You’re an independent film and television production company that became a signatory to the Writers Guild of America (WGA). You hired a WGA writer to write a screenplay and paid that writer in full, including all WGA mandated P&H obligations. Now you want to hire another writer, who is not a WGA member. This raises the following questions. Can you hire that writer? Can you hire that writer and not be subject to WGA minimums and P&H obligations? What is a WGA signatory? A Signatory to the WGA is a person or company that has signed a collective bargaining agreement with the WGA. Anyone ..read more

In the most basic sense of the word, privacy evokes a sense of security in an individual’s own person and property, as well as the ability to control how they are perceived by the world. New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51 are designed to give persons the right to protect their own identity from unauthorized commercial use. It protects a person’s right to be let alone. However, while the right of privacy may create a safeguard to protect against the use of an individual’s name or likeness, it does not always protect the person seeking privacy. Scope of the Right of Privacy There is no comm ..read more

Given the precarious state of foreign pre-sales nowadays, the majority of a film’s budget must come from private equity investors. However, equity investors are more conservative when it comes to pouring money into film, TV, VR and web projects. That list includes companies, mainly with private equity backing, that are currently active in production finance. This may mean that fewer (and hopefully better) projects are getting made. In this climate, you must work harder to get equity investors interested in your film and TV project. In that regard, it is necessary for the f ..read more

Acquisitions are an integral part of the motion picture business. Before acquiring any literary property, such as music, book, screenplay, teleplay or a motion picture, the buyer will require proof of ownership from the seller, to ascertain the status of the seller’s rights, that is, clean chain of title. There are generally several reasons why you will need to deliver clean chain of title, including, when obtaining a completion guarantee, errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, official treaty foreign co-production, and distribution. Filmmakers’ failure to obtain the agreements or document ..read more

Starting a production company, a film fund or other private equity fund is a risky endeavor. Absent an exemption under applicable federal or state securities laws, you may not offer or sell securities unless the offering has been registered with the state and/or federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The object of securities laws is to ensure that potential investors are provided with accurate information so that they can make informed investment decisions. As a result, you are prohibited from making false or misleading statements in connection with the sale of securities. Sec ..read more

Traditionally, it is thought that a producer needs to cast a well-known actor for a successful development of a film. The conventional wisdom being that having a name actor attached, one who has marquee appeal, will open doors to the financing and/or other elements needed to get the film made. This is so even though having stars attached does not ensure box office success. In fact, some of the most successful films have no stars in the entire cast. So, do stars really matter? Do producers really need to go through the trouble to cast big-name actors in their indie film? Whether stars matter o ..read more

Actors get movies made. Having the right actor attached can make or break a film or television show, in terms of financing, ability to pre-sell foreign markets, and box office and/or VOD performance. Often, locations are chosen to qualify for government subsidies. In order to qualify for the subsidies, most states (and countries) will require a film production to spend a minimum amount of its production budget within the state (or country). Several others will require that a minimum percentage of the production’s above and below-the-line labor must be chosen from that county’s workforce, whil ..read more

Several countries around the world provide government aid for the development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution of film, documentary, television series, commercials, video games and other audiovisual works. Such “soft money” sources include tax credits and tax shelters, cash rebates and grants, film funds and co-production funding. A Tax Shelter is a government-approved tax incentive program whereby a production company can raise production financing from a country’s taxpayers. In general, the purpose of these film incentives is to develop, maintain and promot ..read more

Most states provide some form of soft money film financing to production companies. Soft money are state subsidies in the form of tax credits, cash rebates and grants. They provide partial financing for productions, to cover pre-production, production and post-production expenses, including the costs of goods and services and wages or salaries paid to each resident and non-resident cast and crew. State subsidies are designed to encourage production companies to produce film and television projects in the state, help create and maintain film industry jobs, promote tourism and the state’s ..read more

You have a great idea for a new product or service, such as a mobile app or film valuation technology. You want to submit your idea to a company with the hope of getting a licensing deal. But companies receive numerous business proposals from individuals and other companies all the time. Your invention may be similar or identical to ideas submitted by other members of the public. It may even be similar to a project that the company and its employees have developed or are developing internally. You may even be a current or former employee of the company, or a current or former employee or cons ..read more