Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

A Practitioner's Guide to Key Provisions In Film Director Agreements

By Marc Jacobson
May 01, 2019

Film remains a director's medium, considering that the director will always give shape and vision to the writer's words. Further, the director is frequently involved in the creation of the script, so that his or her vision may be more readily realized. The cost of first-time independent films is going down, as smartphones may be used to create all the footage. As the ability to tell a story in short form becomes more readily accepted, the director's influence may be more important than the financier's or the other talent.

This article discusses many of the principal terms of an agreement between an independent film production company and a film director.

Loan-Out Corporations

As in any agreement, an understanding of who the parties are to the agreement is essential. While many films are financed through a variety of sources, and with funding from multiple companies, it is unlikely that the party engaging the director to perform services would be any company other than the one that is actually, physically producing the picture. Equity investors or lenders are not typically engaging the director. In turn, the production company must also own the rights to the script, engage the line producer, other producers, the actors, the unit production manager and other personnel, all of whom will provide services to the production company to create the single motion-picture copyright. A theatrical motion picture contains contributions from possibly hundreds of people and companies, each of whom must sign an agreement granting rights in their contributions as a "work made for hire" to the production company under the U.S. Copyright Act.

On the other hand, many directors work through a loan-out corporation (although some do not). The loan-out corporation ("lender") will have an agreement with the director, by which the lender is entitled to the director's exclusive services. The lender in turn contracts with the production company to provide the services of the director. The agreement is often drafted such that the "employee" of the production company is "Loan-Out Corporation f/s/o Jane Director."

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

Legal Possession: What Does It Mean? Image

Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.

The Stranger to the Deed Rule Image

In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.