The Movie Business

Making a movie may be part art and part science, but it's 100 percent business. In this comprehensive and accessible guide, Kelly Charles Crabb shares the information necessary to understand the legal and financial challenges involved in getting a film from story to the silver screen and beyond. Drawing on over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry, as both lawyer and producer, Crabb reveals his insider's knowledge on: - Understanding copyright and intellectual property law - Obtaining financial backing - Selecting and hiring the key players - Overseeing the filming - Locking in the theatrical, home video, and TV distribution - Understanding merchandise licensingand everything else you need to know to make a serious run at producing and exploiting a movie. Offering hands-on illustrations from actual movie contracts to show how the basic deals for each of the many stages are assembled, the author explains in plain and simple terms what the contracts contain and why. It gives the big picture and the finer points of movie making -- from concept to raking in the last dollar after the film is completed. While it may not transform you into a lawyer or an industry accountant -- and that's not what you want anyway -- it will take you through all the business and legal principles you need to know to be a successful and knowledgeable professional producer.

Kelly Charles Crabb

Foreword Preface About This Book and How to Make the Most of It Passwords and Tokens (Learning the Lingo) A Linear View of the Map: Development, Production, and Distribution There'll Be Help Along the Way Some Fundamentals of Copyright Law Registration Implied Contract Who Is the Author of the Treatment? The Option Agreement and the Acquisition Rights Granted Reserved Rights Representations, Warranties, and Indemnities Respecting "Chain of Title" Publicity Rights -- Name and Likeness Miscellaneous Provisions Using Someone Else's Life -- Publicity Rights The Screenplay as a Blueprint Papering the Writer's Deal Pros and Cons of Using a "Spec Script" Doing the Acquisition or Option Deal Making the Dream Come True Sources of Development Financing Structuring Development Deals What Do You Want to Be? Packaging Basics The Deal Memorandum -- an Overview The Structure of the Deal Memorandum Some Words of Warning The Basic Independent Movie Investment Deal The Details Behind the Standard Investment Deal The Split-Rights deal The Film Festival Route Financing the "Gap" The Coproduction Deal The "Negative Pickup" Knowing and Appreciating Your Investor(s) Risks The Studio Deal Your Deal with the Studio Preproduction -- Getting Ready to Roll Corporate Organization The Guilds Long-Form Talent Agreements Net Profits and Variations Advanced Guild Issues: Joining SAG and DGA Crew Agreements Location Agreements and Permits Product Placements The Point of No Return? Guild Rules Applied Things that Happen During Principal Photography Dubbing Effects Music Final Credits What's in a Name? MPAA Title Registration Title Clearance/Title Reports Copyright Report Script Review and Clearance MPAA Rating System Music Clearance Insurance Theatrical Distribution Basics Distribution Agreement Use and Return of Print Materials Merchandising Rights Merchandising Rights Deal The Merchandise Licensing Deal Sound-Track Albums Sound-Track Album Deal Home Video The Home Video Deal Television The Basic Television Deal Novelization Screenplay From the Screen to the Stage The Definition of Live Performance Live Performance Exploitation Separated Dramatic Rights under the WGA Agreement From Passive to Interactive Definition of "Interactive Multimedia" Interactive Multimedia Exploitation The Net Web Sites Territory Rights Deliverables Company Obligations Consideration Other Terms Epilogue Notes Index