Summary: In this episode we welcome back our friend John Cones from Season One. John sheds light on some of the very important rules and laws about raising money for your film and he also talks about the filmmaker's obligation to his or her investors during the pre-production period. When should you start pre-production? When the money is in the bank. Episode Twenty Guests John Cones- Securities Attorney John Cones is a securities/entertainment attorney who has practiced in Los Angeles for eighteen years advising independent feature film producers and others on matters relating to investor financing of feature film and other entertainment projects. He has prepared or participated in the preparation of business plans and/or the required securities disclosure documents, along with Blue Sky compliance for more than 250 such offerings during his 18 year securities law career, including public and private production-money offerings for feature films, television pilots, documentaries, infomercials, live stage plays and Internet companies. His clients have produced or distributed some 51 feature and documentary films with funds raised through such offerings. Mr. Cones also works with entrepreneurs on investor financing of business start-ups. In addition to several articles, he has authored six books on those same topics including Introduction to the Film Industry- A Guide for Students, Filmmakers and Scholars, Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution- A Guide for Independent Filmmakers, Film Industry Contracts, 43 Ways to Finance Your Film, The Feature Film Distribution Deal and Hollywood Wars. He also hosts a Q&A Internet site about investor financing of entertainment projects at http://www.mecfilms.com/coneslaw/finforum.htm He is a member of the California and Texas bar associations. Mr. Cones resides in Westlake Village, California. For more information about John or to contact him please visit his website. Jenna Edwards- Resident Producing Advisor For more information about Jenna see the About page or click here.
