# Development

Source: https://storiara.com/glossary/development
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Charles Hirschhorn, Storiara

> Development is the first stage of a film's life, before financing and pre-production. The producer secures the rights, commissions and rewrites the script, attaches a director and cast, and builds the budget, schedule, and finance plan needed to get a greenlight. Development costs are usually spent at risk and reimbursed from the budget if the film is made.

## What happens during development

A development slate at a small production company is a list of projects at different stages. For each one, the producer is trying to move from an idea to a package a financier can say yes to. That usually means an [option](https://storiara.com/glossary/option-agreement) or purchase of rights, paid rewrites, a director attachment, casting offers, a budget and schedule from a line producer, and a [pitch deck](https://storiara.com/glossary/pitch-deck) with a finance plan.

## A development budget in numbers

THE LONG DRIVE spent about two years in development before its greenlight. The producer's development spend, tracked separately from the production budget:

| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Option fee plus one extension on the novel | $10,000 |
| Screenwriter, two rewrites | $25,000 |
| Casting director, offers to lead cast | $6,000 |
| Line producer's budget and schedule | $4,000 |
| Lookbook and deck design | $2,500 |
| Legal (option, chain of title, investor documents) | $12,000 |
| Market travel with sales agent | $5,500 |
| Total | $65,000 |

These figures are assumptions for the example. The budget at greenlight included a development reimbursement line of $65,000 in the story and rights area, so the producer was paid back at the financing close. Had the film fallen apart, that $65,000 would have been lost. On a $2,000,000 budget, the reimbursement is 3.25 percent of the total ($65,000 ÷ $2,000,000), and lenders and investors will ask to see receipts for it.

## Where development money goes wrong

Paying for too many drafts before attaching a director is common. Directors usually want their own pass, so a script polished for two years may be rewritten again. Attach a director earlier if the finance plan depends on one.

Producers also lose track of what they spent. Without receipts and a ledger, development costs can't be reimbursed from the budget, and a [production accountant](https://storiara.com/roles/production-accountant) will push back on undocumented numbers at close.

Letting rights lapse is the most expensive mistake. The option clock keeps running while financing moves slowly, so extend early.

## How development connects to the rest

Development ends with the [greenlight](https://storiara.com/glossary/greenlight), when the budget is locked and [pre-production](https://storiara.com/glossary/pre-production) begins. Everything created in development, from the [spec script](https://storiara.com/glossary/spec-script) and rewrites to the [chain of title](https://storiara.com/glossary/chain-of-title) documents and [equity](https://storiara.com/glossary/equity-financing) commitments, becomes part of the financing package. For outside money at this stage, see [film grants for independent filmmakers](https://storiara.com/blog/film-grants-for-independent-filmmakers), and use the [film budget estimator](https://storiara.com/tools/film-budget-estimator) to rough out a number early.

## Frequently asked questions

### How long does development take?

Anywhere from a few months to many years. The length depends on rights, rewrites, and how long it takes to attach talent and financing. Projects stuck for years with no greenlight are said to be in development hell.

### Who pays for development?

On independent films, usually the producer or a production company, sometimes with development grants or a development fund. At studios, development money comes from the studio and is charged to the project if it gets made.

### What is turnaround?

When a studio decides not to make a project it developed, it may put it in turnaround, letting the producer take it elsewhere. The new buyer typically has to repay the studio's development costs, often with interest, under the turnaround terms.

### What is the difference between development and pre-production?

Development happens before the film is financed. Pre-production starts after the greenlight, when the money is committed and the crew is hired to prepare the shoot.