Movie Business The Definitive Guide To The Legal And Financial Secrets Of Getting Your Movie Made

Book One I Have a Great Idea for a Movie With the invention of motion photography in the early part of the twentieth century and the rise of the motion picture industry in Hollywood came a new vision of art, glamour, and wealth in America. The drama on the screen often gives way to drama off the screen as each new generation of young treasure seekers try to follow that dream of "lights, action, camera." And every day in America, someone says silently or to others, "I have a great idea for a movie." Your Quest and Help Along the Way About This Book and How to Make the Most of ItSince there are always persons (and you may be one of them) for whom the word "hobby" holds no meaning, I decided to write this book. It is for the would-be movie producer (the person who gets the vision, develops the blueprint, assembles the players and crew to make the dream a reality, and then -- if all goes well -- finds the treasure at the end of the rainbow), as told from my perspective -- an entertainment industry lawyer.What this book is.This book will take you through the basic transactional steps of movie production -- development, production, and distribution -- and answer many of your questions. It will also introduce you to some fundamental principles of intellectual property law. These are things that you will need to know to get your project off the ground, avoid some potential problems down the road, and give you a shot at realizing your dream.What this book is not.It might be helpful to say what this book is not: This book is not about how to come up with a commercial idea, script, or movie. If I could tell you that, I would be living on a ranch near Jackson, Wyoming, writing movie scripts and collecting big gaudy writing fees and royalty checks.Likewise, this book is not a technical manual about how to physically create a motion picture. It is not about camera angles, setups, or cinematography. Reading this book won't prepare you for being a "best boy," "grip," or "gaffer."A word of caution about the contract illustrations.From time to time in this book I will use more or less authentic contract language to illustrate how certain deal terms and legal principles might appear and are applied in real life. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that the contract language is complete, the best possible wording, or applicable for any and all circumstances. A given term may or may not be applicable to a certain situation, but you will need an experienced attorney to help you, one who fully understands the circumstances. Moreover, I have purposefully avoided talking about the so-called contract "boilerplate" (language that clarifies the choice of law and a number of other things that first-year law students learn in their contracts courses). The contracts are not complete and should not be used or relied on as forms or exemplars.Passwords and Tokens (Learning the Lingo)Pay attention to the terminology. You will learn, if you haven't already, that Kingdom Hollywood is like a mystical land with signs and tokens. "Will the studio put up P&A?" a producer might ask. "I'm going to use a negative-pickup deal to finance my movie," another might say.Like many professions, Hollywood insiders seem to have a language of their own. You will need to learn this language. To help you bridge this gap, I have put certain standard terms and phrases in quotes and have listed them in the index in the back.A Linear View of the Map: Development, Production, and DistributionThe basic steps of moviemaking are called development, production, and distribution.Development.The goal of this step is a "packaged script." The road to a packaged script is often referred to as "development hell," for reasons that are readily apparent to those who have experienced it. Nevertheless, all moviemaking starts with this unCrabb, Kelly is the author of 'Movie Business The Definitive Guide To The Legal And Financial Secrets Of Getting Your Movie Made', published 2005 under ISBN 9780743264921 and ISBN 0743264924.