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Hello all. New to the forum and I'm looking for advice.....
A major motion picture is being negotiated to being filmed at my house this summer. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this. Specifically how much they usually pay. They need my house for 5 weeks and are shooting in multiple rooms and outside plus possibly the garage.
All contracts will be gone over with my Lawyer before I sign and they are a huge Hollywood company with a top name director and big time actors. So, its not like they dont have the scratch to pay. Just dont want to get ripped off. If anyone could give me some insight on what standard payment for something like this is, please post up. I cant seem to find any actual numbers from anyone doing internet searches.
I doubt you will find any numbers. A lot of this is close-to-the-chest information. Shirley MacLaine filmed at a movie theatre I supervised and I have no idea what kind of money changed hands. I'm sure a lot depends on how unique the location is, and what alternatives are around. The first thing I would do is ask what they expect to pay, so you can consider. It is unlikely that would significantly cripple you in any negotiation. More likely it'll tell them that you aren't in it for the 15 minutes of fame and are looking at it as a business proposition.
Oh yeah, if they start talking "points" in lieu of cash, take the cash. Hollywood accounting makes Washington look like a bunch of bumbling pikers.
No idea but how is it that they chose your house out of curiousity?
They have location scouts that wander cities looking for "the perfect place" to film. That's their job. A great family friend does this for a living and to give you an example of his "work" he chose all the filming locations for the movie "Reservoir Dogs".
When he talks about his work he'll let ya know that, during negotiations on price, part of that negotiation could be remodel upgrades after they finish filming. For example: if you ask for $30,000 for the use of your house for 5 weeks and they come back with $20,000... you could counter with "Okay, $20,000 and the wall between the living room and kitchen is to be taken down and fixed cuz we've always wanted that wall taken down to make the place feel more spacious.". They've repainted the entire interior of homes, they've layed new flooring and things along that line too. They've also agreed on a price AND upgraded all the appliances after they leave.
Your house is gonna get "destroyed". Boom operators are gonna accidently bang things into your walls and cause damage; hundreds of people walking thru your home on any given day; people eating in areas you don't normally eat in and spilling things, your yard is gonna get trashed, etc. You really need to take these things into consideration and negotiate a price you think is fair to not only be out of your home for that time, but to also make repairs when it's all said and done.
Hope it's a great, fun experience for you!
Last edited by canibeyou; 06-02-2010 at 01:22 PM..
Thanks for the response guys. I dont want to post up what movie they are filming here and dates, due to crazy fans of the actors trying to find out locations. We settled on a deal and it's not a huge number, but pretty darn good for a five week rental. Plus they are putting all new furniture in my house, new range top, fridge, fixing a bunch of things, all new lighting fixtures, landscaping, painting interior and exterior, etc... They said I can keep whatever I wanted. I just have to let the set designer know what I want them to leave and they'll leave it for me.
canibeyou said it. A location scout drove up my driveway about a month ago checking on possible shooting locations. Ever since then, it's been people over my house every week, taking pictures, drawing up schematics, taking notes, etc. The director has been over here a few times too. He's a big Hollywood director, so it's been really cool so far. Funny..the first time he came over, he seemed a bit nervous around me. I think he was expecting me to ask for an autograph or be starstruck or something. I dont get that. Everyone puts their pants on the same way in the morning. People are people to me. He warmed up and is actually a really cool guy.
They were here today doing a "pre scene go over". Pretty cool to watch. Talking about all the scenes they are shooting in my house and the angles of the cameras and all that stuff. They asked if they could even use one of my cars for the movie. I'm pretty pumped at this point. It should be a neat process. I'm already prepared for damage to my house, but in the contract it states that any damage will be covered up to 2 million dollars. So...if they need to blow my house up, that'll cover it. Hahaha.
What I think is really cool, is that they told me that since they are shooting the movie at my house, I'll more than likely be contacted again in the future for another movie, commercial, or photo shoot. My house is now in a data base that location scouts use for stuff like this.
I'll keep you guys updated here and there on what's going on if anyone is interested.
just curious whats the square footage on your house? and what car will they be using!
(i'm an fan of movie making and i'm curious what "kind" of movie it will be)
Though certainly not a movie, a national hardware chain filmed exterior still shots around our patio,pool,pond and yard for a photo shoot for their catologe/flyer and website(for outdoor furniture). All the trucks, cameras,workers and equipment certainly looked like they were filming a Ben Hur remake or something, It was a huge production. It took 3 days and we recieved about 4 grand. Not bad. Would do it again.
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