Let’s Make a Deal

November 1, 2005

BY:

Eric S. Brown, Rose H. Schwartz, Kenneth M. Weinrib

A Practical Guide to Negotiating and Improving Your Indie Film Deal

Rose Schwartz, Ken Weinrib and Eric Brown will present a 2 hour seminar entitled, “Let’s Make a Deal: A Practical Guide to Negotiating and Improving Your Indie Film Deal,” for the AAR (Association of Authors’ Representatives) on November 29. The seminar will analyze the basic parameters of an author’s agreement with a motion picture company, with particular attention paid to independent film deals. The discussion will include an overview of U.S. film industry standards, a summary of some key issues to consider in any film negotiation, an analysis of certain pitfalls in the “boilerplate,” and a discussion of the agent’s optimal goals in balancing the limited resources of the independent film producer against the desired protections for the client: e.g., backend participations if the film is a box office success, and limitations on the scope of rights granted.