Negotiation and Deal Management – Michael Amato (Feature Film Producer)

When you are a film producer there are many things that you must plan, organize and negotiate. From budgets, to royalties and even schedules, everything involves going back and fourth between different people with varying personalities. Mr. Michael Amato is a feature film producer best known for his films Dead Man’s Curve and Supercross. Both films were able to obtain worldwide distribution and he considers them to be some of his greatest accomplishments to date. Currently, he produces films primarily for the Lifetime television network and still today has to negotiate and make deals between investors, distributors and the like. Over the past two decades, he has been able to master his negotiation skills by separating people from the problem, using objective criteria and always aiming towards mutual benefit.

During our interview, Mr. Amato discussed in great detail how important it is to make sure to focus on the problem at hand. He said that sometimes “there are times it is incredibly difficult to appease everyone involved in the initial planning stage of a production. The director might have a vision that is very different from the writer and, being a producer, you must be the facilitator between them.” However, everyone involved in any given project has the common goal of wanting to see it all the way to the end. Often times he has had to objective criteria to make sure that nothing gets out of hand. He will have to approve and deny certain shots due to costs and must present enough material to prove his point. Directors always want every shot to perfect and it is Mr. Amato’s job to make sure that he/she stays within the budget.

While on set and during production, Mr. Amato’s job is to make sure that everyone is happy and everything is running smoothly. He has to make sure that the actors have everything that they need, the crew has all of the tools and equipment necessary to set up shots and make sure that there is enough food to feed the entire cast and crew. One of the hardest parts of his job is maintaining a comfortable and efficient work environment. He has to make sure that everything is running on time and within the confines of the budget. In the end, he very much enjoys the everyday challenges that producing brings and the feeling of accomplishment when he finishes each project.