The packaging and financing of drama films has become increasingly challenging, a panel of experts told Winston Baker‘s inaugural Film & Television Finance Forum Venice on Friday afternoon. “Dramas have gone from being difficult to very difficult,” Benjamin Kramer, co-head of the media finance department at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), said during the panel entitled “State of the Industry: State of Finance.”
Still, “there are plenty of dramas of all budget tiers that get made … even $30 million,” noted Kramer, who has been involved in the packaging, financing, and sale of such films as Sing Sing, Nyad, and The Revenant. The funding and level of funding will always be “depending on the filmmaker, depending on the cast, depending on if it’s based on something significant,” he added.
