All posts by David Albert Pierce, Esq.
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Indie Law: Put the Green in Greenlight With This Guide to the Most Effective Film Financing Tactics
You went to film school, not business school—yet all the sudden you’re confronted by a bevy of fancy financial terms as you... -
Swindler’s List: Seven Tips for Avoiding the Scam in Hollywood
Doyle Lonnegan: Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it? Johnny Hooker: He cheats. – The... -
Ethical Exploitation: How Moviemakers Can Treat Their Unpaid Interns and Volunteers Better
“Can’t get around the old minimum wage, Mortimer.”- Louis Winthorpe, III (Trading Places, 1983) In theory, an internship is a wonderful thing.... -
Better Safe Than Sorry: Nine Basics Moviemakers Should Cover For On-Set Safety
The industry is fraught with potential hazards for accidents. A select few on-set tragedies receive attention in the media, but even more... -
Cinema Law: How To Tell The Truth Without Paying For It
Adapting a true story for film can be tricky. On the one hand, reality can be extremely powerful—fact is often stranger—and even... -
Max Incentives: Five Best Practice Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Tax Incentives
So you’ve read our Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2016 lists (Big Cities and Small Cities and... -
Cinema Law: Why Moviemakers Should be Very, Very Careful About Equity Crowdfunding
Just days before the American Film Market began last November, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finally promulgated regulations (after a two-year... -
The Producer’s Sacred Trinity: Three Positions that Separate Filmmaking Success and Disaster
Filmmaking is tough on the producer. When you’re responsible for making sure the entire picture runs efficiently, sometimes you feel more like... -
Staying Clear: How the First Amendment Can Protect Your Documentary
If there’s one thing both Alex Gibney and Scientology should agree upon, it’s the value of the First Amendment: freedom of speech,... -
DIY Legal: Telling the Truth Without Paying for It
Fact or fiction? For this week’s DIY Monday MovieMaker is exploring how to limit your liability when adapting a true story for film...
25th Anniversary
Guide 2018
Summer 2017
Spring 2017
Winter 2017
Year in MovieMaker
Inside the Issue: Distribution
Your Key to Distribution Success: Get Keyed in to Key Art, and You’re On Your Way to an Instantly Iconic Movie
Think about some of the most famous posters ever produced: Jaws, Scarface, Taxi Driver, The Shining, Ghostbusters, E.T., The Godfather. What do they have in common? To...2Inside the Issue: Festivals
deadCenter Film Festival 2017: Oklahoma City Is the Biggest Star Of This Consistently Great Event
Film festivals are as good as their programmers and audiences, and the deadCenter film festival has an abundance of excellence in both. From the very first...Inside the Issue: Producing
What Investors Want to Hear: Here Are the Things You Need to Be Telling Potential Financiers In Your Pitch
There are as many different ways to get funding as there are movies made, but the one thing all of those stories have in common is...6