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Screenwriting Agreements

Articles that discuss writing agreements and screenplay option/purchase agreements.

Business law, Entertainment Agreements, Filmmaking Agreements, Screenwriting Agreements Comments turned off

Entertainment Contracts: Part One–the Basics

By Production Counsel Keith E. Cooper on January 31st, 2011

Form contracts, especially those in books, are not meant to be used by anyone. They are samples of fictitious ideal transactions which don’t exist. They’re meant to show the types of things that go into an agreement, but not necessarily your agreement.

Many of the agreements you get from friends were not written, or even reviewed, by an attorney. Most of them are not written correctly, do not make sense, and do not apply to your situation. They are passed from filmmaker to filmmaker and their errors are perpetuated or magnified if someone decides to make a “little” change in the wording. This article talks about the basics of what a good contract needs to contain.

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Entertainment Agreements, Filmmaking Agreements, Screenwriting, Screenwriting Agreements 1 comment

Options in the Motion Picture and Television Industries

By Production Counsel Keith E. Cooper on September 3rd, 2010

In the financial industries, there are two broad types of options (which Black’s Law Dictionary defines generally as “the right of election to exercise a privilege.” One is the right to buy something in the future at a price you fix today, which Wall Street types term a “call.” The other broad category of option is the right to sell something in the future for a price you fix today, which financial investors term a “put.” There are variations on these two broad categories.

In motion pictures, it’s usually the first type people are talking about when they say “option.”

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Film Production, Filmmaking Agreements, Screenwriting, Screenwriting Agreements 2 comments

Attachments to Screenplays

By Production Counsel Keith E. Cooper on June 22nd, 2010

In simple terms, an attachment is someone (other than a writer) who has become involved with developing a screenplay to production and must be hired when production begins. When someone in the movie business says there is an attachment to a script, this is usually what they’re talking about. Usually, attachments are made because the script is good, but the writer is unable to get it to the “right people.” The “attachment agreement” can be a simple writing between the parties to record their mutual understanding of what is being promised.

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