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1->''"Do one for them; do one for you. If you can still do projects for yourself, you can keep your soul."''
2-->-- '''Creator/MartinScorsese'''
3
4What happens when creators do a project [[MoneyDearBoy for money]] or [[ContractualObligationProject to fulfill a contract]] so that they'll have the finances and creative freedom [[DoingItForTheArt to do their artistic dream project]].
5
6This can be done indirectly by, for example, an actor or director doing a project for money and then turning around to put the money into an indie film they wanted to do. In this instance, however, the creators still have to deal with all the problems faced by indie film directors. The paycheck is rarely that huge, they have to find a distributor, and they have to hold casting calls.
7
8The funding can also be done directly when, as part of a multi-film contract, a creator agrees to do a commercial project for a studio while the studio, in exchange, agrees to fund the creator's artistic project. This version ends up being far more convenient for the actor/director. First, the studio is frequently willing to fork over more money for this, as they stand to take a share of the box office cut, so even if the artistic film takes a minor loss they're not out that much. Second, with the power of a major studio behind them, the actor/director now has A-list stars on speed dial, and doesn't have to worry about finding a distributor.
9
10Compare PayingTheirDues for when an artist needs to take smaller gigs before they hit the big time. Contrast with OnlyInItForTheMoney, in which the work made for making money clearly is not for personal projects. See also AuteurLicense. This trope is frequently used as a justification by [[LimeyGoesToHollywood non-American actors]] to travel across the Atlantic and/or Pacific, as they use the money from Hollywood to finance their ventures in theatre, independent films, and other lower budget yet artistically appealing projects in their native countries.
11
12This isn't necessary a [[TropesAreTools good or bad thing]]. The "commercialized" work can still achieve immense fame and still be as artistic and quality as the passion project. Can lead to MagnumOpusDissonance if the project done only for the money is the one that takes flight while the project done for the art never gets off the ground.
13----
14!!Examples:
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16[[foldercontrol]]
17
18[[folder:Advertising]]
19* Creator/JohnCleese started appearing in advertisements so he and Creator/ConnieBooth could afford to work on ''Series/FawltyTowers'' at the pace they wanted.
20* In late 2008, Music/JohnLydon appeared in an advertising campaign for Country Life butter on British television. He defended the move by stating that the main reason he accepted the offer was to raise money to reform Music/PublicImageLtd without a record deal.
21* The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America licensed out ''WesternAnimation/DaveyAndGoliath'' for an appearance in a Mountain Dew commercial in order to acquire funding for the ChristmasSpecial ''Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas''.
22[[/folder]]
23
24[[folder:Comic Books]]
25* Creator/BrianMichaelBendis, Creator/MarkMillar, Creator/MattFraction and Creator/WarrenEllis are all writing or have written Creator/MarvelComics titles to raise money for publishing their personal projects. The first three also use Marvel's creator-owned publishing line Icon, while Ellis publishes his personal titles through smaller companies, like Creator/AvatarPress.
26* After alienating much of the comic-book industry with his embrace of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}} (and losing the rights to many of his most famous creations to Creator/DCComics when they acquired Creator/CharltonComics), Creator/SteveDitko spent the 80s taking low-prestige jobs like drawing for coloring books in order to fund his own Objectivist-themed comics.
27[[/folder]]
28
29[[folder:Fashion]]
30* Fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior, Lacroix, and Saint Laurent are renowned for their haute couture collections for women. In addition to haute couture, these brands also produce ready-to-wear clothing lines, which generate higher profits due to the greater production volumes and wider availability. The construction of ready-to-wear clothing is less elaborate compared to haute couture, as it is produced on a more industrialized scale. High-end ready-to-wear collections often feature designs inspired by notable gowns or patterns, which are then replicated and promoted to enhance the designer's visibility.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Film - Animated]]
34* Creator/RalphBakshi has admitted he's only done some projects for the money so he could do the animated projects he ''really'' wanted to make.
35* [[CreatorCouple Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. and Janice Karman]] used the money they had made off the Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks franchise to finance ''WesternAnimation/TheChipmunkAdventure'' (because possible distributors wouldn't meet their proposed budget) - which they later admitted was a big mistake, citing that producers funding their own movies is the Hollywood equivalent of [[AFoolForAClient a lawyer representing himself.]]
