A while back I was working with an independent film director/producer/writer/actor. This person runs his own small film company. He had originally hired me to write one film for his company, then a second. After that we teamed up on some other projects. I had never done film work before, and my first contract with him specified that I wouldn't get payment for that first project until it was made. However, none of the projects I'd written for him, or that we'd worked on together, had been filmed due to his inability to acquire funding. Then, a year or so ago, I discovered that he was advertising a new project on-line. This project was the first film he'd hired me to write. He had teamed up with someone else, taken the ideas I created from the core idea he had given me when he first asked me to write the screenplay for him, changed the title and the character names, and was progressing with the project. He's never said a word at all to me about this, despite cutting me out of it, and running with my ideas and material. Any suggestions on what I should do? The "new" project is now listed in IMDB for a 2015 release. Do I have any recourse here, or am I just screwed?
Filmmaking / Directing : What to do? by Scott Harper
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Bad Luck Mister. Dirty Business all over. It is basically the same movie or is it so far from your original intention that you can see it as rework? How fundamental is the Core idea ? You can get a co-credit at least. Good Luck.
When I was hired for the project, I was given the core idea - basically a logline - and told that I had free rein to create the story, and details around that. From what I can tell, the "new" project that the guy is working on with someone else is the exact same thing I created, but with the film's title, and character names changed. It looks like he's trying to get around me by changing the film's title. Since the project named in the contract isn't the one being made - technically - he won't have to pay me for my work. That's how his thought process is coming across to me, anyway.
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That's what I would call 50 shades of legal grey. A lawyer is the best thing to bring in right now, I think. Defend your IP with all means necessary.
Would it be better to speak with a lawyer now, or wait and see if he actually produces/releases the finished film?
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Pre-emptive strike @Scott. Worse case scenario is that a Judge tells you that you can't complain until there is an actual complaint. this will either force the other individual to back away; or continue onward in which case you re-file the complaint after the fact. Oh as a sidebar; the wife of Ian Fleming was told by the producer who bought the Bond series; that she had no recourse because he had also bought the "title rights". So theoretically it is possible to produce a different movie with the same title.
Thanks. Can anyone recommend a good entertainment lawyer to contact about this matter? Someone here on Stage32, perhaps?
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Key point. Do you have AnYtHiNg in writing with this guy - a deal memo, contract, ROE... Did you register the material with the WGA? If not, you may be out of luck. I can HIGHLY recommend my attorney, but he's not cheap, and neither is anyone worth having on your team. Let me know if you want his info and I can pass it along privately.
I still have the original contract/agreement he and I signed tucked away in a filing cabinet. I didn't register the project with the WGA; it was being created jointly by he and I, though most of it was my creation. Sadly, I don't have the financial resources to pour into expensive legal fees - especially if it turns out that there's nothing I can do about this. Maybe that's what the guy is counting on...
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Find that agreement and review what rights to the property it gives you. If it's hard to decipher, get an attorney to give you a consultation (might take some time, but you'll eventually find one willing to offer some advice). Then go from there... but from the limited information you've provided, it does;t sound good. May have to chalk it up to a lesson learned. And, of course, you can make sure that people you come into contact with no about this unscrupulous person. He's not the first and, unfortunately, won't be the last.
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You'll need to consult an LA entertainment lawyer. Consultation is free, so if they think you have a case - sometimes a letter and the threat of action works, they may take the case on spec for 33%. If it is not worth your time or theirs, they will let you know. Also, just because this guy has a listing on IMDB, it doesn't mean the film will ever be made. IMDB has become a joke over the last few years with extras getting credits and 1000's of unfinanced films listed.
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Hey, Scott. Here's the deal. When you write for hire, the work belongs to the producer. I'm sure it says that somewhere in your contract. If the producer is bringing someone else in, that means in his mind, the script needs work in order to get that funding. What you need to do is just keep track of the project. Once a film has wrapped production, they have to submit it to the guild for credits. That's when you can file for arbitration. The writers will read your version and the finished version. The guild will decide if there's enough of your material in the finished product to warrant credit. And if you do get credit, then you can go after them to get your original fee that was negotiated under the contract if the movie got made. Trust me, you want him to work hard to get the movie made. If, like you said, you contributed in a big way, then that's the only way you are going to get paid.
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Thank you all for the advice, and comments!
If you weren't paid, it wasn't a work for hire.