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February 11, 2012

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Marlett & Me: Film Finance IV—Gin-n-Tonics and Songs Your Cousin Sings

Marlett & Me, this column/blog, is just getting started, so I am sure we’ll revisit film finance many times. But for now we’re wrapping up this fishing-analogized series on raising funds for your film. Over the past few weeks, we’ve lightly discussed a range of things on the subject: What kind of fish (investor) you should be looking for, where to find them and what type of lure (return on investment) you should consider using. Today we finish, still with the fishing, talking about how to use your rod, throw your line, make your presentation… you get the point. (Okay, stop giggling about me saying "use your rod.")

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April 29th, 2009 | Category: Marlett & Me | By David Marlett

Comments: 4

Cinema Law: Plagiarism or Idea Theft?

Q: What is the distinction between plagiarism and idea theft?

A:
First of all, “plagiarism” is a term commonly used to describe the copying of someone's written work, but the term has largely disappeared from California law. What was once known as “plagiarism” now comes within the ambit of federal copyright infringement.

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April 27th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Jennifer McGrath

Comments: 11

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Our Goals for Our Press Release

Things are really heating up. Only 13 days out now. Today, I thought it might be interesting to share our latest press release to give you a real sense of how we’re trying to position the movie in the Shreveport-Bossier City area:

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April 24th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 2

Cinema Law: Music Licensing for the Internet?

Q: There’s a popular song I want to use for my trailer and post online. How does music licensing work for the Internet? Sites like YouTube? IMDb? The movie’s own official site?

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April 20th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Gregory Gabriel

Comments: 10

Adventures in Self-Releasing: My Week At-A-Glance

Thought I would mix things up a bit again, format-wise. Here’s a quick glimpse at my week last week.

Monday, April 6th
I’m back from the Wisconsin Film Festival. Tickets for the theatrical premiere haven’t been made available for purchase yet. That’s the priority right now. Call R. again. Keep pushing. Make it happen.

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April 17th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 6

Marlett & Me: Film Finance III—Offering a Good ROI with a J-Lo

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been doing a walk-through of film finance strategies, sorely wearing out the fishing analogy I introduced here and continued here. But, ah well… we press on.

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April 16th, 2009 | Category: Marlett & Me | By David Marlett

Comments: 16

Cinema Law: Brand It or Blur It?

Q: We’ve shot 75 percent of our movie and in every scene our main character has been wearing a T-shirt with a Poland Spring logo on it. Do we need to do anything? Contact Poland Spring? Blur it out?

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April 15th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Amber Holley

Comments: 2

Adventures in Self-Releasing: The Less Money Equation

We've been talking in this blog about distribution versus self-distribution. Well, if after reading several of my posts you've decided that self-release equals misery, then what are your other options?

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April 10th, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 17

Grassroots Moviemaker: Five Stages of Budget Grief

Coming to terms with the fact that you may have to shoot for less than you ever dreamed

At some point in our moviemaking lives we’re all going to face the loss of something very dear to us. That grief can seem unbearable, I know. I’ve been there. But friends, I’m here to tell you that grief is a normal part of the healing process. Our intense disappointment about not being able to hire who we want, shoot where we want or get that crane shot that still arouses us whenever we envision it… all of this will subside. And when it does, our sense of liberation will open the gate that inevitably leads to that golden road where all our moviemaking dreams will come true.

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April 8th, 2009 | Category: Grassroots Moviemaker | By Timothy Rhys

Comments: 1

Cinema Law: Who Needs to Sign a Release?

Welcome to "Cinema Law," MovieMaker.com's all-new blog where you ask the questions of our resident team of legal experts and, each week, they'll provide the answers to your production queries. Have a burning question yourself? E-mail it to and your question may just be on next week's blog! Cinema Law is presented as general information only and is not meant to take the place of professional legal advice.

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April 8th, 2009 | Category: Cinema Law | By Chad Fitzgerald

Comments: 2

Notes from Movieland: Okay, So I Made a Mistake...

Assorted moviemakers share their stories—Part 1

I’ve collected some kooky stories I hope you’ll enjoy. A number of independent moviemakers—some friends, others complete strangers—shared some of their most painful or amusing (or both) moviemaking experiences with me. I was so stoked (does anybody use that word anymore or am I lagging a decade or two?) by the response that I got that I’ve decided to turn this into an ongoing series over the next month!

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April 7th, 2009 | Category: Notes From Movieland | By Anne Norda

Comments: 3

Adventures in Self-Releasing: Is There a Better Way?

Before I forget, we have just launched our trailer for The Last Lullaby. If interested, please take a look here.

Okay now on to my thoughts for this week. Some people have questioned my model. Is it sustainable? Isn’t there a better way? I don’t know. Is there?

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April 3rd, 2009 | Category: Adventures in Self-Releasing | By Jeffrey Goodman

Comments: 8

Marlett & Me: Film Finance II—Finding the Honey Holes

So, the next question in the film financing search (here being analogized as a fishing expedition) is: Where to find the lil’ buggers? What’s required is good street sense, extraordinary persistence and god-like patience. But you can do it.

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April 1st, 2009 | Category: Marlett & Me | By David Marlett

Comments: 7

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