36* Creator/RichardWilliams agreed to do ''WesternAnimation/RaggedyAnnAndAndyAMusicalAdventure'' to get funding for his passion project, ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler''.
37* Creator/{{Disney}} co-directors John Musker and Ron Clements effectively had to do ''three'' films over 16 years to create their dream project, which would become ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''. During a pitch meeting following their moderate success in directing ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', they presented the ideas of "Literature/TreasureIsland [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]]" and an adaptation of Creator/HansChristianAndersen's "Literature/TheLittleMermaid", with Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg much prefer the latter. Even following the monolithic, Disney Renaissance-kickstarting success of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'', as well as that of ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' which Musker and Clements were also brought in to direct, Katzenberg remained uninterested in the ''Treasure Island'' project, only greenlighting it if they made one more commercially viable film. It was only after they created ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' (as well as Katzenberg's leaving of Disney) were they ''finally'' able to make ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
41* Creator/BenAffleck agreed to play ComicBook/{{Batman}} for the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse in exchange for Creator/WarnerBros funding his directing stints.
42* Creator/SeanAstin couldn't be lured into making ''Film/EncinoMan'' just by offers of money. Then he was offered a chance to direct at least one short film when he really wanted a directing career. He describes his response to that as "Sold!"
43* Creator/RichardAttenborough agreed to direct ''Film/ABridgeTooFar'' and ''Film/{{Magic}}'' so that ''Film/{{Gandhi}}'' could get made.
44* Creator/MichaelBay originally intended to make ''Film/PainAndGain'' before ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon''. The studio agreed to foot the bill for P&G if he would wait and do ''Transformers'' first.
45* Creator/LucBesson planned ''Film/TheProfessional'' as filler. At the time, he had already started working on ''Film/TheFifthElement'', but production was delayed due to Creator/BruceWillis' schedule. Rather than dismiss the production team and lose his creative momentum, Besson wrote ''The Professional.'' It took him only 30 days to write the script, and the shoot lasted only 90 days.
46* Creator/MarlonBrando said that the only reason he continued to make movies was in order to raise the money to produce what he said would be the "definitive" film about Native Americans. The film was never made.
47* Creator/RichardBurton agreed to star in ''Film/ExorcistIITheHeretic'' so that Creator/WarnerBros would finance ''Theatre/{{Equus}}''. Creator/JohnBoorman agreed to direct so that the studio would make ''Film/{{Excalibur}}''.
48* Creator/SteveBuscemi took part in ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' to help fund his directorial debut, ''Film/TreesLounge''.
49* Creator/SeanConnery agreed to do his last ''Film/JamesBond'' film for EON, ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'', for a fee of £1.2 million, which he used to found the Scottish International Education Trust, an arts funding company for Scottish artists.
50* Creator/FrancisFordCoppola apparently only directed ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'' in order to do ''Film/TheConversation'' and get funding for ''Film/ApocalypseNow''.
51* Creator/JohnCusack has gone on record as stating that he'll take just about any well-paying gig he's offered because it lets him finance the small indie projects that are his true artistic love.
52* Dino [=De Laurentiis=] agreed to produce ''Film/{{Raw Deal|1986}}'' because he needed quick cash for his long-gestating project ''Film/{{Total Recall|1990}}''. At that time, he owned the rights to the film. The film's failure to make adequate money (only $16 million) resulted in [=De Laurentiis=]' bankruptcy and ''Total Recall'''s sale of rights to Carolco.
53* Creator/MichaelDouglas' [[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/michael_douglas/ Rotten Tomatoes page]] is very telling. He tends to alternate several "rotten" Hollywood films (''Film/YouMeAndDupree'', for example, or ''Film/{{The Sentinel|2006}}'') with highly rated indie films (''Solitary Man'', ''Film/WonderBoys''). While there are obviously exceptions on both sides, it can be assumed he takes the Hollywood parts to pay for the independent ones.
54* The last ''Film/DirtyHarry'' film, ''Film/TheDeadPool'', came about when Creator/WarnerBros greenlit and financed Creator/ClintEastwood's pet project, ''Bird''. Eastwood, returning the favor to the studio, agreed to make a film for them that would be commercial and carry box-office weight. Warner Bros. suggested another ''Dirty Harry'' movie.
