Movie People - can you please explain

[cmccuist]

I just watched the movie Faces in the Crowd with Milla Jovovich. It took about 2 minutes to go through all the different production companies involved.

Millenium Entertainment
Minds Eye Entertainment
Forecast Pictures
Radar Films
Frantic Films
The Aura Film Partnership
Fierce Entertainment
Voltage Pictures

I'm used to seeing 4 or 5 different production companies, but this one is ridiculous!!

How does that work anyway? Why so many compaines to make a film?

[Heel n Toe]

Yeah, I'd also like to know if there's an industry slang term for that parade of logos, no matter how many there are.

[petrolhead611]

The whole credits thing p---es me of on TV shows and films alike.Who cares who made the tea or operated the camera or directed the thing anyway?Except the person that made the tea etc.You watch a film for a couple of hours, thats all, and too much of that is credits. And whats all this with repeating the jokes scenes at the end of so-called comedy TV programs? Is it cos they couldn't write enough good material?
You don't see a list of the designers and engineers involved in a car or airplane painted on the side and yet that work represents one heck of a lot more creativity
than a TV show or film. Oh and the engineers don't feature on TV shows tearfully thanking everyone they have ever spoken to for their help.

[VaSteve]

Look at old movies...you get the actors and that's it. You have no idea who did anything else. I wouldn't say that's necessarily fair. I dont think the caterer matters much in 20 years but knowing who might have run the camera might be important. Especially if you're the cameraman trying to get more work based on that effort.

[GH85Carrera]

I just wish I could bicth slap the vast majority of the sound engineers. The music is way too loud most of the time. When the music and sound effects overpower the dialog I just wonder what the heck the sound engineer was thinking.

[ckissick]

Back to the original question. I don't know the answer, but my guess is that it took that many production companies to pitch in enough money to make the movie. They all owned a small percentage.

Come to think of it, if you were to get enough old ladies to buy a percenatge of a film (or a play, for that matter), you could conceivably sell far more than 100% of the film/play and make a ton of money. But the movie/play would have to be a flop so the investors would not expect any money back. Nah, no one would ever try that.

[svandamme]

It's probably the actors involved in the movie, that invest their part through their own production companies
That way they can optimize their profits and in a way that leaves em enough room to also optimize taxes.

[cmccuist]

It seems there are also a large number of producers as well. Executive producers, associate producers, regular producers...

What do you have to do to get that credit? So many production companies and producers. It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated.

[TGTIW]

Originally Posted by cmccuist

It seems there are also a large number of producers as well. Executive producers, associate producers, regular producers...

What do you have to do to get that credit? So many production companies and producers. It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated.

You negotiate it. Sometime just to get what you need from someone you have to give them a Producer credit.

[songhoh]

Some projects that have limited budgets would be worth working on, just for the credits. In these cases, you would "trade" services, goods, etcetera for advertising through the "credit roll." Make sense? Sometime companies have been know to offer deep discounts for "Production credit." This stops as soon as you get rich enough.

[ossiblue]

Originally Posted by TGTIW

You negotiate it. Sometime just to get what you need from someone you have to give them a Producer credit.

In a related area--TV shows--I suspect this is the case. Have you noticed how many actors in sitcoms are also "producers" of the show? Case in point, "The Office." Possibly many of the actors are taking a bit of a pay cut to get production credit?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I just wish I could bicth slap the vast majority of the sound engineers. The music is way too loud most of the time. When the music and sound effects overpower the dialog I just wonder what the heck the sound engineer was thinking.

I seldom see a movie in a theater for that reason. The music and sound effects are WAY too loud and the dialog is to quiet. I take earplugs to the theater when I do go. It seems they block out the loudest sounds and let the dialog come through better. It's an improvement, but not great.

[craigster59]

The different production companies are involved in financing and distributing the film. They all get a "piece of the pie". As far as producers go, it's gotten way out of hand. Credits are given as incentives, favors, etc.

An example: Bonanza, ran for 14 seasons.....

Series Produced by
David Dortort .... producer / executive producer (425 episodes, 1959-1973)
James W. Lane .... associate producer / production executive / ... (242 episodes, 1961-1968)
Richard Collins .... producer (127 episodes, 1968-1973)
John Hawkins .... associate producer (85 episodes, 1969-1973)
Thomas Thompson .... associate producer (34 episodes, 1960-1961)
Robert Blees .... producer (12 episodes, 1967-1968)
Robert Stillman .... production executive (6 episodes, 1963-1965)


Now, House in it's last season, an 8 year run........

