Stories By David Albert Pierce, Esq.
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Movie News
Indie Law: Five Ways Shady Producers Bilk Investors
January 13, 2021I’ve seen so many examples of producers bamboozling investors that I feel as if there must...
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Movie News
9 Essential COVID-19 Rules For Moviemakers: A Short Legal Guide
July 15, 2020Attorney David Albert Pierce has carefully researched COVID-19 rules across all jurisdictions to offer the following...
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Cinema Law
Film Labor Laws: What Moviemakers Should Know
February 11, 2020A typical film production, even a relatively small, independent one, often sprouts from the initiative of...
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Cinema Law
Indie Law: Our Entertainment Law Expert Pulls Your Legal Questions From The MM Mailbag
August 20, 2019For this edition of Indie Law, we asked readers to send us their burning legal questions...
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Cinema Law
Indie Law: How to Secure and Hold the Rights to Your Project
February 14, 2019In the documentary on legendary producer Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture, Evans explains early and often that...
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Cinema Law
Indie Law: Make Your Feature’s Development Less Dicey With Loyal Legal Counsel and Financing Foresight
November 16, 2018Development is the time when your indie’s budget needs to be put to the test. It’s...
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Cinema Law
Indie Law: Learn Why These Three Types of Attorneys Will Give Your Production a Boost, and How To Pick Them
July 26, 2018Selecting an attorney, or attorneys, to work with throughout the moviemaking process is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Likewise,...
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Cinema Law
Indie Law: Put the Green in Greenlight With This Guide to the Most Effective Film Financing Tactics
June 6, 2018You went to film school, not business school—yet all the sudden you’re confronted by a bevy...
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Cinema Law
Swindler’s List: Seven Tips for Avoiding the Scam in Hollywood
February 10, 2017Doyle Lonnegan: Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it? ...
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Cinema Law
Ethical Exploitation: How Moviemakers Can Treat Their Unpaid Interns and Volunteers Better
August 30, 2016“Can’t get around the old minimum wage, Mortimer.”- Louis Winthorpe, III (Trading Places, 1983) In theory,...
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Cinema Law
Better Safe Than Sorry: Nine Basics Moviemakers Should Cover For On-Set Safety
August 15, 2016The industry is fraught with potential hazards for accidents. A select few on-set tragedies receive attention...
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Cinema Law
Cinema Law: How To Tell The Truth Without Paying For It
August 3, 2016Adapting a true story for film can be tricky. On the one hand, reality can be...
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Cinema Law
Max Incentives: Five Best Practice Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Tax Incentives
January 28, 2016So you’ve read our Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2016 lists...
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Cinema Law
Cinema Law: Why Moviemakers Should be Very, Very Careful About Equity Crowdfunding
January 6, 2016Just days before the American Film Market began last November, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...
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Cinema Law
The Producer’s Sacred Trinity: Three Positions that Separate Filmmaking Success and Disaster
August 5, 2015Filmmaking is tough on the producer. When you’re responsible for making sure the entire picture runs...
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Cinema Law
Staying Clear: How the First Amendment Can Protect Your Documentary
March 30, 2015If there’s one thing both Alex Gibney and Scientology should agree upon, it’s the value of...
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Articles
DIY Legal: Telling the Truth Without Paying for It
December 2, 2013Fact or fiction? For this week’s DIY Monday MovieMaker is exploring how to limit your liability when...
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Articles - Distribution
Distribution in the Year 2012
January 26, 2012Distribution is the sole source by which film revenue is earned, but recent years have seen...
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Cinema Law
Cinema Law: What’s an LLC, And Does Every Production Need One?
May 13, 2011Welcome to Cinema Law, where you ask the questions of our resident team of legal experts...
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Cinema Law
Cinema Law: Who Owns the Copyright to Behind the Scenes Footage?
April 8, 2011Welcome to Cinema Law, where you ask the questions of our resident team of legal experts...
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Cinema Law
Cinema Law: Can I Film U.S. Currency?
March 30, 2011Welcome to Cinema Law, where you ask the questions of our resident team of legal experts...
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Articles - Directing
10 Legal FAQs That Can Make or Break Your Production
September 15, 2010As lawyers who regularly work with independent moviemakers, we see the same legal pitfalls on a...
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Articles - Directing
Indie Counselor
March 22, 2004“My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s...
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