55* Creator/ChristopherEccleston has said in several interviews that he has no illusions about the artistic merit of any of the Hollywood movies he's been in (which include ''[[Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000 Gone in 60 Seconds]]'', ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'', and ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld''), and that he only does these jobs to be able to afford to concentrate on the infrequent and not-too-generously-paid TV and theatre roles he really cares about.
56* Creator/JessicaChastain agreed to be in ''Film/TheHuntsmanWintersWar'' to get a starring role in ''Film/CrimsonPeak''.
57* Creator/EmilioEstevez used his money from the third ''Film/TheMightyDucks'' movie to indirectly fund ''The War at Home''.
58* Creator/JohnFord made ''Film/RioGrande'' purely to get ''Film/TheQuietMan'' made. Ford wanted to make the latter first, but Creator/RepublicPictures studio president Herbert Yates didn't think the script was very good and wanted ''Rio Grande'' to be released first to pay for ''The Quiet Man''. To Yates's surprise, ''The Quiet Man'', on its eventual release in 1952, would become Republic's number one film in terms of box office receipts.
59* Creator/LeslieHoward wasn't particularly interested in playing RomanticFalseLead Ashley Wilkes in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', but agreed to take the role in exchange for being made Associate Producer for the film ''Film/{{Intermezzo}}'', which (as he had hoped) led to his producing several other films.
60* Creator/RandalKleiser agreed to direct ''Film/{{Grease}}'' so he can afford to do a project he dreamed to make, ''Film/{{The Blue Lagoon|1980}}''.
61* Creator/BrieLarson says part of the reason she agreed to be [[Characters/MCUCarolDanvers Carol Danvers]] in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was that the stable good paycheck it would bring her would allow her the financial freedom to be in smaller projects.
62* As part of Creator/ErnstLubitsch's deal for directing ''Film/{{Ninotchka}}'', Creator/{{MGM}} agreed to make ''Film/TheShopAroundTheCorner'' for him afterwards.
63* Creator/PatrickMcGoohan used his salary from ''Film/IceStationZebra'' to fund further episodes of ''Series/{{The Prisoner|1967}}'', which was in the midst of a production crisis at the time.
64* Creator/EwanMcGregor has always been very upfront about the fact that he takes roles in big-budget Hollywood movies so he can afford to be in the little Scottish indie films he loves doing but wouldn't otherwise be able to afford him. That isn't to say he disliked said big-budget films, merely that money was the main factor; he has stated that being part of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels was [[AwesomeDearBoy cool, as he got his own lightsaber]]. Not to mention that he's has done some {{Japandering}} for an energy drink.
65* Creator/AdamMcKay agreed to direct ''Film/Anchorman2TheLegendContinues'' so that Creator/{{Paramount}} would let him make ''Film/TheBigShort''.
66* Creator/BillMurray agreed to star in ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'' so that Creator/ColumbiaPictures would finance ''Film/TheRazorsEdge''.
67* Creator/ChristopherNolan agreed to do ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' if the studio would fund ''Film/{{Inception}}''.
68* Creator/EdwardNorton has taken roles in big-budget flicks to help bankroll projects like Creator/SpikeLee's ''Film/TwentyFifthHour''.
69* Creator/SeanPenn agreed to be in ''Film/CarlitosWay'' in order to fund his second directorial effort ''The Crossing Guard''.
70* Creator/DanielRadcliffe has taken advantage of the financial security that came from playing Film/HarryPotter to pursue an eclectic collection of roles in risky film projects.
71* Creator/ChristopherReeve only did ''Film/SupermanIVTheQuestForPeace'' so that Creator/TheCannonGroup would produce ''Film/{{Street Smart|1987}}''.
72* Creator/JohnCReilly does screwy comedies such as ''Film/StepBrothers'' and ''Film/{{Talladega Nights|TheBalladOfRickyBobby}}'' and big-budget/mainstream works such as ''Film/KongSkullIsland'' and the ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' duology partly because he likes doing them, and partly so they grant him the financial security to do smaller, personal projects such as ''Film/TheSistersBrothers'' ([[ProducedByCastMember which he produced along with his wife]]) and ''Film/StanAndOllie''.
73* Creator/JohnSayles wrote genre Hollywood scripts to finance his well-received independent films.
74* Creator/LievSchreiber appears in about two movies a year so he can afford to do classical theater in NYC, like ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' or ''Theatre/AViewFromTheBridge''.
