Sign up now for my new webinar for Stage 32: "The Top 10 Legal Traps for Producers." this class is live in 14 days!
Creating a movie is more than just a labor of love: it's also an investment of time and money. But while countless hours are spent setting up shots and editing footage, many producers spend too little time taking care of the legal aspects of their productions. As a result, filmmakers often learn the difficult lesson that no matter how good their films may be, a distributor can't sell a movie unless all of the necessary rights and permissions have been secured. In fact, without the correct agreements in place, filmmakers may be surprised to find out that they may not even own their own films!
Whether you have a finished film, a script, or the beginnings of an idea for a television program, this course will show you how to spot the top legal problems producers face… and give you a set of tools you can use to tackle them!
What You'll Learn:
The ten legal traps most likely to derail any production
- We’ll learn how to spot a decalogue of legal “red” flags that can cost filmmakers headaches, money, and even loss of ownership of their films!
Key aspects of copyright law: “work for hire,” and “fair use”
- Copyright law can be tricky; we'll go over properly-drafted signed “work for hire” agreements showing a filmmaker’s ownership of her film, to ensure distributors do not reject your film. Distributors are also very “risk adverse” – a filmmaker’s over-reliance on “fair use,” may be a harbinger of litigation.
Critical deal points for option/purchase agreements
- Are you ready to buy that script outright? Of course not! You want to option the script first to see if you can raise the proper funding. We’ll take a look at important clauses which makes up a healthy option/purchase agreement.
Fundraising “sand traps” and how to avoid them
- Did you know that raising money the wrong way may expose you to both civil and criminal liability? Learn how to avoid frequent filmmaker financing mistakes.
Tips and tricks for negotiating with agents
- Negotiating with talent agents can be like swimming with sharks. We’ll discuss some techniques for “getting to yes” while staying inside the shark cage!