Why Chasing Presales and Minimum Guarantees Is Killing Creativity—and the Movies Themselves.

The Frankenstein Method: How Piecemeal Financing Is Crippling Great Films

It’s one of the strangest and most frustrating parts of filmmaking: before a single frame is shot, producers are often forced to "sell" the movie—based on a script, a wish list of actors, and some glossy artwork. These are called presales, and they’re used to secure loans from banks or gap financiers. While this model has become a norm in the indie film world, it’s also one of the biggest reasons so many movies get stuck in development hell—or worse, get made under crushing creative compromises.

Presales, minimum guarantees, and sales estimates are all just projections, built on shifting sands. Banks lend against those numbers, but the money isn’t free—it comes with interest, fees, legal costs, and a mountain of pressure. That pressure often forces producers to cast the “right” names for foreign buyers, not the best actors for the role. Or they cut shooting days, skimp on production value, and rush development just to hit contractual delivery deadlines. The result? A watered-down version of the movie everyone set out to make.

That’s why working with real equity investors is such a game-changer. Equity gives producers the freedom to prioritize story, casting, and execution—rather than scrambling to satisfy arbitrary market formulas. And for investors, the upside is significantly greater. Instead of earning fixed interest like a lender, equity investors participate in the profits of a successful film across all revenue streams—domestic, international, digital, broadcast, and beyond. When a film hits, they share in that success. It’s a true partnership built on long-term gain, not short-term guarantees. And in today’s landscape, that kind of alignment is how the best films get made—and how real wealth is built.