Legal Guide
Separated Rights for Screenwriters & Producers
What the WGA Returns to Writers After Copyright Transfer — And What Producers Need to Know Before They Promise What They Don’t Own When a screenwriter sells or options a screenplay to a studio or production company, they transfer the copyright. The company owns it. The writer has been paid. That is the standard deal.…
Insight
What First-Time Screenwriters Can Actually Negotiate Before They Sign
Most first-time screenwriters do one of two things when someone offers to option or buy their screenplay. They sign immediately because they’re afraid the offer will disappear. Or they ask for things they’ve heard about, like final cut, casting approval, director approval, that nobody is going to give a first-time writer, and the conversation goes…
Legal Guide
From Screenplay to Screen
How a Script Changes at Every Stage of Production — And What Writers and Producers Need to Negotiate Before Cameras Roll The screenplay a writer delivers is rarely the film audiences see. Between the first draft and the final cut, a screenplay passes through development, pre-production, production, post-production, and sometimes reshoots — each stage introducing…
Legal Guide
Residuals for Filmmakers
What Every Producer and Indie Filmmaker Needs to Understand About Residual Obligations, Distribution Windows, and How Your Deals Determine What You Owe Most filmmakers budget carefully for production. They track every below-the-line cost, negotiate equipment deals, and model their financing waterfall. Then they sign a distribution agreement and discover they have obligations they never anticipated,…
Legal Guide
Copyright Termination Rights for Filmmakers
The Second Chance Congress Built Into the Law — How It Works, Who Qualifies, and What Can Take It Away In 1978, Congress built a second chance directly into copyright law. The reason was straightforward. Creators (writers, composers, filmmakers, artists) routinely sign deals before anyone knows what their work will be worth. The novelist who…
Legal Guide
Film Chain of Title
Every Link That Determines Who Owns Your Movie About this guide This guide explains what film chain of title is, what every link in the chain looks like, and how to build a clean chain from day one. For comprehensive detail on any individual element, follow the linked resources at the end of each section.…
Legal Guide
Non-Union Actor Contract Template: What It Must Cover
Most indie film productions work with non-union talent. SAG-AFTRA agreements come with specific obligations, rate requirements, and union oversight — and for many micro-budget, student, and independent productions, working non-union is the practical reality. That doesn’t mean going without agreements. A non-union actor contract still needs to cover the same fundamental issues as any performer…
Educational Article
How to Give Cast and Crew Equity in Your Indie Film
Watch the Reel that inspired this guide: @LexNovaLawyer “Sing Sing Cast & Crew Equity” What the Sing Sing Film Deal Actually Looked Like And What You Need to Replicate It Every person on the set of Sing Sing from Colman Domingo to the production assistant was paid the same day rate. And every single one…
Educational Article
How Film Revenue Waterfalls Work: A Real Example for Indie Producers
Every filmmaker who raises money for a production will eventually face this question: when the film makes money, who gets paid first? The answer is the revenue waterfall — the sequence in which money flows from a film’s gross receipts to the various parties who have a claim on the production’s earnings. Most first-time producers…
Educational Article
What Happens When a Film Option Expires: A Producer’s Guide
A film option gives you the exclusive right to develop and purchase underlying material — a novel, a screenplay, a life rights agreement, a short story — for a defined period of time. When that period ends without exercise or renewal, the option expires. What happens next depends on how far development went, what work…
Educational Article
Background Actor Release Form: What It Must Include
Most indie productions know they need agreements for their principal cast. Most also know — at least in principle — that extras need some kind of paperwork. The gap is in the details. A background actor release form that’s too generic, too narrow, or missing key provisions creates exactly the kind of chain-of-title gap that…
Backend Participation in Indie Film: What to Offer Each Role
A producer asked me recently whether offering 5% backend to their lead actor was too much. I asked one question first: “5% of what?” That question matters more than the percentage. Because 5% of a clearly defined net profits waterfall with audit rights and a gross corridor is a real offer. And 5% of ‘whatever’s…
