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Originally Posted by kopema
Oh, and call me a maniac, but if there are studios out there with the facilities and people in place; and there are producers (e.g, you) who don't mind having their names associated with this kind of project ‑‑ then why the heck don't you people MAKE A DEAL??? Why would a studio need to set up a shell organization when there's already somebody out there? On the books, you can basically "rent out" their services under your name. The studio's name doesn't have to be on the project at all. And there's no reason a producer has to finance the whole thing out of his pocket; the compensation can include any amount of profit sharing the parties want.
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You have interesting points. I'd like to offer some insight based on my own experiences. It's true (and actually normal) that the producer usually doesn't finance these projects (at least entirely). However, the difficult aspects of assembling a production like this are:
Finding the funds. This sounds like it might be easy, but in order to find the funds... you have to shop the idea around. And, in doing so, can cause problems with your regular clientele if word gets out about the project.
Finding Talent. As an established studio, I can certainly find talent very easily. However, if I don't want my studio name on a project, it's a lot more difficult to find talent when they've never heard of you or can't verify who you are. When we do casting calls for various projects we get a ton of response simply because we have an established history of production. A film of this type is a delicate thing to produce. We've done similar, but non-nude projects and even those sometimes cause problems for us with our client base.
Employees. Not everybody who works at a studio might feel comfortable with such a project. Perhaps they are comfortable with the concept, but working closely with all these people they know on such a project might make them uneasy. Everything from brainstorming to issuing directives to the cast and crew can become challenging with such a tender subject.
Locations. For a project like this, and to make it believable, the locations need to sometimes be public. Finding a place to shoot (even for a "normal" production) can be challening. Finding a location to shoot publically but at the same time restrict access to the general public AND work with the story would be a real challenge.
Distribution. I know from years of experience that this is where the money is. Finding good solid distribution for a project like this will be difficult. You need major backing to get this out there. You need a company who has the means to manufacture and publish large quantities of the finished product. Then, the product needs to be marketed so people know about it, and where to buy it. It's not imporssible, but I suspect various distributors might shy away from this type of film.
I am not trying to be Mr. Negative. I'm just pointing out obsticles that I've had to overcome in the past for various projects. I recommend for a project such as this:
No sex, or at least non-graphic sex.
Compelling storyline which will help justify it's existence.
Quality production value.
Because distribution might be challenging, consider selling the finished product to a subscription cable network (showtime, for example.) If the quality is decent (or average), sometimes they pay $250,000 to $350,000 for exclusive rights to broadcast the film.