To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green
traffic signal, indicating "go ahead".
Film industry
In the context of the
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
industries, to green-light something is to formally approve its
production finance and to commit to this financing, thereby allowing the project to proceed from the
development phase to
pre-production and
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
. The power to green-light a project is generally reserved to those in a project or financial management role within an organization. The process of taking a project from
pitch to green light formed the basis of a successful
reality TV
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
show titled ''
Project Greenlight''.
At the Big Five
major film studio
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, th ...
s in the United States and the mini-majors, green-light power is generally exercised by committees of the studios' high-level executives.
However, the studio president, chairman, or chief executive is usually the person who makes the final judgment call.
For the largest film budgets involving several hundred million U.S. dollars, the chief executive officer or chief operating officer of the studio's parent conglomerate may hold final green-light authority.
References
Film production
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