When it comes to paying directors and actors residuals for film work, how do I go about it? So do I just write them checks? Do I need to show them analytic proof of how much the film made over a period of time so they know they're not getting shorted? Is there any type of business paperwork involved? Thanks!
Producing : Paying directors and actors residuals by Danny Villanueva Jr.
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Entertainment Partners is a good company for payroll and residual matters. They handle DGA, WGA and SAG/AFTRA holdings and reporting. It's pretty simple to set up and they walk you through the process if you have any questions. At the very beginning of production, you will need to create (or use) a company with an FEIN number for payroll and contract purposes. Then you need to become a signatory company with whatever Guilds you need, and sign the contract you are under based on your budget. The Payroll company handles your initial payroll and Tax withholding. When you sell your project, you hopefully will shift the residuals liability to the distributor. If you are selling the project yourself, then you'll probably want a company like EP to help you report. This also provides a layer of transparency for you in case you get audited. They report the earnings to the Guilds and hold the proper percentage of the revenue then remit it to the Guild (usually quarterly), withholding taxes and generating a W2 at the end of the year. The Guild then forwards the check to the member. There are a number of services like this out there (but the big dog is Entertainment Partners). Other companies like Compact Media are smaller, but also handle revenue collections which is very useful. https://www.ep.com/ http://compact.media/
Thank you David! This is extremely helpful.
Is there a monthly fee for Entertainment Partners services or how does that work?