Insight
Who Owns an AI-Generated Film? What Thaler v. Perlmutter Means for Filmmakers
On March 2, 2026, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Thaler v. Perlmutter. With that decision, or more precisely, with that refusal to decide, the legal question at the center of the AI and copyright debate was left exactly where the lower courts had placed it. AI cannot be an author under United States…
Educational Article
AI Films, Copyright, and Chain of Title: What Distributors Will Ask That Nobody Is Talking About
Two AI films just premiered at major festivals. One may have a copyright problem that changes everything about how it gets distributed. Two AI films just premiered at major international film festivals. One at Cannes. One at Tribeca. Both are looking for distribution. And one of them may have a legal problem that filmmakers have…
Educational Article
What Christopher Nolan’s Location Problem Teaches Indie Filmmakers About Location Agreements
Christopher Nolan filmed part of The Odyssey in an occupied territory. And there’s a production legal problem here that nobody’s talking about. In the summer of 2025, Nolan’s production spent four days filming near Dakhla — a coastal city in Western Sahara that has been under Moroccan occupation for fifty years and is designated by…
How The Amazing Digital Circus Built a Studio That Answers to Nobody — And What Indie Filmmakers Can Learn From It
In October 2023, an independent animation studio in Sydney, Australia posted a cartoon pilot on YouTube. No network. No development deal. No studio backing. The pilot was The Amazing Digital Circus created by Gooseworx and produced by Glitch Productions, a studio founded by brothers Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul. Hundreds of millions of views later…Netflix called.…
Educational Article
Who Owns the Backrooms? What the A24 Film Teaches Filmmakers About Copyright & Creative Ownership
Backrooms made $81 million in its opening weekend — and immediately raised one question: who owns the Backrooms copyright? A24’s biggest opening ever. Kane Parsons — 20 years old — became the youngest director to top the global box office. It’s the right question. And the answer is more legally fascinating than most people realize.…
Educational Article
What Every Film PA Needs in Their Kit (Including This)
Your first day on a film set as a PA is not the day to figure out what you should have brought. Most first-time PAs show up with a phone, a pen, and good intentions. The ones who get hired back come prepared — with the tools that make them reliable, fast, and useful in…
Film Crew Contract Template: What Must It Include?
Every indie production hires crew. Most indie productions skip the paperwork. Not because filmmakers don’t know they need it — but because finding a crew contract template that actually reflects how indie film works is harder than it should be. Generic contractor agreements miss the film-specific issues. Free templates online skip the chain-of-title language that…
Educational Article
Film Location Agreement Template: What Must It Include?
A film location agreement is the written permission that gives a production company the right to film at a specific location and use that footage in the finished film, trailers, promotional materials, and all other exploitation of the picture. Without a signed location agreement, the property owner retains the right to object to how the…
Legal Guide
Every Contract You Need for a Short Film (Complete 2026 Checklist)
Short films get into festivals, attract distributors, launch careers, and sometimes become the proof-of-concept that gets a feature made. They also get stuck, rejected, or legally complicated — usually because the paperwork wasn’t in place before the shoot. This is the complete checklist of every contract a short film production needs. Each agreement is linked…
Educational Article
Do I Need an Operating Agreement for My Film LLC?
Yes. And filing Articles of Organization alone isn’t enough. Most filmmakers who form an LLC for their production focus on the filing — registering the entity with their state, getting an EIN, opening a bank account. That’s the visible part of the process. What gets skipped is the Operating Agreement — the document that actually…
Educational Article
Gaffer Agreement for Indie Film: What Must It Include?
The gaffer is the head of the lighting department on a film production. They design and execute the lighting plan in collaboration with the director of photography, supervise the electrical crew, manage equipment, and ensure every setup is safe and achievable within the production schedule. Despite this level of responsibility, gaffer agreements are one of…
Educational Article
What Must a Producer Agreement Include? (Indie Film Checklist)
A producer agreement is the document that defines the relationship between a production company and the producer it hires to make a film. It covers compensation, creative authority, intellectual property ownership, backend participation, and the legal protections that ensure the production can move forward through delivery and distribution without disputes. This guide covers what a…
