The author of a biographical book wants to hire me to write a screenplay based on her book, which I would like to do. She owns the rights to the book, and she also has life rights to the subject's true story, so can anyone help me on what kind of agreement I need with her beyond negotiating my fee for writing the script? No producer is involved at this point. Thanks!
Screenwriting : Hired to Adapt a Book for the Screen by Richard Willett
Hired to Adapt a Book for the Screen
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Depends how well you know her... is she a friend? a colleague, or someone who has approached you with a business deal? You say she wants to 'hire' you, so some sort of negotiation must have taken place already. I agree with Laura, above, if you are worried about it, then hire a lawyer or talk with your agent about it. Best to air these things before you get cracking on the actual work. All the best, Kaye
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Congrats, Richard. You should reach out to an attorney. The theme and content of the story may require other considerations that are not standard considerations in how you need to construct a viable contract for yourself.
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I agree with Laura (and the others) to a point - find an attorney who will at least read the agreement and point out red flags. My own personal advice would be, as Laura says, get your money upfront. Treat it strictly as a work-for-hire piece with nothing (rights or money) further down the line. This avoids all the muddled rights issues (you're simply writing something for a client, one-and-done), as well as gets you some money. Because, without a producer on board, the chances of this going into production (and getting distribution) are slim to none.
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I agree with Laura Scheiner and John Ellis that you should get your legal affairs in order before doing any work. I've seen this bite people on the ass when it comes to life rights.
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www.filmtvlaw.com/entertainment-lawyer-qa/www.filmtvlaw.com/entertainmen...
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What Dan G said.
Thanks, everyone, for all your great advice. I was away from here for a few days and for some reason didn't get notification that anyone had responded! I am taking it all under advisement.
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Hi, Richard. Perhaps check your notification preferences? Look under the round "gear" icon, located in the upper right corner, scroll down to "Email Preferences," and reset. ;). And... Congratulations!
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That was the problem, Beth. Thanks!