75* Creator/MartinScorsese made ''Film/TheColorOfMoney'' in order to finally get ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'' out of DevelopmentHell.[[note]]He'd been planning it since TheSeventies, and a previous deal to make it got canceled by the studio literally weeks before it was supposed to start filming.[[/note]]
76* Creator/StevenSeagal agreed to star in ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'' so that Creator/WarnerBros would let him make ''Film/OnDeadlyGround''.
77* Creator/PeterSellers agreed to star in three more ''Franchise/ThePinkPanther'' films in the 1970s in order to get ''Film/BeingThere'' made.
78* Both stars of ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl'' - Jason Patric used his entire salary to finance his film ''Your Friends & Neighbors'', while Creator/SandraBullock did the movie to get the financing for ''Film/HopeFloats''.
79* Creator/StellanSkarsgard is blunt about his motives for starring in films. He's called several of his larger-budget Hollywood movies "utter crap" that pay well and allow him to do great films with lower budgets -- during EPK interviews.
80* Creator/TheWachowskis made ''Film/{{Bound|1996}}'' to prove they had the chops to handle ''Film/TheMatrix''.
81* After getting the boot as director of ''Film/Alien3'', Creator/VincentWard used his pay off to finance ''Film/MapOfTheHumanHeart''.
82* Creator/OrsonWelles spent much of his career doing this with money from projects like ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'' and TV commercials for Paul Masson wine used to fund directorial ventures. The only reason he made ''Film/TheLadyFromShanghai'' was to finance a stage production of ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays''. Even his memorable role as Harry Lime in the classic film noir ''Film/TheThirdMan'' came about so he could get the money for ''Film/{{Othello|1951}}''. Welles used this strategy to good and bad effects on all the films he made abroad. In his interviews with Creator/PeterBogdanovich, he justified this on the grounds of it being a SadisticChoice between being a director-for-hire on stories he didn't care about and acting for others in roles beneath his talent, he [[DoingItForTheArt chose the latter]] as he felt he couldn't devote interest and attention on a subject he'd rather not direct, becoming in the process one of the first independent film-makers. Notably on ''The Black Rose'', which he was doing to finance his version of ''{{Theatre/Othello}}'', he designed his costume specifically to be reused in ''Othello'' later.
83* The late director Gary Winick did a number of romantic comedies (''Film/ThirteenGoingOnThirty'', ''Film/BrideWars'', ''Film/LettersToJuliet'') and family films (the remake of ''Literature/CharlottesWeb'') so that he could finance smaller independent projects that made use of digital cameras. It ended up working rather well as he produced a number of critically acclaimed films through his company Indigent.
84* Music/RobZombie originally stated he would never do a sequel to the 2007 ''Film/{{Halloween|2007}}'' remake until the studio decided to make it. Then he signed on to write and direct ''Film/{{Halloween II|2009}}'' because he didn't want someone to ruin his vision. He also agreed to make the film in exchange for being allowed to make ''Film/TheLordsOfSalem''.
85* Lampshaded in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'':
86-->'''Ben Affleck:''' What've I been telling you? You gotta do the safe picture. Then you can do the art picture. But then sometimes you gotta do the payback picture because your friend says you owe him. [''AsideGlance'']
87** Creator/KevinSmith himself said that he made ''Film/CopOut'' as an attempt to follow this sort of formula, notable for being the only film he directed but didn't write. The TroubledProduction with Creator/BruceWillis [[WagTheDirector derailing his efforts as the director]] officially derailed that plan. ''Film/ZackAndMiriMakeAPorno'' a few years earlier was a related effort to go more mainstream, and the combination of both made him dive heavier into indie films.
88* For Creator/GeorgeClooney, each ''[[Film/OceansEleven Ocean's X]]'' movie allows him to make another ''Film/{{Syriana}}''. Several years after ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', he said the main reason he did it was that the salary had effectively given him lifelong financial stability, thus allowing him to pretty much do whatever films he wanted for the rest of his career. Even now, he says he doesn't regret taking the role because it made him a movie star, but he also keeps a picture of himself in the infamous Batsuit in his office to remind himself to never take something solely for the money ever again.
89* Universal greenlit ''Film/SchindlersList'' on the condition that Creator/StevenSpielberg did ''Film/{{Jurassic Park|1993}}'' (a project Spielberg liked even before the book came out) first. And Spielberg seemingly repeated this scheme by releasing both ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' and ''Film/{{Amistad}}'' in 1997, and ''Film/{{War of the Worlds|2005}}'' and ''Film/{{Munich}}'' in 2005.
