By all means invest, but share the risk, or throw a few quid at Kickstarter.
Paying for the bulk of the negative/hard drive yourself, and leaving your own assets exposed?
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This is the kind of film that studios run a mile from.
All the dialogue was in old languages, and thus the film would be subtitled.
Gibson funded this, partly through Icon, and partly through his own money.
It was a substantial investment in a seemingly uncommercial venture.
But thenThe Passion Of The Christbecame a US box office phenomenon.
Gibson became an extremely rich man.
Furthermore, he put money intoKill The Gringo/How I Spent My Summer Vacationto get the film made.
Now this ones a story and a half.
He pulled the plug with the Pythons on the eve of production, andBrianfaced a bleak future.
And this wasnt just a rich person digging into their bank account.
EMI, incidentally, would profit through its cinema chain.
The point was duly made, although Delfont has said that he never regretted the decision.
Wewrote about the film in more detail here.
Richard Briers gives arguably his best big screen comedy performance in the movie.
As Branagh told us in an interview earlier in the year, It was very personal.
And at the cast and crew screening, as everybody came out, giving everybody a cheque.
Having watched Richard LinklatersSlacker, a young Smith realised that he wanted a stab at filmmaking too.
With the script forClerksin place, he just needed to find a way to pay for it all.
In short, he gambled everything.
He sold a large chunk of his comic book collection.
The gamble paid off.
Heres another tale of a filmmaker willing to gamble everything to finance their first picture.
The history of cinema will be forever grateful he did.
Kubricks uncle happened to own a New York drug store, and evidently one that was doing rather well.
As such, Kubrick borrowed the $40,000 needed to makeKillers Kissfrom his uncle.
Once completed, United Artists insisted on a different ending before it would put the movie out.
That said, there wasnt just Dyer in the cast.
50 Cent, Brenda Blethyn and the mighty Alan Ford were also on board.
Furthermore, audience reaction was more pleasant than the critical response.
Thus, a dozen youngsters, in their late teens or early 20s, served as runners.
You have to say thats one fine gesture, and much to Ferdinands credit.
To date, its the last film venture that either footballer has invested in.
And he made the bold choice to fund the entire production fee himself.
The cost of the film was a cool $33m.
Now, thatd feel closer to $100m.
As such, to pay forThe Empire Strikes Back,Lucas very much put his future on the line.
He took some of hisStar Warsearnings, and then took out loans to cover the rest.
But the two who put the money in to make it happen were actually Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness.
Usually they will take a project for a fee.
Out of one to ten, with ten being the most risky, it was a ten.
Siegel-Magness and Magness channelled the project through their Smokewood Entertainment banner, and continue to produce movies.
The eventual profits fromPreciouscant have hurt there.
