How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

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  • How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

    Hi Everyone,

    You don't get what you deserve, you get what you can negotiate - and in this movie money tutorial, I explore two very different negotiating styles that you can use to seal your next deal.

    HOW TO NEGOTIATE A SCREENWRITING DEAL

    https://youtu.be/Z5xEVBmZE40

    Along the way, I share the brutal truth about Hollywood horsetrading, provide a realworld example of how a negotiation works...and shine a light on the psychological tactics that producers use to batter screenwriters down.

    Full disclaimer - I’m not an attorney or an expert in entertainment law. Everything I know, I picked up over the years, learning at the side of my various representatives: the eight agents, three managers and one seriously-useful attorney…

    Who is SCRIPTFELLA?

    I'm a seasoned screenwriter, story consultant, film & TV lecturer. I've been optioned or commissioned by over 30 US and UK studios and production companies including: Universal Studios, Working Title, Bold Films, Scott Free, BBC and ITV. Recent produced credits include the award-winning motion picture Bram Fischer (2017) and the not-so-award winning Hard Target 2 (2016)...
    Last edited by SCRIPTFELLA; 04-17-2019, 12:47 PM.

  • #2
    Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

    PS If any of you guys want to ask me any screenwriting questions - about the craft or business - please do fire away and I'll do my best to give you a steer.

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    • #3
      Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

      Good video, Dominic. Thanks for sharing your experiences. This information is especially valuable in the current state of the industry. We have to be our own best advocates.

      Loved the advice.
      Last edited by finalact4; 04-18-2019, 11:17 AM. Reason: spelling name wrong.
      "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

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      • #4
        Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

        Bang on again, Lisa. As I'm sure you know, this week the WGA has instructed its 15,000 members to fire their agents. So who's going to rep them on their deals?

        Many will consider hiring managers, but as I will explore in a video later down the line, the writer-manager relationship can also be fraught with conflict of interest issues....

        In the TV world, the showrunner-writers are the bosses. They are in the same union as the writers they hire. Once the writers and show runners figure out a way to do business without the agents, the attorneys could take up the slack, handle the legals and numbers, and IN THEORY there could be a lot more money to go around for the showrunners and their staff writers. Just so long as the show runners redistribute the wealth...

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        • #5
          Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

          Originally posted by SCRIPTFELLA View Post
          ...Once the writers and show runners figure out a way to do business without the agents, the attorneys could take up the slack, handle the legals and numbers, and IN THEORY ...
          Son of a gun, I've been saying this for a while. When my attorney talks about the terms he'll negotiate for me, I balance that against what I hear about agents' duties, and I really wonder.

          And another thing: When I cold pitch companies, more often than not when I get a "no unsolicited" response, it's accompanied by "Please have your agent/attorney submit on your behalf." Rarely a mention of managers. It's like they're already prepared to work with a lawyer in lieu of an agent.

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          • #6
            Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

            I held off getting an attorney for years, in a bid to save paying more commission - big mistake.

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            • #7
              Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

              Ready for the next one... You've created a monster
              "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

                There you go, Lisa, just posted this week's vid on SCRIPTFELLA.

                https://youtu.be/Yx659Cg_3O8

                WRITERS vs AGENTS
                How TV Showrunners Can SMASH CAA

                And thank you to Catcon whose remarks in this thread inspired me to have a crack at this contentious subject in this week's vid. If you guys have any other topics you'd like me to cover on Scriptfella, please send them my way...

                Best wishes,

                Dominic

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                • #9
                  Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

                  Originally posted by SCRIPTFELLA View Post
                  PS If any of you guys want to ask me any screenwriting questions - about the craft or business - please do fire away and I'll do my best to give you a steer.
                  Thanks Dominic, here's a quick question -

                  I've been sent an Option Agreement, in which, if it is optioned, I will get 3% of the "below-the-line budget" of the film. The 3% I'm happy with, but does "below-the-line" mean a lot less than the overall budget? Or is this normal?

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                  • #10
                    Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

                    Hi Sherbet

                    You want to shoot for 3% of the "bonded budget" which is the total cost of the movie - minus a few standard exclusions that bring that number down- the cost/ purchase price of your script, financing charges and contingency (reserve money in case they run over budget), but crucially not the cost of the other "above the line" players - director and movie stars - which can obviously add millions to the budget and bump up your compensation if you are due a percentage of the bonded budget.

                    Is your movie a low budget movie?

                    Here's a good definition of below the line and above the line.

                    https://entertainment.howstuffworks....production.htm
                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Production costs are generally divided into "above the line" and "below the line". Above the line is the "talent" - the actors, the writer, the director, the producers. Below the line is everything else - the crew, the sets, the costumes, food, transport and anything else needed to shoot the movie, plus post-production costs: editing, sound, music, special effects. A good rule of thumb is that below-the-line costs will make up one-half to two-thirds of the budget.
                    ----------------------------------------------

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                    • #11
                      Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

                      Thanks!

                      Originally posted by SCRIPTFELLA View Post
                      Is your movie a low budget movie?
                      It is, yeah. Also, he's including a ceiling for the option... but not a floor.

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                      • #12
                        Re: How To Negotiate a HOLLYWOOD DEAL

                        To clarify - it's in your interest to put a floor payment on the purchase price (not the option price) so that you get a guaranteed figure no matter what they claim is the final budget. If you don't have a floor it would be in their interest to lower "the official budget" - because the lower the budget, the less money you get paid.

                        Have you asked them what the budget is? That's the key question. If they say $500,000 make sure you ask for 3% of that - $15,000 as a floor payment. And tell 'em Scriptfella says play fair on the definition of the budget - it should be the bonded budget including any cash paid to the above line acting, and directing talent (minus the usual industry exclusions).

                        Good luck and please let me know how you get on.

                        best

                        Dominic (Scriptfella)

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