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Entertainment attorney David Albert Pierce says social media platforms can profit from your videos, but not in the ways you might expect.
When dealing with investors, film producers should remember those with the gold make the rules. How to recognize shady producers — and avoid becoming one.
Attorney David Albert Pierce breaks down 9 COVID-19 rules for moviemakers that apply no matter the size of your project or where you’re working.
Eight legal lessons they don’t teach you in film school about labor laws and being a boss from MovieMaker’s resident legal expert.
You asked, we answer: Here are our budget-conscious breakdowns of the priceless legal questions we culled from the MM mailbag.
Found a story worth telling? Before you do anything else, understand the true nature, scope, and value of the rights, then lock them down. Here’s how.
So, you’ve entered the development phase. Ask first, shoot later: Here’s a legal primer to plan your feature’s financing.
Do the financing, production, and distribution of your feature justice with this guide to hiring attorneys for all three branches.
You went to film school, not business school—yet all the sudden you’re confronted by a bevy of fancy financial terms as you attempt to assemble your independent film’s budget. Rather than pretend to understand these terms, check out this quick primer to ease your anxiety.
Many a scam involves one of the following lines: “Close this deal now! The process for how my funds come is complicated, but it works.”
Unpaid interns and volunteers are a necessary evil in indie moviemaking. Just go easy on the “evil” part of that equation.
This is a checklist from an attorney-come-production safety instructor with experience in multiple OSHA safety investigations.
Defamation, right of publicity and right of privacy claims are distinct possibilities for a filmmaker who wants to adapt the truth.
It’s not just about the percentage figure—tax incentives come with a host of qualifications and fine-print, and knowing how to properly address each aspect of a package can make a real difference to your bottom line. So before you dive in, keep these five tips in mind.
Lawyers and financiers are all of the unanimous opinion that equity crowdfunding, as applied to independent filmmaking, sucks. Why?
Filmmaking is tough, especially for the producer. When you’re responsible for making sure the entire picture runs efficiently, sometimes you feel more like a punching bag than a team leader. That’s why a good producer recognizes the importance of aligning himself with key people to help defend against the blows.
If there’s one thing both Alex Gibney and Scientology should agree upon, it’s the value of the First Amendment: freedom of speech, religion, and the press (in addition to the freedom to assemble and petition the government).
Telling the truth without paying for it. Exploring how to limit your liability when adapting a true story for film.
Distribution is the sole source by which film revenue is earned, but recent years have seen some radical changes in […]
I’ve heard that some moviemakers create an LLC for their movies.
Welcome to Cinema Law, where you ask the questions of our resident team of legal experts and, each week, they’ll […]
As lawyers who regularly work with independent moviemakers, we see the same legal pitfalls on a regular basis. The 10 […]
“My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going out with the […]
