On Thursday there were so many people in the line at the city newsagent. Even with exceptionally poor odds, each person hoped that they could win the $100 million jackpot. Afterall if you are not in, you cannot win. Right? 



In the end, one man from Sydney won the prise and walked away with $100 million. He was in deep shock and said that he would continue working in his job, Yeah Right.  Nearly half of the population of Australia bought a ticket for Thursday’s draw. Amazing. I happened to be one of them. I bought 8 Tickets for $10, just for fun. 

So today, just for fun, I want to pose the question “What would you do if you won the Jackpot.  $100 million? What would you do with the money? What would I do with the money. How much would I invest into movies to make my dream film projects reality.

One has to remember that movie investments are fun investments and like the lottery, one should only invest, what they can afford to lose. When I have had investments in my movies from wealthy people, they have usually wanted an experience, such as being an Associate Producer where they are allowed on set at any time.

Many times, investors want to be Executive Producers and we have many in Australia that entered the business, because they were happy to invest millions in exchange for a quick way into the film industry. In Australia, we do not get taxed on our lottery wins and we keep the whole $100 million

So would I invest millions into film business if I won the big one, and the answer is “Yes  I would.” Of course, I would invest into my philanthropic projects such as homelessness. I would invest into real estate and stocks and make the money grow.

However, I would want to support my passion.  I would earmark $20 Million for my Passion.  “Filmmaking” That is getting films made and seen by a worldwide audience.  That is supporting up and coming filmmakers that need the help. But i would invest the money in a very sensible way.

So what might happen, if I invested $10 Million into 8 Movies and $10 Million into advertising. Well if I did everything right, there would be a chance of making a fair share of that money back and most importantly of all make some great movies that I had a hand in. 

There are some past graduates that are so talented and making micro-budget moves now and I would love to give them a $1.2 million Budget and see what they can do with a full budget. We would need names (recognised actors) in the film so that it gets traction, and it would be essential to have a Theatrical Release. So that is what the advertising money is for. 

I would also want to make one movie myself on an extra $2.5 Million. Notice that the budgets are small relative to big movie fare. Personally, I want to limit the $ spend and maximise the returns with incisive marketing and advertising. This is your best chance to make money in the film business.

This above scenario would be my pitch to wealthy investors who want to make movies. Get involved with me and make some great movies that the world sees. When you get to the stage that wealthy investors want to invest in your movies, the best way to maximise return is to

• Keep the budgets low at $1 million – $2 million
• Make sure there is a budget $500,000 – $1million for advertising and marketing per movie. 



Most emerging filmmakers get to distribution phase of filmmaking  and have spent all our money making the film and have very little to spend on Marketing.

Many of the Distributors spend so little money on real marketing and advertising on your film. Many work on number game getting a little return on the money form a multitude of films that keeps them making a truckload of money. However  the filmmaker gets only chump change.

So the above model will keep you making films for a long time. Of course first up you will want to make films on a micro budget of $20 – 100K. Still make sure that you have 50K to spend on Marketing. If you do not, your  film might get a small micro audience and that is not what you want.

Very few Distributors  treat your film with the love that it requires. A24 Film
Distributors is an exception, but they only take on about 10 films per year and they put everything into each one. If you are lucky to get a great distributor such as A24,  let them do everything for your film. However they are rare and in most cases, you will have to make your own luck.

Summary:Find the best possible distributor Make sure you always have an advertising budget for your Micro or low budget feature film in addition to what the distributor is contributing.  That way you will 100x your audience and your industry exposure. That is what it is all about. Getting known for great films, produced and seen by worldwide audience.

Learn all about getting your film seen and made with our Filmmakers Courses here.