90* Creator/AnthonyHopkins is sort of an inversion/reversal of this. Instead of doing huge moneymaker movies in order to do small artsy ones, he does smaller, artistic movies to give himself dramatic weight so that he can ask for [[MoneyDearBoy plenty of money]] doing big-budget films.
91* A group of Baptists financed ''Film/PlanNineFromOuterSpace'' in hopes of using the profits to produce a religious film.
92* Creator/KenRussell agreed to direct ''Film/BillionDollarBrain'' in exchange for Creator/UnitedArtists making one of his art films. The result of this deal was eventually ''Film/WomenInLove''.
93* Creator/RobertAltman was busy shopping the ''Film/ShortCuts'' script around Hollywood when he got an offer to direct ''Film/ThePlayer'', and he accepted it with the express goal of showing that he could direct a profitable film so studios would be more open to ''Short Cuts''. It worked, since ''The Player'' grossed about four times its budget.
94* Creator/JohnCassavetes famously took roles in blockbusters to help finance his smaller indie directorial efforts.
95* Creator/NatalieWood accepted to be in Creator/WarnerBros' escapist blockbuster ''Film/TheGreatRace'' so they would accept to fund and release ''Film/InsideDaisyClover'', which was a passion project for her.
96* Every American action-comedy film Creator/JackieChan makes allows him to make another Hong Kong drama piece.
97* Creator/GwynethPaltrow stated that her early 2000s output was this, as art films such as ''Film/{{Sylvia}}'', ''Film/{{Proof|2005}}'' and ''Film/TheRoyalTenenbaums'' alternated with paychecks like ''Film/ShallowHal'' and "[[OldShame this terrible movie called]] ''Film/ViewFromTheTop'' that Harvey Weinstein talked me into doing".
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
101* Angela Bettis said as much about her involvement in ''Film/{{Carrie 2002}}''. The film was planned as a PilotMovie for a TV series that she hoped would give her the financial security to pursue indie projects like ''Film/{{May}}''.
102* Jeff Garlin has said he likes ''Series/TheGoldbergs'' and is very proud of the show, but that the major appeal of doing the series came from the fact that a mainstream sitcom on a major network gives him the financial security he needs to pursue riskier indie projects in his downtime.
103* Creator/WernerHerzog took a role in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' so he could use the money to fund another project he wanted to work on. Despite having no prior interest in ''Franchise/StarWars'' he has stated that he genuinely liked the script and ended up enjoying the role.
104* Creator/JohnMahoney's primary motivation for playing Martin on ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' was to earn enough money to be able to afford to perform in the artistic theater productions that were his true love, even financing them from his show earnings if necessary.
105* The profits earned from the merchandising for ''Series/SesameStreet'' is distributed to Sesame Workshop and is used to fund the show and other Sesame Workshop projects.
106* Lottie Tolhurst, British actress (who has only been acting since 2015, so a new-ish actor) has this approach to her roles. However, two of her roles, Becky Teller, in the two-part ''Series/SilentWitness'' episode "Covenant", which aired in 2017, and Kitty Carter who was in ten episodes of ''Series/{{Harlots}}'' until Kitty was killed off by Lord Fallon in Season 2. She takes roles such as this both for the paycheck and the artistic value, of which both series have, but is to a degree, open to many roles.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Music]]
110* Famously inverted by Music/DavidBowie. After getting a raw deal on his contract, he spent the next several years producing experimental and [[AcclaimedFlop highly-acclaimed but not very commercial]] material (i.e ''Music/{{Low|DavidBowieAlbum}}'', ''Music/{{Heroes|DavidBowieAlbum}}'', and ''Music/{{Lodger}}''. When his contract expired, he produced some more mainstream (but again, highly-acclaimed) work for the money (i.e. ''Music/LetsDance'', ''Music/{{Tonight}}'', ''Music/NeverLetMeDown'') before ultimately getting dissatisfied and making experimental-oriented music again.
