The RIGHT Business Plan For a Movie: A Filmmaker's Key to Success

While I am NOT the industry expert that knows what makes a business plan really sell to potential investors and not the ONE who makes film projects "pop" to major production companies/distributors... I know a couple of people who do. I also have the fortunate opportunity to calls these two people my professional business partners. This is often a filmmaker's key to making a successful movie in regard to actually getting distribution and paying back their investors. And if you're one of those art house filmmakers that thinks "I don't need to pay back my investors...I don't care about money" then you are not in the BUSINESS of making films.

Michael Bohlmann of Creatis Capital

One of my partners, Michael Bohlmann from New York, went to Harvard Business school and started out as a hedge fund manager on Wall Street. But his love for film and music always stayed close to his heart, so he transitioned (successfully) to writing business plans for films...Of course they are always from the perspective of what the savvy investor wants to see. The biggest thing that Michael tells me over and over again is that "investors what to see something that has minimal risk and can show fairly immediate returns". How this has come to play-out in strategizing on my latest horror film is that I have been finding film tax incentives and working on attaching key talent (on the production crew end and B-list actor end). While most filmmakers can say "I don't have a lot of money, but I can promise you, Mr./Ms. Investor, I'll make you a butt-ton of money", its 100% more powerful (even though I consider myself a director/producer first) to say "I know this can be a risky investment for you, but I have XYZ in place and can promise you an instant tax write-off, negative pick-up deal, etc." -Which filmmaker would you go with in this case?


An accomplished finance professional and independent producer, Michael's production credits include: The Erotic Fire of the Unattainable (2015), How To Grow a Band (2011), Happy New Year (2012) and Live from the Lower East Side (2010). Michael spent 15 years on Wall Street in senior structured finance roles for investment banks including Deutsche Bank, Bear Stearns and Societe Generale and raised capital for alternative investments with Asset Alliance and other firms. -The rest of his company bio can be found at creatiscapital.com

A friend of mine in the business of reviewing business plans (from a legal stand-point) is Elsa Ramo, who runs her own law firm in Los Angeles. The important component that she thinks is the deciding factor on whether or not a film gets made is all the creative principal's belief in the presentation. -You can go over all the analysis...You can explain "why" (in my case), horror movies make historically great returns and have high-concept value...but the most important thing is to have 2-3 things that can sell a story. High concept, talent and team. And of course, a well-written plan that show real good statistical analysis is the real game-changer. Writing a business plan with the intention to present it to industry professionals that read film market trends in the Hollywood Reporter and Variety better BELIEVE you did your research to justify making a $1m + movie. Arthouse or indie project alike, have your A-game ready at all times.

Elsa Ramo of Ramo Law in Beverly Hills

Elsa Ramo founded the firm in 2005 on the Universal Studios backlot. She graduated from University of San Diego School of Law in 2002, and began her career in entertainment law by establishing the Los Angeles office for Davis Dixon Kirby LLP (a royalty litigation firm). After several clients approached her to handle their independent productions, she created Ramo Law, which is now located in Beverly Hills. The focus of her firm is to provide comprehensive legal services to producers, financiers, creators and owners of film, television and digital content. 

More on what Elsa and her team does can be found at elsaramolawpc.com