ProductionList members’ community
The Backlot: film industry networking for producers, crew and dealmakers
A members-only board where people who make film and television trade production intel, find co-production partners, sales agents and distributors, hire crew and talk shop under their real names.
23
members
2
posts this week
4
open Seeking and Offering posts
0
deals closed (confirmed)
Updated hourly. People only: automated posts are not counted.
What members talk about on The Backlot
Each board has its own rules, written by staff. Here is what each one is for.
Find film co-production partners
Co-Productions
Find partners for co-productions, treaty co-pros and shared projects, and compare notes on making them work.
Producers looking for a co-production partner say what they bring and what they need: territory, stage, format and budget range. Treaty co-productions, international partners and shared projects are all on topic, and a thread can link the production’s page in the ProductionList database so the conversation sits next to the listing.
Film financing talk, not investment offers
Financing & Deals
Gap financing, tax incentives, pre-sales, sales agents and deal structures. Discussion, plus Seeking and Offering posts about financing.
Producers, financiers and sales agents compare notes on how films get financed: gap and bridge loans, tax incentives and rebates, pre-sales, minimum guarantees and deal structures. It is a discussion space for people who already work in the business, not a marketplace for investments, and ProductionList brokers nothing.
Production intel: what is in development and shooting
Project Intel
What is in development, greenlit, staffing up or shooting. Share what you know and link the production.
Members share what they know about projects in development, greenlit, staffing up or shooting, and link the production in the ProductionList database. Rumours are labelled as rumours.
A film crew hiring board
Crew & Hiring
Crewing up, looking for work, day calls, rates and working conditions.
Production offices and department heads post crew calls with the role, dates, location and union status; crew post their role, base and availability. Day rates and working conditions are discussed openly, by city and budget level.
Regional production communities
Regional
Production news and questions by city and state. Tag your post with a location to make it findable.
Posts are tagged with a city or state, so members can follow production news where they work: local incentive changes, stage availability, vendors and crew depth. Members can propose a dedicated city board once a location gets busy enough.
A smaller room for paid members
InsiderPaid members
For paid members: deeper deal talk, market reads and the conversations that need a smaller room.
Deeper deal talk and market reads, open to paid members only.
Everything else
Off Topic
Everything else: tools, festivals, recommendations and life on set.
Tools, festivals, recommendations and life on set.
Financing and investment posts
ProductionList is not a party to any agreement, does not broker, solicit, or recommend investments, and does not verify the claims made in posts or messages. Members are responsible for their own due diligence and for complying with securities and other laws that apply to them. Nothing on this board is an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security.
Find a sales agent or distributor for your film
Sales and distribution come up on every board: which sales agents handle which genres and budgets, what a minimum guarantee looks like today, and how to approach a distributor with a finished film.
Paid members can also post a Seeking post that says exactly what they need, such as a sales agent or a distributor, with the project’s stage, format and territory. Other members reply in the thread, and paid members can ask the poster for a private introduction.
ProductionList does not vet, endorse or recommend any sales agent, distributor or financier.
Inside The Backlot
What members post stays inside: this page never shows members’ words.
- Example (written by staff)SeekingCo-Productions
Seeking a co-producer for a treaty feature
A producer with a financed script looks for a partner in a treaty country. Members reply with questions about territory and stage, and paid members can request a private introduction.
- Example (written by staff)IntelProject Intel
Which series are prepping in Atlanta this spring?
Members compare notes on shows staffing up, linked to their production pages so the thread shows up where people are already looking.
- Example (written by staff)DiscussionCrew & Hiring
Day rates for camera assistants on non-union features
Crew trade what they are seeing on recent jobs, by city and budget level.
- Example (written by staff)DiscussionFinancing & Deals
How are you using state tax incentives this year?
Producers share how incentive changes are affecting where they shoot. Discussion only: nobody here is offering investment advice.
Questions about The Backlot
What is The Backlot?
The Backlot is the members-only community board on ProductionList for people who work in film and television. Members use it for film industry networking: trading production intel, finding co-production partners, sales agents and distributors, discussing how films get financed, hiring crew and comparing notes in regional production communities. Everyone posts under their real name.
Is The Backlot free to join?
Yes. A free ProductionList account lets you read every board except the paid-only Insider board, reply to threads, start up to 3 Discussion and Intel posts a week, and receive and accept introduction requests. A new account can start posts once it is 24 hours old.
What do paid members get, and what does it cost?
Paid members can also post Seeking and Offering posts, start as many posts as they like, request introductions, use private one-to-one threads, read the Insider board, see new Intel posts 24 hours before free members, boost 1 post a month, and apply for a Verified badge. There is no separate fee for The Backlot: these features come with a paid ProductionList membership, which also includes the full production database and its contacts. Current prices are on the membership plans page.
Who can see what members post?
Only signed-in members. The boards are not public and are kept out of search engines, and this page never shows members’ posts: only counts and descriptions written by ProductionList staff. The Insider board is visible to paid members only. Every member agrees not to share another member’s post outside The Backlot without permission: what’s posted here stays here.
Do members use their real names, and are they verified?
Yes, members post under the real name on their ProductionList account and can add a role such as Producer, Sales Agent, Distributor or Crew. Paid members can ask to be verified in a role: ProductionList staff review each request, and a member who already holds a verified crew or company profile on ProductionList can be approved from that claim. A Verified badge confirms that review only. ProductionList does not verify what members say in posts about their projects, credits or money, so do your own due diligence. Automated posts are always labelled as automated.
How do introductions work?
On a Seeking or Offering post, a paid member can send the poster a short introduction request. The poster can accept it, which opens a private thread between the two of them, or decline it; an unanswered request expires after 14 days. Free members can receive and accept introduction requests too. ProductionList is not a party to any introduction, does not act as a broker, finder or agent, and takes no fee or share of any deal.
Does ProductionList broker film financing or investments?
No. The Financing & Deals board is a discussion space about how films get financed: gap financing, tax incentives, pre-sales, sales agents and deal structures. ProductionList is not a party to any agreement, does not broker, solicit or recommend investments, and does not verify claims made in posts or messages. The financing disclaimer on this page applies to the board, and Seeking or Offering posts about financing require the poster to acknowledge it first.
Can I find a sales agent or distributor for my film on The Backlot?
You can ask. Members discuss sales and distribution openly, and paid members can post a Seeking post that names what they need, such as a sales agent or distributor, with the project’s stage, format and territory. Other members reply in the thread, and paid members can request an introduction. ProductionList does not vet, endorse or recommend sales agents or distributors.
Current prices are on the membership plans page.