Pro Tip #8 - Utilize Escrow Accounts
Verifying financing from a film investor can be tricky. Beware any investor who merely wants to show you a bank statement. That money could be there today, gone tomorrow. Be even warier of those who say "trust me." Before committing yourself to any production expenses for your film, you need to make sure you have access to the capital you need.
When negotiating with financiers, start with an escrow agreement that requires them to place money into an escrow account for a period -- say 30 days -- while you work out the terms of the financing deal. If you can't come to an agreement on the financing deal by the 31st day, the escrow holder will return the money to the investor. If you do work out terms, the escrow holder will release funds to you to make the movie.
This is the only viable way to hold third parties accountable when they say they have the money to give you for production. Asking you trust them without them trusting you is a shady proposition. Escrows create trust on both sides by making both sides accountable. Both sides have to do their part to make the deal happen: filmmakers must agree to terms that financiers find amenable and financiers need to provide what they say they can.
