Disclaimer: The aim of this article is information and enlightenment; please consult a solicitor for individual professional advice.
‘COFFEE CALL’ FOR ENTERTAINMENT WRITERS
I have a unique love for writers; they are a special breed of people. On this nepotistic note, we start our current discussion: financial compensation for entertainment writers, specifically those writers who write for movies or television. Compensation for writers is a somewhat complicated ball game, and so, we’ll briefly explain the ways by which a writer may be paid. We’ll delve deeper in further discussions on this forum.
Now, it possible that some of the things you’ll read here will go right over your head, however, pay close attention because it will help you to make informed decisions when opportunity comes-a-calling. Plus, I think it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee.
It is important to note that before any payment is determined and agreed upon, the parties (the writer and the producer) must determined exactly what rights are being passed from the writer to the producer, and what the writer will be compensated for. This is because a writer may think he is just writing a story for a regular ‘one part movie’. However, what happens when the movie becomes a raving success and the producer decides to make a sequel (or a regular Part 2), make some T-Shirts, notebooks or other merchandise? Perhaps, some cable television wants to broadcast it. Or what happens when a foreign producer wants to take the movie to Portugal with Portuguese subtitles? All these and a lot more possibilities would bring in more money for the producer, and maybe the writer, too (depending on what rights and possibilities are passed around in the contract). A writer may want to make certain that his/her compensation takes into account possible revenue streams.
Having pointed that out, let’s move on to some of the ‘methods’ of payment. Each of these methods comes with pros and cons, and so it is possible to exploit more than one method for the same transaction (get a smart lawyer).
• Flat Fee. Here, you name your price, haggle a bit, haggle some more, pick up the full amount of your money, and go on your way. Very neat, very straightforward and very common. Just don’t go causing trouble when the story turns into the movie of the year.
• Deferred Fee. With this method, you also agree on the fee upfront. However, you may agree that all or part of the fee may be deferred until a specified point in time. Depending on just how long the deferral will be, the parties may decide that the writer will receive a premium/interest as additional compensation for the deferral.
This would have been a good place to talk about option agreements, but it merits its own separate discussion so we’ll address it later on this forum.
• Partial/Milestone fees. Here, the entire project is divided into different parts, and when a particular part is completed, the writer gets paid a specified amount or percentage of the fees. For instance, the story writer may get some money when the script is developed, when the movie is shot, when the movie is released on DVD, etc.
• Revenue Split/Royalties. The parties may agree that the writer will share in certain identified profits deriving from the story. This may be limited to CD and DVD sales and cinema profits or may include a host of other rights. With this method, one has to pay close attention as profits may be derived from any source whatsoever. It is also possible for writer to get an advance of the sum that may be due to him/her. It is necessary to specify if this is ‘gross profit’ or ‘net profit’ and determine just what kind of expenses are deductible from the profits.
• Or you could do all that work for free!
© 2011 Tinukemi Alabi
Comments/Questions: tinukemi@gmail.com
