There are 2 things we can’t escape - death and taxes. When it comes to making movies, distributing them and collecting gross receipts, having a good tax accountant on board from beginning to end is key. They’ll do more than just file your annual tax returns for you! We were joined by industry veterans Paul Finegan and Andrew Chow from Lutz & Carr to talk us through their average Tuesday, film tax credits, collection accounts, foreign investments in films and the tax implications, as well as much more! 

What in heaven’s name is an NFT and how are filmmakers using it to finance their films? We had absolutely no idea so we went to the leading NFT attorney in the country - Jeremy S. Goldman at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. He talks us through the different ways NFTs are being used to finance film and what we should be thinking about in doing so, how effective entertainment law is in keeping up with the changing tech landscape, and his views on the Quentin Tarantino/Miramax lawsuit.

It's Oscars week and we chat to Hollywood publicist Sylvia Desrochers about her 20 year career in Tinseltown. From what publicists actually do, to how valuable For Your Consideration campaigns are, and why you need to invest in a production photographer, Sylvia gives us the lowdown on creating buzz in a crowded distribution market.

After 2 years of us pestering Jess Kwan to join us for an episode, she finally agreed! We kick off Season 2 with the current VP of the Concordia Fellowship and chat to her about the evolution of her career from supporting executives, to being the executive, differences in the biz between narrative feature films and docs, what business development in the film industry actually means and the importance of building a network and genuine relationships. 

We chat to Sasha H. Levites and Marcie Cleary who are partners at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, one of the leading firms in the U.S. We pick their brains about keeping up with emerging technologies and new formats (NFTs! Podcasts!), the benefits to talent having an all inclusive team of manager + agent + lawyer, the importance of those long winded indemnification and insurance clauses, and 2 fundamental rules - get it in writing and don't sign anything without having a lawyer look it over and give it the OK.

We chat to Academy Award nominated Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford of Aquarius Films about first starting out, lessons learned early on, the benefits of having the right producing partner, the realities of foreign productions vs. domestic productions and the importance of always listening to that gut instinct.

We chat to Stephen Fitzgibbon about starting his own production company and building a slate, how he transitioned from acquisitions to producing everything from music videos to feature films. We find out how he picks his co-producing partners, the learning curve of navigating rights and transparency as the fundamental value when doing business in this industry.

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.