Teixeira acknowledged that \u201cbudgets of films are increasing\u201d and that this increase \u201cis difficult.\u201d He said that a little over a year ago \u201cPaper Tiger,\u201d now considered an Oscar frontrunner, \u201cwas not a reality.\u201d There was a change in the cast (originally the movie was going to be more of a direct follow-up to Gray\u2019s \u201cArmageddon Time,\u201d with actors\/characters returning), which required some creative rejiggering, with Teixeira eventually finding a partner that told him, \u201cCash flow for you if you guarantee it will get made.\u201d \u201cWe were able to do it,\u201d said Teixeira. \u201cIt\u2019s a hard job but if you don\u2019t love your job, we quit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O\u2019Connor, who admitted she was the only one without indie movie experience, she said that she still faced obstacles in getting her films made, even with hundreds of millions of dollars. (\u201cSpider-Man: Brand New Day,\u201d by the way, recently outgrossed \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d to be the most successful film of all time domestically. Thwip<\/em>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think one of the most challenging things about film budgets is they\u2019re usually based on what people are willing to give you to make your movie not what your movie actually costs,\u201d O\u2019Connor said. \u201cEven when you have a crazy big amount of money, it\u2019s still not what the script actually costs and what the people who you need to make the movie actually cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, she said, part of what being a producer is involves \u201csomeone willing to give you an amount of money to make your movie and you make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Talk about a superheroic calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peters had a great take on the nature of producing, calling it a \u201cfulcrum between creative ambition and resources.\u201d Sounds about right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s what your movie costs and then what the market will give you,\u201d said Peters. He said that he mostly makes fairly low-budget movies, with filmmakers making their films in their home cities. It\u2019s a way to revitalize local economies while also maintaining the director\u2019s authorial voice and it is very cool indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people funding these movies, Peters said, are doing it \u201cbecause they believe in the project.\u201d Still, he concluded, it\u2019s always \u201cabout balancing ambition and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Permut, the most seasoned producer on the panel, whose career began in the mid-1970s and includes both studio movies (he produced \u201cFace\/Off\u201d and a number of projects for Disney\u2019s Hollywood Pictures imprint) and more recent independent fare like \u201cThe Invite\u201d and Apple\u2019s upcoming \u201cBeing Heumann,\u201d that that a recent common phrase in Hollywood is, \u201cCan you do it for half?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe last number of movies I\u2019ve made have been in the independent space. It\u2019s the appetite for the movie and many times it\u2019s the producers that have to make concessions,\u201d Permut said. He said \u201cThe Invite\u201d was made for a \u201cvery modest budget because everybody shared the same passion.\u201d For \u201cBeing Heumann,\u201d there were different challenges because much of the cast was disabled, which required the production to build dressing rooms with wheelchair access (yes, we can take a moment to ask why regular dressing rooms are so inaccessible).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt depends on the circumstances of the movie and the shifting sands in Hollywood,\u201d Permut said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For \u201cHacksaw Ridge,\u201d it took him 17 years to get the movie made. But they finally did. And on budget too.<\/p>\n\n\n
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