Screenwriting : Getting NDA's Signed? by Anna Maria Elisa Manalo

Send them the script...

I did. The producer indicated that there's a lot of similar ideas out there and gave me a choice to detract the script. I told him to go ahead and read it as it was registered anyway.

I've been in Hollywood for about 15 years. Out of the 1000s of scripts I've been asked to read, I've been asked to sign 2-3 NDAs for scripts in that time. I have signed none. One was from a Fox International Distribution exec who was not in development and didn't know standard practice. And two were from random newbies I don't remember. If a sender doesn't see me/us as reputable, she can find someone whom she does see as reputable.

I've been in Hollywood for 10 more years than Regina... and have never heard of anyone in the business ever signing an NDA (and know of no professional screenwriters who would ever think about using one). Mark of a paranoid amateur. Just send them the script.

Folks, Believe it or not it was a publicist who claims they've been in the business for over 30 years who told me to send them. I sent two scripts so far to 2 different producers. One of them, my best one. I wasn't going to, so after texting her, I sent them. I just emailed the otter and told them to disregard it as they sent me their own.

In retrospect, I now know why APA might have ignored 3 of my scripts when she got a higher-level agent to solicit... because she sent them an NDA to sign. This is the prominent talent agency. It probably insulted them. So they denied ever getting the scripts.

@Anna: Mister Martel is correct.

As a producer I would never sign a NDA regarding a script. The fact is, as a producer I would need to disclose many aspects of the script if I were interested in optioning it.

I believe prudent judgement is in order. I always look at the producer's credits, how the films did in the box office, awards and which actors starred in them. As I am a therapist and educator by profession, I keep meticulous notes on every person who requests my scripts... Right down to the date and time of the request, where it was requested (venue) and their reactions to my email, etc. and the reason they "passed" on a project. Having traveled to over 26 countries in the past 40 years, and actually seen the setting of my screenplays, there's a distinct difference between a "plagiarized" version written by someone who has never been to the location including the culture and current customs of the area. It's quite a bit of research they have to do... BUT, I always tell each and every producer: It's copyrighted. Every work I put out there is COPYRIGHTED.

I am an enterainment attorney and producer with over 20 years experience. Anyone who is "insulted" by being asked to sign an NDA is unprofessional and not to be trusted, regardless of the "reputation" of their agency or firm. Period. On the other hand, if you work is yours, you can prove when you gave it to them and if they don't get a release from you before reading it, it is easy to allege they or their client is plagiarizing you when they do...

Hi Shadow, I don't intend to be respectful and argumentative. If that's your professional advice for Anna Maria, can you please back it up for her by naming any "Hollywood" WGA agents, reputable managers, writers, directors, producers, studios, networks, financiers, casting directors, etc., who send out their materials with NDAs? I have not encountered any. An exception might be when materials for a big property like STAR WARS EPISODE VII is sent out by Disney to potential partners, vendors, team members, etc. The reasons for preserving the value of a big property like that are obvious, and it would be reasonable to send out an NDA.

If you don't believe me, Joey and Shannon, could you please tell Anna Maria how often your S32 pros send out NDAs with their materials?

All that said, I wouldn't regard an NDA as "insulting." I would regard it as amateur and paranoid, and I would choose to spend my finite time with someone who is farther along into their professional growth. Scarcity of resources: You should find someone you trust and find reputable, and I should find someone more professional.

Folks, hold the phone. My intention was to get definite facts, not create a contentious atmosphere. Talk about good dialogue - this thread has definite emotion and subtext, I'll say. ☺️ I think it's sufficient for my part (in my opinion) to say that in ANY profession, not just this one, we sometimes will encounter people whose motives are questionable. Copyright the IP. Document. You want to form relationships, not destroy them. After all, a film is about a fusion of professionals creating a work of art in motion, color and sound, isn't it? Joey, if you're out there... Will you please render a cameo appearance and weigh in?

This is a business where it's virtually impossible to get your work read by anyone. Any barrier you put in the way of that does not, I believe, protect your career but rather makes the already impossible almost unimaginable. It also identifies you as an amateur. I'm not saying this to be contentious. It's just what I've found to be true. Beginners are much more nervous about all of this. Direct steals do not happen that often (and there are few truly new ideas under the sun anyway). But one thing is for certain: If no one ever sees your work, no one is ever going to produce it.

Amen.

Well said and couched as a professional! Thank you, Michael!

If your work is registered with the Library of Congress, there's no reason to sign an NDA. Paying for the copyright saves paperwork and removes a barrier. It's better to get the industry talking about your screenplay than stapling their lips shut with a legal document.

@Jeni - my impression from your comment is of a very wise and astute writer/filmmaker.

Not dry - I have tons of ideas. A "black book" with loglines and synopses waiting for a treatment/screenplay to be executed. They come from my previous investigations, my own experiences, stories from people I met and my own bizarre and buoyant imagination. I'm rewriting my 11th script in less than 5 years. Not bad for a "newbie". What stops me and pulls me out of my sacred space of creativity and originality? Not a lack of ideas, but money - which competes and begs for a monthly mortgage to be paid and that house in Mexico. In the realm of investments, a lottery is a more sure thing than this venture... It's not political. In the realm where all worlds are possible, it is only my hubris which compels me to scribe and aches for that story that reaches into the depths of the human condition.