7 hours ago

Myriad Pictures’ President Kirk D’Amico on the New Rules of Film Financing

Kirk D'Amico is the President of Myriad Pictures

In this episode of LeaderSpeak, Atul Phadnis welcomes Kirk D’Amico, President of Myriad Pictures. They explore the evolving landscape of independent film, covering international co-productions, financing shifts, and the impact of tax incentives in markets like Canada, Germany, and the UK heading into 2026.

Our financing structure on the film is in place through a combination of soft money, our bank financing and pre-sales.

Podcast Chapters

Timestamp	Topic
06:46	Financing and Co-Productions
11:26	Impact of COVID-19
15:31	Box Office Dynamics
20:34	Budgets and Financing Models
28:34	Current Projects
31:45	New Markets and Tech

Key Takeaways:

Financial Strategy: Focuses on minimum guarantees (MGs) and debt via banks, while strictly avoiding equity financing.
Incentive-Driven Production: Strategically shoots in regions with aggressive tax credits, specifically Canada, the UK, Germany, and Malta.
The “Cast” Constant: Recognizable actors remain the primary requirement for securing pre-sales and ensuring global distribution.
Theatrical Evolution: Post-pandemic cinemas now favor horror and action for younger crowds, while older audiences have shifted to streaming.
Tech for Efficiency: Adopts AI and virtual production (LED walls) to significantly lower VFX and location costs for independent budgets.

It doesn’t make sense to sell a film to a US distributor for a nominal amount of money, and then that becomes part of their library… We generate more revenue for producers by organising the distribution.

Sound Bites:

On the Nature of Film Investment: “Films are truly like investing in private equity.”
On Gap Financing Strategy: “Gap should be priced less than equity investment because it’s… a more secure situation where you actually have contracts.”
On the Necessity of Stars: “It’s the one constant… it’s extremely, really difficult to market and distribute a film if there’s no recognizable cast.”
On Industry Disruption: “The traditional studio system I think is really breaking down and we’re seeing it kind of in real time.”
On Production Efficiency: “You don’t have to go to Morocco anymore to shoot Star Wars. You can shoot it in a studio somewhere.”

Upcoming 2026 Projects

The Pond (Isabelle Fuhrman, Douglas Smith, Gil Bellows)
This Tempting Madness (Simone Ashley, Austin Stowell, Suraj Sharma, Zenobia Shroff)
Once Upon a Time in a Cinema (Colin Morgan, Calam Lynch, India Mullen, Niamh Cusack)

Why Partner With Myriad Pictures

Deep Industry Pedigree: With over 20 years of operation and a leadership team featuring veterans from the Samuel Goldwyn Company and Village Roadshow, Myriad provides a stable, highly experienced foundation for any project.
Global Incentive Expertise: They are masters of “soft money,” actively identifying and leveraging the best tax credits worldwide—from Northern Ontario to Malta and Thailand—to maximize production value and reduce investor risk.
Proven Financial Reliability: Myriad maintains a 20-year track record of ensuring financial partners and banks are paid back, fostering a level of trust and “savvy” that is rare in the independent sector.
Agile Distribution Infrastructure: Through their own sales engine and Canadian affiliate Photon Films, they offer a direct, vertically integrated pipeline to market that bypasses the friction of traditional studio systems.
Tech-Forward Production Solutions: They are early adopters of cost-saving technologies like AI for VFX and virtual production LED walls, allowing independent films to achieve “Star Wars” level production value on a realistic budget.

Myriad Pictures: The Independent Powerhouse of Incentive-Driven Cinema

With over 20 years of industry leadership, Myriad Pictures is a premier independent entity specializing in production, financing, and international sales. Led by veteran Kirk D’Amico, the company excels at “cobbling together” global financing through international co-productions and aggressive tax incentives in regions like Canada, the UK, and Germany. Focused on high-value projects with budgets between $5M and $15M, Myriad leverages its deep library and cutting-edge tech—like virtual production—to bridge the gap between traditional filmmaking and the future of streaming.