Book Review - The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide

About the BookThere are close to 10,000 independent features produced each year. Many never make it to the big screen. The Independent Film Producer’s Survival Guide: A Business And Legal Sourcebook 3rd Edition by Gunnar Erickson, Mark Halloran and Harris Tulchin (Order #: SCH10172, Price: $27.95, 464 Pages) tells you everything you need to know to produce and market an independent film—from the development process to deal making, financing, setting up the production, hiring directors and actors, securing location rights, acquiring music, calculating profits, digital movie making, distribution, and marketing your film. Written by a trio of entertainment lawyers with over 60 years combined experience, The Independent Film Producer’s Survival Guide offers clear, concise guidance for navigating the complex journey of making a movie and avoiding the legal pitfalls and business blunders. by Gunnar Erickson, Mark Halloran and Harris Tulchin (Order #: SCH10172, Price: $27.95, 464 Pages) tells you everything you need to know to produce and market an

Featuring a succinct presentation of the independent film business-legal process, the book is the most practical and concrete text on the Hollywood deal-making process to date. Many of the real-world examples of independent producers struggling to secure the deal are thought provoking and encouraging. The authors share insights from their decades of legal and entertainment production experience, in essence offering thousands of dollars of free legal advice to aspiring independent producers. Beyond offering a roadmap of business-planning steps, the book includes templates of numerous legal forms that an independent producer might need.

About the Authors

Gunnar Erickson currently practices entertainment law with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Los Angeles. He is a graduate of Stanford University and Yale Law School. He has been active with the UCLA Entertainment Law Symposium and taught Entertainment Law at Pepperdine Law School, as well as frequently spoken and written about entertainment matters.

Mark Halloran is a principal of Halloran Law Corporation. In his studio days, Mark was Vice President, Feature Business Affairs at Universal Pictures, and Business Affairs Council at Orion Pictures. In private law practice, Mark was a founding partner of Alexander, Halloran, Nau & Rose, and Erickson, Halloran & Small. Mark specializes in entertainment financing, production, and distribution, and acts as an expert witness in film, television, and music litigation. Mark is co-author of The Musician’s Guide to Copyright (Charles Scribner’s Sons) with Gunnar Erickson and Ned Hearn and the current The Musicians Business and Legal Guide (Jerome Headlands Press/Prentice Hall). He is co-chair of the SC Institute on Entertainment Law and Business, and serves on the Board of directors of the Los Angeles Chamber Singers.

Harris E. Tulchin is founder and Chairman of Harris Tulchin & Associates Ltd., with affiliated offices worldwide. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Hastings Law School and has specialized in entertainment production, finance, and distribution, communications, and multimedia law since 1978. He has lectured extensively at forums such as UCLA, the American Film Institute, Independent Feature Project, The Sundance Producer’s Conference, the Cannes, Toronto, Los Angeles Independent, Hollywood, Venice, Edinburgh (Scotland) and numerous other Film Festivals and has published numerous articles on entertainment law. He has served as Senior Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Cinema Group for United Artists; Director of Business Affairs at MGM Television; and Counsel for American International Pictures and Filmways Pictures. In addition, Mr. Tulchin acts as an expert witness in entertainment litigation, is an American Film Marketing Association arbitrator, serves as a producer’s representative on scores of completed films, as well as film projects, and has served as Executive Producer of nine feature films, including the critically acclaimed "To Sleep With Anger," distribution by Song and Goldwyn, and "Guy," financed and distributed by PolyGram.

My Take on the Book

The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide is an amazing, hands-on, practicle guide for the would-be movie producer. While I am not in the movie making business, I have many friends that are trying to do this and I can tell that this book has everything that any would-be producer would need to seal the deal in the movie-making process. The book was very succinct and provided great information that was tangible and to the point.

If this book sounds like something that you would like in your own library you can find it on Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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