Made for TV movie

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  • Made for TV movie

    How unlikely is it for new writer to get separated rights on a spec script they sell to be made into mow or TV movie?

    Is it normal for the writer to keep feature film/merchandising rights on a spec sold to be TV movie?

  • #2
    Re: Made for TV movie

    Originally posted by JaGra View Post
    How unlikely is it for new writer to get separated rights on a spec script they sell to be made into mow or TV movie?

    Is it normal for the writer to keep feature film/merchandising rights on a spec sold to be TV movie?
    The short answer is that it depends on the company you sell it to. Some TV movie companies are guild, some aren't. Some non-guild companies give you separated rights, some don't. There is no "one size fits all" answer here, because each company has a different way they structure their deals. It's not uncommon to get some separated rights, but if it's not a guild shop the contract may or may not include them.

    It's important to note, though, that film rights and merchandising rights are NOT separated rights, even in WGA deals. The separated rights a guild writer receives for subsequent productions (i.e., sequels, prequels, remakes) are related to the right to negotiate for the opportunity to write or to receive passive payments on that subsequent productions. Writers don't actually retain the right to make subsequent productions themselves. Similarly with merchandising, writers don't retain the right to assign or exploit those merchandising rights; they retain the right to get a piece of the profits if/when the company who bought the work exploits them.

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    • #3
      Re: Made for TV movie

      Thanks for info SoCal,

      That clears things up a bit on what's reasonable to expect in that situation.

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