Start date

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The start date of a film refers to the first day of principal photography.

A film project which has been greenlit does not typically enter pre-production until it has been assigned a start date, and for this reason a film with a start date is generally regarded as more likely to proceed to production than one which has merely been greenlit.

A movie which is granted greenlight status but then consistently fails to achieve a start date, perhaps because of conflicting schedules of key cast members, may well find itself in a precarious position. It only takes one financial partner to withdraw their backing for the entire financing structure to fall apart, at which point the project is no longer regarded as greenlit and must go back into development, or quite possibly development hell.

For this reason, a common response to being told a particular project has been greenlit is to ask "Do they have a start date?"