Pre-Sales help secure movie financing.

A distributor's Pre-Sales helps take off some pressure on a production. Usually this type of arrangement is made when there is a marketable attachment to the production. As stated earlier, this attachment can be by a few means, but it is generally by a known marketable talent.

A Pre-Sale is generally when a buyer purchases the right to distribute a film within a defined territory and media prior to or during the film's production. It's not uncommon for different buyers to bid for the right to distribute the film. Of course, the distributor with the best offer secures the contract.

Different buyers may also compete for the contract based on media. By this, I mean theatrical or non-theatrical. Included in non-theatrical is network and cable tv along with video or dvd rental and sales. Also, let's not forget the growing markets within the ever expanding internet.

It generally takes a very marketable production package to entice a buyer. An experienced distributor knows which buyer to contact by territory and media.

The buyer generally has a working formula on similar genre films which may include the history of the attached talent and their popularity within each territory. It really can break down into a non glamorous pre-determined formula for each territory and media.

It's important to remember most successful screenwriting agents know what types of screenplays are currently on the genre hot list. They know the "A" list talent and equally important they know what talent is growing towards marketable popularity. It only makes sense having the screenwriters they represent to concentrate on the hot list genre with a particular talent in mind.

It all boils down to knowing, understanding the business of filmmaking. The more complete a presentation book, the better chance for Pre-Sales which leads directly to movie financing.

From Pre-Sales to Movie Financing