Tips of the Trade:

Prospectus/Business Plan

The Producer generally prepares a Prospectus/Business Plan for the film project. This document is provided to prospective investors along with the Offering, Subscription Agreement and Operating Agreement for the business entity utilized for the film (i.e. Limited Partnership/LLC). The attorney generally reviews the Prospectus/Business Plan to make sure that there are no conflicting statements or claims between the Risk Factors contained in the Offering and any dubious promises or guarantees that might be contained within the Prospectus/Business Plan (such as "all the investors will make a lot of money", etc.).

As a general rule, the Prospectus/Business Plan should contain sections along the following lines:

1. Executive Summary
2. Information about the company
3. Synopsis regarding the story of the film
4. Industry Overview
5. Market Overview
6. Distribution plans
7. Financing plans
8. Budgets
9. Cast Attachments (especially if signed by a known talent)
10. Music & Music Licenses (especially if music is known)
11. Personnel
12. Bios of all the major players
13. Production Boards
14. Production Bids
15. Locations
16. Appendix for any information that does not fit into the above categories

The Prospectus/Business Plan should never be attached to the Offering documents.