111* Music/ClaudeDebussy began composing his Etudes for piano as a side project while editing a new edition of Music/FryderykChopin's Etudes commissioned by his publisher, Durand. Debussy's work on the Chopin Etudes included providing editorial fingerings; for his own Etudes, he wrote a preface telling performers that they should figure out their own fingerings.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Podcasts]]
115* [[Podcast/BlankCheckWithGriffinAndDavid Blank Check]] is dedicated to examining director filmographies through this lense.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Video Games]]
119* Allegedly, the reason that ''VideoGame/AliensColonialMarines'' ended up being poorly received was that Gearbox used the money that they were paid to make the game in order to fund their own properties, including ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', and ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', and only started working on ''Colonial Marines'' in earnest after becoming in danger of violating their contract.
120* Creator/Suda51 and his company, Grasshopper Studios, will occasionally make quick and cheap licensed games to get some extra money to fund the projects he's truly passionate about, as he knows most of his original work doesn't turn a profit.
121* Creator/{{Treasure}} agreed to develop ''VideoGame/McDonaldsTreasureLandAdventure'' for Creator/{{Sega}} only so that Sega would help them fund the development of ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''. Although ''Treasure Land Adventure'' finished development first, Treasure managed to complete ''Gunstar Heroes'' quickly enough to release a week ahead of the other game so they could claim ''Gunstar'' as their true debut game. It worked out [[TropesAreTools for the best]] regardless, because both games ended up highly acclaimed titles for the Genesis and put Treasure on the map as a developer.
122* This is Creator/WayForwardTechnologies' way of life. One particularly evident instance of this is making [[VideoGame/TheMummyDemastered a game based on]] ''Film/{{The Mummy|2017}}'' in-between installments of ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'' (one of which was a fan-funded Kickstarter project, no less), which ironically ended up being more well-received than the actual film it was based on.
123* The main reason SCS Software developed games such as ''Scania Truck Driving Simulator'' and ''Extreme Trucker 2'' was to help secure funding and industry backing for ''[[VideoGame/EuroTruckSimulator Euro Truck Simulator 2]]''.
124* Yuji Horii created ''VisualNovel/ThePortopiaSerialMurderCase'' to make enough money to fund what would eventually be ''VideoGame/DragonQuest''.
125* Creator/AsoboStudio also follow this as their business model. One half of their studio is dedicated to contract work and kid-friendly licensed games for clients such as Creator/{{Pixar}}. Their other half is dedicated to more alienating projects such as ''VideoGame/APlagueTaleInnocence'', or experimental [[TechDemoGame Tech Demo Games]] for procedural generation technology, as was the case for both ''VideoGame/{{Fuel}}'' and ''VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator''.
126* Creator/CyberConnect2 is an extreme example. Many of their games contracted by Creator/BandaiNamco typically take a few years to develop, and when they do have freedom, they use what funding they have left over to create smaller, niche properties. This especially true for their ''VideoGame/LittleTailBronx'' series, with only a few installments to show for it during ''decades'', while still putting out artbooks that develop its setting even further. And with ''VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel'' being their first venture into self-publishing and cutting the need for them to pitch to someone like Bandai Namco, they now have even more opportunities to develop smaller projects. As ''Fuga'' creative director [[https://twitter.com/YoannGueritot/status/1503700558208978949 Yoann Gueritot]] once put it:
127-->'''Yoann:''' For those who wonder, the only reason we can make ''Fuga'' [[VideoGame/FugaMelodiesOfSteel2 sequels]] and donate its sales to charity despite ''Fuga'' making no money is because we have no publisher with common sense to tell us we’re crazy.
128[[/folder]]
129
130[[folder:Western Animation]]
131* ''WesternAnimation/TheChickenFromOuterSpace'' was supposed to be Creator/JohnRDilworth's next independent project, until he heard about Creator/HannaBarbera's ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'' initiative, and submitted it to them to receive funding. ''The Chicken From Outer Space'' would serve as a pilot short for ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog''.
132* Inverted with Creator/MattGroening. Originally, he had wanted to pitch his comic strip ''ComicStrip/LifeInHell'' as an animated series. However, he would lose the character rights to Fox if they adapted the comic. Not wanting to give up such a personal project of his, Groening drew [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons a certain yellow-skinned family]] that would quickly eclipse ''Life In Hell'' in popularity.
133* As a reward for years of work for and loyalty to [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer the Fleischer brothers' studio]], animator Roland 'Doc' Crandall accepted total creative control over the ''WesternAnimation/BettyBoop'' short ''WesternAnimation/{{Snow White|1933}}'', which he completed over six months.
134[[/folder]]

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