Not Only Movie Budgets

Patrick Goldstein on the lies in movie budgeting.

I remember being in Middle School and my friend bragged his father won "every single time" he gambled. Even at that age, I knew it was bullshit. I called him out - "if he won every time," I asked, "why doesn't he gamble every day for a living?" If he were smarter, he could of come up with some answer along the lines using opportunity cost logic (who prefers to spend all their time gambling), but the point was moot. He was lying.

But who cares? Everyone lies - especially about money and sex. Ask a guy how much his shoes cost in front of a pretty girl. He'll say $200. Ask him in front of his front of his frugal mother and he'll say $110 - he got them on sale at Nordstrom. Look at the receipt and you'll discover something in between: $135 after sales tax.

Movies are no different. There is the cost, the real cost, the actual cost, and it isn't the studios fault. I went to a film festival where a guy shot a 30 min film on 35mm. Someone asked him how much it cost and he said $5000. I coughed "bullshit." Afterward I told my civilian friends it was a crock of shit and they said "how could you possibly know." Just the purchase of film stock and developing it alone would far exceed the $5000 figure. Not to mention renting a camera, a truck, locations, permits, food, telecine, editing bays, etc. Granted, you could get a grant, school support, free locations, and all sorts of nice perks. But gimme a break. I've made short films and there are price traps everywhere. The guy might of gotten 20 G donation from his parents and paid $5000 out of pocket. Doesn't mean the movie cost $5000. Point is a movie can cost whatever people say it cost, depending on whether what you decide to call a discount or a grant.