Movies Inc: The Business of Film – Details, episodes & analysis

We chat to NY based producer Rachael Fung about the high’s and low’s of independent producing, being picked as Variety’s top producers to watch, the practical realities of different budget levels, balancing competing business and creative interests and we talk a lot about the business behind making FREMONT, Babak Jalali’s fourth feature film, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The second half of season 2 is back! We kick off with Patrick Walters, Executive Producer of Heartstopper from See Saw Films! Pat chats to us about what it means to be an Executive Producer in Television, working with broadcasters and streamers, creating unique stories for global audiences, and the importance of building the right team. Pat’s cats also make a brief appearance. 

We chat to Matt Vitins, COO of Matchbox Pictures, about going from corporate law to running an NBC backed global production company. He takes us behind the scenes of what his day-to-day is like, his perspective on different negotiation tactics, producing Australian productions for a global audience, and muses on whether lawyers are keeping up with emerging technologies. 

We chat to Sharon Menzies, Managing Director of Fulcrum Media Finance, about going from a small start up to one of Australia and New Zealand's largest specialist film financing companies, the benefits of tax incentives and gap finance, film financing strategies in the age of COVID, the key differences between investment and debt finance, where problems arise before and during production, and the stuff global debt financiers really care about.

We chat to Emile Sherman of Academy Award, BAFTA and Emmy winning See-Saw Films about his 20 years’ worth of experience going  from a boots on the ground producer to leading an international film and television production company and the lessons he’s learned along the way. We pick his brain about co-productions, indie film financing, being one of the first companies to transition to cinematic television and the importance of trust in the film business.

We chat to Andrew Mackie, Co-Founder of Transmission Films about the risks of distribution, the rise of SVODs and the changes to theatrical windows, acquiring films where the director has final cut, the importance of filmmakers knowing their audience and how to train yourself to predict box office numbers!

We chat to Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias from Good Thing Productions about starting up their very own production company. We pick their brains on how to pick your co-producing partners, the important conversations to have with those partners and your creatives early on, the human element to the film business, the importance of building your team around you and the commercial differences between documentaries and narrative productions.

We chat to Alexis Galfas about her average Tuesday at the very unique, Cinetic Media, current industry trends and the impact of COVID-19, what to do if someone else is making the same movie you’re making,  and the importance of understanding the fundamentals of the business of film. She gives some seriously good advice and we are 100% on board. 

We chat to our mate, Monica Zanetti about writing, financing, making and selling her first two feature films - the challenges she faced, from early conversations with distributors, to navigating the Australian tax incentives, contracts, production accounting and finding the right co-producing partners. She shares the things she wishes she knew before coming into the industry, the things she’s still learning, her go to’s to have her questions answers and much, much more.

Movies Inc: The Business of Film is coming soon! Launching February 16, 2022 wherever you get your podcasts!