Ent attorneys

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  • Ent attorneys

    Greetings all,
    I am in negotiations with a producer on one of my scripts. He sent a contract to me but I would feel more secure if I were to have an entertainment attorney look it over.

    I am of the understanding that some attorneys will work for commission in lieu of up-front payment. Sort of like an agent/manager. (I will be getting not only writing credits/pay but I will be directing also. So more money for the commission.)

    I do have a manager but they are not involved with this project. (to be honest I may consider changing managers because the person I have for some reason will not do anything.)

    So I am writing to ask if anyone here knows of a good entertainment lawyer who will work for commission (I understand it is traditionally 5% but is that the same if my manager is not involved? Does it go up to 10%?)

    Since I can do most if not all correspondence with the attorney via email and fax they don't necessarily need to be in my area but I would prefer the names of people in the Los Angeles/San Diego county areas.

    I thank you all in advance and hope each and every one of you finds your dream has become reality.

  • #2
    Re: Ent attorneys

    I wish I could help - all the folks we have worked with required a retainer or that we pay the hourly rate... that said there have been a couple occasions early on where my sister (corporate law) and/or another producer's sister (family law) looked over and even drafted an agreement for free. Not sure if this helps in your case, but all lawyers deal with agreements - so when I provided samples of entertainment agreements our sisters were more than serviceable.
    "The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely." ~Jung

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    • #3
      Re: Ent attorneys

      Any lawyer should be happy to take 5% to look this over. Ask the producer to recommend a few names. If he's legit, he should have no problem helping you out with this. If he hesitates or tries to talk you out of it, the contract is no doubt skewed in his favor and he's not anxious to have anyone point that out.

      Also -- be prepared for your manager to come after his 10%. He may not have been involved in the deal, but he does presently rep you and, as such, can legitimately claim he's owed his commission.

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      • #4
        Re: Ent attorneys

        Originally posted by MacG View Post
        Also -- be prepared for your manager to come after his 10%. He may not have been involved in the deal, but he does presently rep you and, as such, can legitimately claim he's owed his commission.

        Really? wow.
        I don't have an official contract with my manager (they told me upfront they only do contracts with their music clients). Plus they told me if I get any of my scripts picked up by someone by myself they don't expect any commission.

        So they may have been lying to me if they come after their percentage? (by the way they say their percentage is 15% which I always thought that was high for a manager, but I don't have an agent yet so I thought in lieu of having an agent the 15% for a manager was not unheard of)

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        • #5
          Re: Ent attorneys

          Managers are unregulated. They make up their own rules as they go along.

          Originally posted by Darthclaw13 View Post
          Really? wow.
          I don't have an official contract with my manager (they told me upfront they only do contracts with their music clients). Plus they told me if I get any of my scripts picked up by someone by myself they don't expect any commission.

          So they may have been lying to me if they come after their percentage? (by the way they say their percentage is 15% which I always thought that was high for a manager, but I don't have an agent yet so I thought in lieu of having an agent the 15% for a manager was not unheard of)

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          • #6
            Re: Ent attorneys

            Originally posted by Darthclaw13 View Post
            Really? wow.
            I don't have an official contract with my manager (they told me upfront they only do contracts with their music clients). Plus they told me if I get any of my scripts picked up by someone by myself they don't expect any commission.

            So they may have been lying to me if they come after their percentage? (by the way they say their percentage is 15% which I always thought that was high for a manager, but I don't have an agent yet so I thought in lieu of having an agent the 15% for a manager was not unheard of)
            No legit manager takes 15%. Your instinct to dump this person was right. Do it sooner rather than later and, if your deal closes after the fact, maybe you can avoid an argument on whether he deserved a cut.

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