You’ve Worked Hard to Create Something Special.

If you’re a director and you’re negotiating your deal on a greenlit project, here are three key deal points you should look out for and how to make sure they work in your favor.

1. Be aware of what “pay OR play” and what “pay AND play” mean, and the difference. Check out my videos on “Pay OR Play” and “Pay AND Play” that explains the meaning of these common clauses.
2. Focus on film cuts and previews. Typically, a director will get the same number of previews and film cuts, because they go hand in hand. Obtaining one or more film cuts and previews can help preserve the creative vision you have for your project and can help ensure that you have a say over what version of your project is shown to the public.
3. Compensation: Most directors will be able to negotiate for contingent compensation, which essentially means compensation, that is a predetermined percentage of the profits made after the picture is released.

Watch this video to find out how you as a director can fairly and effectively protect yourself in your agreements and follow along to learn more about entertainment law and how you can protect your creative rights.

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The phrase “pari passu” comes from Latin, and it translates to “equal footing”.

A Pari Passu clause can come into play when you’re talking about amounts and/or timing of payments, but it’s almost always regarding compensation of some kind. It can be found in talent agreements or in investor agreements when someone is raising capital for a project. This can become an important clause to ensure that you are compensated on the same schedule and equally with your peers, so that your compensation isn’t pushed to the back burner.

Watch this video to find out if your contract is written properly to include Pari Passu and if you are being compensated fairly and properly.

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Most favored nations clauses can be found in many entertainment industry contracts, from tv to music to film. At its core, this clause basically ensures that you and everyone else in a specified group will get the same deal terms. If someone else gets better deal terms than you, then your terms must be improved to match. However, the clause is not a guarantee, and it is not required...meaning they are negotiable. The negotiations on a most favored nations clause may also include specifics on what part of the contract is on that basis, meaning: will the clause govern your compensation? Your perks? Your credits?

Watch this video to learn more about the “Most Favored Nations” clause and how to negotiate these terms to best benefit you.

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A great deal of the value in an NFT sale is associated with the exclusivity of each token. NFT creators need to know how to protect their creations from misappropriation by third parties. Since selling NFTs involves the sale of digital, and sometimes physical, goods, the brand names and logos behind NFTs are fair game for trademark registration. And seeing that the value in NFTs is all about exclusivity and authenticity, trademarking an NFT brand to make sure that no one else mints a similar NFT is one of the smartest things an NFT creator can do.

Watch this video to find out how you can protect your own NFT project and why having representation in this emerging area prior to launching your NFT project is important.

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NFT owners seem to thoroughly enjoy the fact that they have access to
something that others do not. Many in the entertainment industry have capitalized on this draw by using NFTs as a way to directly engage with their fan communities and bolster audience experiences, giving NFT purchasers exclusive access to meet and greets, unreleased scenes, and green room access. A great example is the 10,000 NFTs that Lionsgate released last year related to their fan-favorite horror series, “Saw”. The collectibles were released in three different categories, where NFT purchasers were rewarded with new content only when they obtained all three pieces to each “new world of horror”. This NFT drop not only offered a new stream of revenue for Lionsgate, but also spurred community engagement and excitement, where fans had to interact with each other to access the new and exclusive content.

Given the various ways NFTs are being used in the entertainment industry, it’s important to have
legal representation that understands the complexities of NFT sales.

Watch this video to find out how you can protect your own NFT project when planning a release.

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NFT stands for “Non-Fungible Token”. It is a type of digital asset that is authenticated and encrypted with the same blockchain technology as many cryptocurrencies. An NFT is created and recorded on a public ledger known as a blockchain, giving each token a unique and verifiable identity. Once created, the token can then be traded amongst buyers and sellers, with all subsequent transactions recorded on the blockchain. When people say that an NFT is “non-fungible”, they are referring to each specific token’s completely unique origin on the blockchain, which cannot be duplicated or replaced.

There are two things that people generally think of when talking about NFTs: 1) the actual token that is recorded on the blockchain, and 2) the digital file that the buyer then stores in their digital wallet.

Bottomline is that many entertainers have realized the untapped potential in NFTs and have begun creating new ways to interact with their fans using NFTs.

Watch the following video to learn more about how NFT’s are being used in the entertainment industry.

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Writers...if you are not negotiating these three deal points in your agreements...you are not fully protected.

1. First, it is always important to determine whether or not the WGA will govern the project and the agreement. This determines a lot of the provisions within the agreement, and how much flexibility there is for negotiations on deal points.
2. The WGA determination can affect your future rights, such as passive royalties, remakes and sequels, and the right of first negotiation and right of last refusal.
3. It is important, as the writer, to have the producer’s expectations clearly laid out in your contract with regards to exclusivity. Many producers and financiers will require exclusivity during writing periods, but whenever possible, try to negotiate for non-exclusivity during reading periods, which will allow you to work on other projects during this time period.

Watch the following video to learn more about what writers should include in their agreements.

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Entertainment Attorney, Nina Ameri explains the difference between pay OR play, and pay AND play?

The pay OR play clause guarantees you’ll get compensated but does not guarantee that you will provide services on the project. The plus side of this clause is that you are guaranteed an income, whether or not your work ends up being needed. A downside to be aware of with this clause is that the person overseeing the project can decide to pay you only the guaranteed income but not utilize your services, meaning you may not get credit or any backend compensation.

This clause can be helpful for the talent because it will ensure that you get fair compensation even if the project ends up not being produced. On the other side, it helps the producer or distributor because it can be used to secure an above-the-line heavy hitter, like a top actor, for example. A production may be more likely to obtain funding if they can get a top tier director or actor attached to the project.

The pay AND play clause is quite similar, except that not only is the talent guaranteed compensation, but they are also guaranteed to work on the project as well. This makes the pay and play clause a little more powerful than the pay or play clause, because you’re guaranteed the compensation and to be able to work on the project, ensuring you can get credits and negotiate for backend compensation as well.

Follow to learn about entertainment law, and YOUR creative rights!

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Entertainment Attorney, Nina Ameri, Esq. Explains Producer Agreement and Deal Points to Ask For

Producers, are there over budget penalties in your contract?

Over budget penalties come into play when a project goes over budget, and these costs often come directly out of the producer’s compensation, unless it is due to a situation totally out of your control.

You’ll want to try to remove these from your producer deal in any contracts you’re considering in order to avoid a costly penalty against you. If the financier won’t budge, have your attorney do everything they can to get the least severe penalty possible for you.

Follow to learn about entertainment law, and YOUR creative rights!”

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