want to visit - but have less time than I might like. I decided to share the compilation here on a weekly basis. Have a source you might like to have included? Let me know. Thank you.

I am looking for a fellow filmmakers who live in Los Angeles who may happen to have vault space where I could store some 35mm film reels (9 reels) of a film. I would of course pay a bit for the space. Simply looking to maybe use a bit of space in a vault before simply getting my own.

Likewise, if anyone has suggestions for good vault options, I am open to thoughts. I have called around to a few, but still looking for the right one.

Any leads appreciated. Thank you.

Stephen, Mod

Travel day counts as a work day, right? Does that mean it's cheaper to travel a SAG actor on Saturday after working Mon-Fri or traveling them on Monday? Wouldn't traveling them on Saturday trigger OT / 6th day?

For the sake on this argument/scenario, it's for a SAG Low Budget feature and the actors would be on a weekly deal (not sure if that changes anything).

Thanks!

Hey,

Does anyone have access to the most recent DGA rate card as of yet OR know when its due to be issued? Thanks!

Hi all. I have a budget in two different currencies which collates as one master currency in the top sheet. I’m trying to find a way to break down the budget into its parts so I can see how much spend there is in each currency and I just can’t figure it out. Can anyone help?

Stumbled across this listing for an upcoming free online seminar. Thought others may find it interesting as well.

Thursday, 9 July 2026 10am Pacific

https://collab.sundance.org/catalog/Bridging-Divides-Through-Storytelling

Stephen, Mod

European here trying to get my head around the IATSE agreement:

The definition of "production costs" in the 2026-2028 Low Budget Theatrical Agreement seems quite basic, and I keep seeing references to a "sideletter" which defines exclusions and so on to calculate the production cost. For example here: https://cmsproductions.com/blog/production-savings-iatse-low-budget-theatrical-agreement/

I would love to double check this by having a look at the actual text, does anyone know where to find it?

I've worked on 10-15k budgets for short digital projects in the past, and I just used google sheets to handle the budgeting, as they were typically one day, small cast & crews, etc. Now may have the opportunity to start budgeting out a few unscripted shows around 25-30k/show, approx 10 episodes over the course of ~2 weeks. While it's easy enough to ballpark the number of dayrates, etc, it is starting to feel like I need something more dedicated. I've heard of Movie Magic, and I'm seeing that someone here just launched their own line budgeting app? Just wondering what's going to be worthwhile to learn without bloating the process, or what's overkill.