# Greenlight

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{{Short description|Decision to produce film or TV project}}
{{Other uses|Green light (disambiguation){{!}}Green Light}}
{{Filmmaking sidebar|Development}}
In the context of the [film](/source/Film_industry) and [television](/source/Television_programs) industries, '''greenlighting''' is giving permission to proceed with a project.<ref name="Knox_Page_98">{{cite book |last1=Knox |first1=Dave |title=Strike the Baby and Kill the Blonde: An Insider's Guide to Film Slang |date=2005 |publisher=Three Rivers Press |location=New York |isbn=9781400097593 |page=98 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQRwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA98 |access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="Hirschberg">{{cite book |last1=Hirschberg |first1=Jeffrey |editor1-last=Sickels |editor1-first=Robert C. |title=The Business of Entertainment: Volume 1, Movies |date=2009 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=9780275998394 |pages=1–14 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=auPNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=July 19, 2023 |chapter=Chapter 1: Behind the Greenlight: Why Hollywood Makes the Films It Makes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/green-light
| title=Green light (dictionary definition)
| date=2020-05-02
| publisher=[Encyclopedia.com](/source/Encyclopedia.com)
| access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref> It specifically refers to formally approving its [production](/source/Film_production) finance and committing to this financing, thereby allowing the project to proceed from the [development phase](/source/development_(film)) to [pre-production](/source/pre-production) and [principal photography](/source/principal_photography). The power to greenlight 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](/source/Pitch_(filmmaking)) to green light formed the basis of a successful [reality TV](/source/reality_TV) show titled ''[Project Greenlight](/source/Project_Greenlight)''.<ref>{{cite web
| url=https://www.hbo.com/content/project-greenlight
| title=Project Greenlight
| publisher=[HBO](/source/HBO)
| access-date=2026-02-26}}</ref> The term is a reference to the green [traffic signal](/source/traffic_signal), indicating "go ahead". 

At the Big Five [major film studio](/source/major_film_studio)s in the United States and the mini-majors, greenlight power is generally exercised by committees of the studios' high-level executives.<ref name="Wrap">{{cite news
| url=https://www.thewrap.com/hollywood-greenlighting-power/
| title=Who Has Greenlight Power in Hollywood? A Studio-by-Studio Guide
| last1=Lang
| first1=Brent
| first2=Lucas
| last2=Shaw
| date=2013-11-19
| publisher=[TheWrap](/source/TheWrap)
| access-date=2020-05-11}}</ref> However, the studio president, chairman, or chief executive is usually the person who makes the final judgment call.<ref name="Wrap" /> 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 [media conglomerate](/source/media_conglomerate) may hold final greenlight authority.<ref name="Wrap" /> In practical terms, greenlight power in the 21st century at major film studios means the power to commit the studio to spending about US$100 million, on average, for a [feature-length motion picture](/source/Feature_film) designated for [wide release](/source/wide_release) for the North American market.<ref name="Hirschberg" /> Historically, this power was exclusively held by white male executives in Hollywood, though the status quo has slowly begun to change since the turn of the 21st century.<ref name="Barnes">{{cite news |last1=Barnes |first1=Brooke |title=Pledging to Tell More Inclusive Stories, MGM Remakes Orion Pictures |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/business/media/mgm-orion-pictures-alana-mayo.html |access-date=July 8, 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=August 20, 2020 |page=B1}}</ref> UCLA reported in 2020 that senior management teams at Hollywood film studios were 93 percent white and 80 percent male.<ref name="Barnes" />

Studio executives weigh many factors when deciding whether to greenlight films, of which a few include: the film already has a [bankable star](/source/bankable_star) or director attached; the film has a "built-in audience" because it is related to an existing [media franchise](/source/media_franchise); the story resonates with a wide audience, evokes passionate emotions, or causes viewers to lean forward in eager anticipation of whatever happens next; the hero is likable and relatable; the film can be marketed to [all four quadrants](/source/Four-quadrant_movie); and the film can be distributed widely through multiple windows and into multiple international markets.<ref name="Hirschberg" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Filmmaking paper trail}}

Category:Film finance
Category:Film production
Category:Filmmaking

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Greenlight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlight) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlight?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.