Hello All, Happy New Year. Apologies in advance for the long post...
My writing partner and I are working on a collaboration agreement for a pilot that is currently moving along nicely. Here's the Readers Digest version of where we are at: I agreed to help my partner with his pilot, which is essentially based on his life story. I edited what he already had, and finished it for him. I also wrote the lion's share of the bible. We are friends with a name actor, and my partner got him to attach himself to the project. From there, I handled the "getting it out there" process, as I have some (albiet not much) experience in this area. After over a year of rejections and grinding it out, I got a production company to bite. The production company has now attached an experienced showrunner, who wrote a treatment based on our script. This treatment is what is going to be pitched to buyers. Essentially, shared "created by" with myself, my partner and the showrunner.
Fortunately, we have a good lawyer has who helped us with this process. He recommended that my partner and I draw up a collaboration agreement. If I understood him correctly, he told us that because we wrote the initial script together, a potential buyer would negotiate the script sale for my partner and I as a team. However, the services/credits can be negotiated individually.
From the beginning, my writing partner and I have had an understanding that if any sale/option were to happen it would not be a 50/50 split. I proposed 60/40, he countered with 65/35. In my opinion, his offer is not completely unreasonable.
My idea was to counter to him that I would accept the 65/35 split for the script sale, if he were to negotiate services/credit 50/50 with me as a team. Our lawyer said that it's rare for first timers like us to get anything more than a Co-EP title. Because it's his life story, and he is chock full of potential storylines, etc., I can see a scenario where they keep my partner on board and say "sayonara" to me. If we negotiate services/credit together, I'm thinking it may give me more protection than if I go at it individually.
Is this scenario realistic at all? I'm really in uncharted territory here.
Just to be clear, this is not contentious at all. Everyone (partner, showrunner, prod company) have all been mensch's so far. I just want to protect myself. Thanks in advance...
My writing partner and I are working on a collaboration agreement for a pilot that is currently moving along nicely. Here's the Readers Digest version of where we are at: I agreed to help my partner with his pilot, which is essentially based on his life story. I edited what he already had, and finished it for him. I also wrote the lion's share of the bible. We are friends with a name actor, and my partner got him to attach himself to the project. From there, I handled the "getting it out there" process, as I have some (albiet not much) experience in this area. After over a year of rejections and grinding it out, I got a production company to bite. The production company has now attached an experienced showrunner, who wrote a treatment based on our script. This treatment is what is going to be pitched to buyers. Essentially, shared "created by" with myself, my partner and the showrunner.
Fortunately, we have a good lawyer has who helped us with this process. He recommended that my partner and I draw up a collaboration agreement. If I understood him correctly, he told us that because we wrote the initial script together, a potential buyer would negotiate the script sale for my partner and I as a team. However, the services/credits can be negotiated individually.
From the beginning, my writing partner and I have had an understanding that if any sale/option were to happen it would not be a 50/50 split. I proposed 60/40, he countered with 65/35. In my opinion, his offer is not completely unreasonable.
My idea was to counter to him that I would accept the 65/35 split for the script sale, if he were to negotiate services/credit 50/50 with me as a team. Our lawyer said that it's rare for first timers like us to get anything more than a Co-EP title. Because it's his life story, and he is chock full of potential storylines, etc., I can see a scenario where they keep my partner on board and say "sayonara" to me. If we negotiate services/credit together, I'm thinking it may give me more protection than if I go at it individually.
Is this scenario realistic at all? I'm really in uncharted territory here.
Just to be clear, this is not contentious at all. Everyone (partner, showrunner, prod company) have all been mensch's so far. I just want to protect myself. Thanks in advance...
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