437 - Stephen Marinaccio DGA UPM & Line Producer - What It Really Takes to Make a $100M Film, Lessons from 80+ International Projects, and How to Budget Like a Pro

437 - Stephen Marinaccio DGA UPM & Line Producer - What It Really Takes to Make a $100M Film, Lessons from 80+ International Projects, and How to Budget Like a Pro

From The MAKE IT Podcast by Chris Barkley & Nicholas Buggs

May 29, 2026 · 1h 59m

About this episode

Stephen Marinaccio shares insights from his extensive experience in film production and budgeting.

This episode is brought to you by our e-book Mastering Film Marketing. Get your copy today at https://allthingsmakeit.com/collections/learn This episode is brought to you by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don’t stop at good enough—it's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks WITH you, not for you. Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude Pro when you use our link – www.claude.ai/makeit Hello, Hello! In this episode, veteran line producer Stephen Marinaccio shares his 35+ years of experience managing productions across 30+ countries, from working with James Cameron to developing Line Budgeter, a revolutionary budgeting platform created by actual line producers. He discusses the essential skills needed for production management, the art of problem-solving on complex international shoots, and how his military upbringing shaped his detail-oriented approach to filmmaking. Stephen reveals the reality of managing multi-million dollar budgets and provides invaluable advice for aspiring production managers. We also talk about: • The development of Line Budgeter and why existing production software falls short • How to read scripts…

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Anthropic, Mastering Film Marketing

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