Heroes And Villains Entertainment

[FURIOUS BOWLER]

Anyone have any dealings/experiences with this company?

Thanks!

[Jake Schuster]

No, but I love the name.

[jsay]

up and coming managers...

[mcamp]

they were pretty fast in a response, queried them with an animation and they ask for it the same day.

[jmsullivan]

To raise this thread from the dead (hey, it's still kind of fresh) I just got a read request from them.

I was pleased. I was a little surprised that they want a hard copy instead of a pdf. But okay. And their release form seems, to my layperson's eyes, to go a fair piece beyond the other ones I've seen.

The release is on their site at heroesandvillains-ent.com. Would anyone like to take a look at it and offer an opinion?

[DavidK]

I looked at their release and although I didn't scrutinize it word by word nothing stood out as different or excessive. There's always some variation in releases but they tend to cover almost exactly the same material, some are slightly more wordy or detailed than others.

Does any particular part of the release concern you?

However, as anyone here should agree, before you sign anything make sure you understand exactly what you are signing and why, and get professional legal advice.

[jmsullivan]

Yeah, I guess it's saying the same things all the other ones are saying, but it does seem to use a lot of legal timber to get there. Paragraph six just looked weird to me, but I guess it pretty much boils down to "anything that isn't mine isn't mine."

Then there's the binding arbitration clause - is that even enforceable? I've been hearing that courts are starting to take a dim view of all these contracts that basically say "no, you have to give up your rights to due process and have our guy settle and disagreements."

In the short term, do they really expect me to get this thing notarized? I've never seen that before. I've done rewrite assignments and optioned stuff without having to deal with a notary. Between that and getting a hard copy printed and mailed, this is getting to be quite an investment for what's (lets face it) most likely to be a "no thanks, we'll pass."

[acquaformosa]

I remember communicating with them sometime last year, but the most I can remember about them wanting me to sign was the 15% commission. I balked. And then walked. They wouldn't budge. And for some reason, it's kinda weird, but I just didn't feel like it (signing that is).

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by jmsullivan

Paragraph six just looked weird to me, but I guess it pretty much boils down to "anything that isn't mine isn't mine."

Then there's the binding arbitration clause - is that even enforceable? I've been hearing that courts are starting to take a dim view of all these contracts that basically say "no, you have to give up your rights to due process and have our guy settle and disagreements."

In the short term, do they really expect me to get this thing notarized? I've never seen that before. I've done rewrite assignments and optioned stuff without having to deal with a notary. Between that and getting a hard copy printed and mailed, this is getting to be quite an investment for what's (lets face it) most likely to be a "no thanks, we'll pass."

I'd agree with your take on para. 6.

The arbitration clause does raise a flag and yes a lot of courts are rejecting claims that someone can contractually forfeit a constitutional right. Going to arbitration before court can be a good idea but waiving rights to the latter doesn't feel good.

Having a lower-rung contract notarized also seems unusual and I've never encountered that with a simple release. Maybe someone else has experience with that.

You shouldn't be spending to much to make a submission anyway, but if you're going to spend anything, try to have a budget for legal advice.

There's nothing more annoying than hearing yourself say, "D*amn I wish I hadn't signed that f*cken thing."

[Bono]

What is wrong with the release? I'm not quite understanding it.

And I thought a lot of managers take 15%? Or ask for it. I know some will do it for 10%...