Andrew Ching: Camera operator, dialogue editor and director in San Francisco, California.

Hi Regina, I read the original post the first time... it's easy ... substitute the word "producer" for the word "investor" and I stand behind what I wrote. The minutiae of why I am more concerned about money-guy than middle-man has to do with experience and is a diatribe unto itself. I'll spare you at this time ;) In any case, what one presents to a producer is as though one is talking to an investor- or should be! Gotta keep your story straight. That said, my own producing expertise is very limited; 10 funded and dozens of never-funded very-independent films, none successfully funded over $1M and usually under $200K, which I'd gamble is 99+ percent of what happens here on Stage32 and seems to be what is discussed here. I have zero experience producing in the "Hollywood $15-25M budget" realm and no clue where / how / why that came into this; maybe you do and can speak to how that works some more and it's great that you'd share your expertise here if that's the case - thanks- and if in fact Brooklyn is being courted by that ilk of producer, she should have professional representation, a top sheet and a line item budget drawn up by a working UPM / LP... zero question, money well spent. Sorry for any assumptions I made Brooklyn- I answer questions on boards knowing many will read, not just one, and I trust you and others to sort the wheat from the chaff. (Unless you are gluten-free, in which case you reject it entirely ;)

Regina hit the nail on the head regarding where I am currently with this project, and why I was asking, the information you are giving me is also very valuable. As for representation, I recently left my manager ( two weeks ago after a NIGHTMARE with this woman going off on a producer's assistant for no reason...nightmare, I tell you!) and I am meeting with another, but I have a great entertainment attorney, whom I trust. I have an actor who is very well known, but not A-list, but I have not yet discussed how much money he will "require". I know this particular film (a drama) can be made for $150k without him (maybe less), but with him, I would like to see the budget be $10m to $15m and actually produce something of that level. Don't get me wrong, I have seen amazing films made for $20k. My director is highly skilled and I love his style. He is well known for his commercials, music videos and award winning shorts, but this is his first venture into features, so he is not breaking our bank. Basically, it's two actors (one in particular) and locations, that raise the bar for this project.

Hi Royce, just want to respectfully say that I believe you're right. If someone is at the stage of kicking your tires, they'll most likely sniff out a guesstimate. But if you're not at that stage yet, then a guesstimate will suffice in a lot of situations.