After IATSE shut down the film multiple times over unpaid crew, Russell and producers Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher left the production and Capitol went into bankruptcy in 2010. Russell’s 2008 production “Nailed,” which was financed by the troubled Capitol Films. “Highlander II: The Quickening” (1991) also had a bond called when it went $10 million over budget.Īn infamous example of a film without a bond was David O. Terry Gilliam’s “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” (1988) had its bond called in and was taken over by Film Finances after the budget ballooned by over $20 million. Studios don’t have these problems, unless a film is independently financed the studio manages those concerns in house.Ĭompletion bonds are like earthquake insurance: It’s expensive, and the odds of using it are very slim, but not to have that protection against a budget over a few million dollars is to court catastrophe. The bond company also vets a film’s budget to make sure it’s sufficient to pay back all costs and will build in a contingency, roughly 10 percent of the overall budget, in case anything goes wrong before the bond company is on the hook for costs. “There’s just no practical way.”Īt its most basic level, the completion bond ensures a film can be delivered to a distributor and that loans are repaid. It’s as simple as that,” the sales agent said. “If you have a shoot that goes beyond the June 30 deadline or even close, you’re not going to be able to get a bond. If you’re not starting principal photography right now, few financiers want to risk being shut down midway through production. Many of the projects have locked scripts, but it’s the threat of a DGA or SAG work stoppage that needs clarity. Almost any indie movie with a pending bond is likely run into the same issue. did not return IndieWire’s requests for comment.Ī film finance executive explained that if a company like Film Finances, the largest guarantor in the industry, is worried, so is everyone else. An individual with knowledge of the production confirmed to IndieWire that it was on hold, but would-be guarantor Film Finances Inc. DGA Member: Other Guilds ‘Can Absolutely’ Benefit from Directors’ Gainsĭeadline reported that “The Island,” the latest film from Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War”) starring Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, was on hold because it couldn’t secure a completion bond.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |