All posts by Gregory R. Kanaan
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Cinema Law: Enforcing Your Rights (When They Haven’t Been Paid For)
Q: I did CGI work for a film and our contract states that they don’t acquire the copyright in my work until... -
Cinema Law: Can I Fictionalize A Reality TV Idea Without Infringing Its Copyright?
Q: I wrote a novel about a fictional reality TV dating show that bears similarities to The Bachelor and other similar shows.... -
Cinema Law: What Are Your Options When You’re Fired From A Job Before It Even Begins?
Q: I was booked as a makeup artist on a production for the month of August. I signed a written employment contract... -
Cinema Law: Does Your School Own Your Student Film?
When I was in film school many years ago, a rumor developed that the school owned the films we made there, stripping... -
Cinema Law: Should I Write a Season of TV For a Producer Without Upfront Compensation?
Q: A producer recently approached me with a finished pilot script and asked me to write the rest of the first season... -
Cinema Law: What to Put in A Life Rights Contract
Q: I’m friends with a semi-famous musician and she’s helping me writing a biopic about her life. I was told that I... -
Cinema Law: What You Should Know About Using Other Peoples’ Quotes in Your Film
Q: I’m making a film and I’d like to use a quote from a famous person in the script. Are quotes considered... -
Cinema Law: Getting the (Screenwriting) Credit You Deserve, For WGA Members and Non-Members Alike
Q: Is there some way to ensure that I receive a “written by” or “screenplay by” credit when the client is not... -
More Than You Bargain For: Negotiating With Talent 101
I used to be terrified of negotiating—my instinct was to immediately acquiesce and avoid the hassle. So when I meet moviemakers in... -
Cinema Law: What Are Your Rights When Filming a Criminal?
Q: As a producer, what are my rights when filming a documentary subject as he confronts a criminal about a past crime...
Guide 2019
Summer 2018
Spring 2018
25th Anniversary
Guide 2018
Year in MovieMaker
Inside the Issue: Acting
Sydney on the Map: To Land Breakout Roles, Sydney Sweeney Draws Her Own Maps of the Characters She Inhabits
A reverent initiate of a patriarchal regime; a disturbed young psychiatric hospital ward; a sexually questioning teen with a flair for the dramatic; a mysterious denizen...1Inside the Issue: Directing
Think Like A Photographer: Generation Wealth’s Lauren Greenfield Shares How Still Techniques Make Better Movies
The biggest change I experienced when I went from making pictures to making films was the sense of an arc—of creating a story over time, and...Inside the Issue: How To
How They Did It: Casting Unknowns Was Key to Finding the Laughs and Lived-In Feel of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade
Before I directed my first film, Eighth Grade, I had heard that 90 percent of directing is casting. I’m sure there are other directors who weigh...2