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Indie Law: How to Secure and Hold the Rights to Your Project
In the documentary on legendary producer Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture, Evans explains early and often that...
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Indie Law: Make Your Feature’s Development Less Dicey With Loyal Legal Counsel and Financing Foresight
Development is the time when your indie’s budget needs to be put to the test. It’s...
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Indie Law: Learn Why These Three Types of Attorneys Will Give Your Production a Boost, and How To Pick Them
Selecting 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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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...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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? ...
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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”...
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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...
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Cinema Law: What You Should Know When Working with Someone Else’s Characters
Q: Who owns the copyright to a script when it’s based off someone else’s originally created...
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When Fair is Foul: Why Fair Use Isn’t an Impenetrable Defense for Indie Films
This situation is probably familiar to you: You don’t own it and you need to use...
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Cinema Law: Trust is Earned Over Time — So Always Get the Contract
Q: I wrote a screenplay and got a producer interested. He said he could generate interest...
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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,...
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Paper Trail, No Fail: How to Stay Out of Legal Trouble? Document Everything
Also known as “Contracts or it didn’t happen,” this practice might help you get out of...
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Cinema Law: Do I Need Life Rights for a Scripted Film if I Have Them for a Documentary?
Q: I am writing a film based on a documentary I wrote, produced and directed in...
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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...
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