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Re: Why screenwriters should never do $1 option
Can someone explain why this is the case? I would assume, naively, that the buyer just shells out the agreed purchase price and the manager's fee would come out of your payday - that it would be a manager's percentage only and not co-writing credits - and is of no concern to the prod company.Often the producer will attempt to get himself entwined into the very fabric of the screenplay. They make suggestions of changes in the script. They offer a line or two of dialogue, whatever. Now, even after the option has expired, they can have an effect on your script's chain of title. They can attempt to lay partial claim to the script, and even if their claim is relatively weak, no production company wants to enter into a option/purchase on a script that does not maintain a clean chain of title.
Also, what's to stop the company buying the pre-tweaked script (removing the manager's claim) and retooling it afterwards? It could even be sold under a different title to sever all ties completely. I mean, if it's a plot point here, a line of dialogue there, it's minor stuff that be removed without affecting the essence of the script. -
Re: Why screenwriters should never do $1 option
This refers to the bottom feeder, parasitic wanna-be's, not real producers. After their option expires because they were unable to get movie setup and another buyer with more clout swoops in, those wanna-be producers hate this and will try any dirty handed trick to get paid anyway even though legally they have no more interest in script. They run around town making lots of noise and lying that they still have rights in script. Unfortunately most writers are not industry insiders who run in the same circles and can't refute the false claims.Originally posted by SundownInRetreat View Post
For some buyers the threat of lawsuit is enough to scare them away from project or they pay the fake wanna-be producer to go away and not bring lawsuit, even though legally the wanna-be producer has no legal standing. The scumbag is hoping the buyer would rather pay him off rather than pay legal fees to beat him in court. Unfortunately, some bottom feeder so-called "producers" make a ton of money doing this very thing over and over, preying on newer talented writers.
They entwine themselves by changing a line here or there and then keep a copy so they can bring the lawsuit and claim they wrote a specific line in script and need to be compensated long after option expires.
This whole thing is difficult for many newer writers to believe or understand because they can't imagine the level of scumbaggery they're facing in Hollywood. Writers write (work hard) and then expect to be paid. And they often naturally assume other people involved in process work hard for their payment too. But these wanna-be producers/wanna-be managers have a totally different mindset. They want to be paid lots of money for "sitting on" the hard work of others. Some try to argue that they make lots of phone calls and that's way more work than writing a screenplay.
It's really hard to believe these unscrupulous people are out here until it happens to you and your script. Hollywood is full of unscrupulous individuals and the easiest people to take advantage of are writers because writers deal in easily changeable documents. And documents are perfectly suited for lawsuits.
None of this applies to real managers and real producers, who actually work to get movies made and writers paid. Hard part is telling he good from bad. Start by looking at their credits. If they have a real track record, that's a better sign.
Here's another article that better explains how producers attempt to hold on to a project after option expires:
http://www.scriptmag.com/features/cr...script-optionsComment
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