Series Produced by
Peter Blake .... co-executive producer / consulting producer / ... (164 episodes, 2004-2012)
Paul Attanasio .... executive producer (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
Katie Jacobs .... executive producer (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
Thomas L. Moran .... executive producer / co-executive producer / ... (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
David Shore .... executive producer (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
Bryan Singer .... executive producer (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
Gerrit van der Meer .... co-executive producer / producer (160 episodes, 2004-2012)
Marcy G. Kaplan .... producer / co-producer / ... (158 episodes, 2004-2012)
Russel Friend .... executive producer / co-executive producer (139 episodes, 2005-2012)
Garrett Lerner .... executive producer / co-executive producer (139 episodes, 2005-2012)
Allen Marshall Palmer .... co-producer / associate producer (137 episodes, 2005-2012)
Lawrence Kaplow .... co-executive producer / producer / ... (125 episodes, 2005-2011)
Liz Friedman .... supervising producer / co-producer / ... (125 episodes, 2006-2012)
Doris Egan .... co-executive producer / consulting producer (110 episodes, 2005-2010)
Eli Attie .... co-executive producer (94 episodes, 2007-2012)
David Foster .... co-executive producer / producer / ... (90 episodes, 2007-2012)
David Hoselton .... supervising producer / producer / ... (89 episodes, 2007-2012)
Steven Heth .... co-producer / associate producer (87 episodes, 2004-2008)
Sara Hess .... supervising producer / co-producer / ... (78 episodes, 2008-2012)
Julie Hrebec .... associate producer (71 episodes, 2008-2012)
Leonard Dick .... supervising producer / co-executive producer (64 episodes, 2006-2009)
Lindsey Jaffin .... associate producer / producer (60 episodes, 2008-2011)
Greg Yaitanes .... executive producer / co-executive producer (57 episodes, 2009-2012)
Hugh Laurie .... executive producer (47 episodes, 2009-2012)
John Mankiewicz .... consulting producer / co-executive producer (45 episodes, 2004-2006)
Matt Witten .... supervising producer (45 episodes, 2004-2006)
Daniel Sackheim .... executive producer / consulting producer / ... (44 episodes, 2004-2007)
Deran Sarafian .... co-executive producer (34 episodes, 2007-2009)
John C. Kelley .... co-executive producer / supervising producer (33 episodes, 2010-2012)
Seth Hoffman .... co-producer / producer / ... (29 episodes, 2010-2012)
Kath Lingenfelter .... co-producer / producer / ... (29 episodes, 2010-2012)
Geoffrey Colo .... producer: New Media (27 episodes, 2010-2011)
Sara B. Cooper .... consulting producer (21 episodes, 2004-2005)
David Semel .... co-executive producer (16 episodes, 2005-2006)
Sean Whitesell .... co-executive producer (12 episodes, 2007-2008)
Dan Lerner .... consulting producer (9 episodes, 2005)
Bruce J. Nachbar .... associate producer (8 episodes, 2004-2005)
Ben Neumann .... consulting producer (5 episodes, 2004-2008)

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by ckissick

Back to the original question. I don't know the answer, but my guess is that it took that many production companies to pitch in enough money to make the movie. They all owned a small percentage.

Come to think of it, if you were to get enough old ladies to buy a percenatge of a film (or a play, for that matter), you could conceivably sell far more than 100% of the film/play and make a ton of money. But the movie/play would have to be a flop so the investors would not expect any money back. Nah, no one would ever try that.

Your first statement is pretty much correct. Movie got started, ran out of money, signed on other partners.

You can invest in a string of films, my MIL invested in Silver Screen Partners 2, or 3, I don't remember, it was a Disney thing years ago. She did OK with it. Most movie investors never really make their money back.

In the case of Titanic, the first $100 Million production, FOX went to Paramount as the costs soared to share the risk/rewards.

Yeah, lots of "Producers" many of whom can't make any decisions and you never meet them on the set.

Most credits are union negotiated for each craft that participated in the creation of the movie.

[HardDrive]

Originally Posted by petrolhead611

The whole credits thing p---es me of on TV shows and films alike.Who cares who made the tea or operated the camera or directed the thing anyway?Except the person that made the tea etc.You watch a film for a couple of hours, thats all, and too much of that is credits. And whats all this with repeating the jokes scenes at the end of so-called comedy TV programs? Is it cos they couldn't write enough good material?
You don't see a list of the designers and engineers involved in a car or airplane painted on the side and yet that work represents one heck of a lot more creativity
than a TV show or film. Oh and the engineers don't feature on TV shows tearfully thanking everyone they have ever spoken to for their help.

Would it really be too much effort to.....oh I don't know.....leave when the credits start to roll?

[Porsche virgin]

Peter feels your pain...

Peter Family Guy waiting for film to start - YouTube

[dhoward]

Originally Posted by ckissick

Snipped.....

Come to think of it, if you were to get enough old ladies to buy a percenatge of a film (or a play, for that matter), you could conceivably sell far more than 100% of the film/play and make a ton of money. But the movie/play would have to be a flop so the investors would not expect any money back. Nah, no one would ever try that.

Just maybe. Maybe a musical. Yeah. With Adolph Hitler as the lead!

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Just maybe. Maybe a musical. Yeah. With Adolph Hitler as the lead!

I know a German pigeon keeper with just the right script. Let's talk.