Producing : Experience With Script Rights? by Ricardo Rangel Jr

I would not suggest DIY contracts. Plenty of entertainment lawyers out there, very few will touch indies because of budget ( PM me for a recommendation ). There is a boilerplate book by Mark Litwak that is a great reference tool for all professionals; ( I think it's called Film & Television Contracts ) I think you may find most films budgeted under $100K ( or $250K ) will tend to have the writer on board in a directing or producing capacity where script remuneration is contractual ; perhaps a percentage more so than a dollar amount as there simply isn't room in that budget to pay for things that can be acquired in any other way without upfront cash. $100K is a lot of money, and yet virtually nothing at the same time. People who know how to pull off a feature in that dollar range are going to ensure a good script, capable director, marketable capable cast and all the deliverables and bang for the buck that will pass QC with a distributor. In so doing, there is usually a writer- director-producer among the principles.

'How do you acquire the rights to other scripts?' 1) You buy 'em outright (you need legal counsel); then it's your property to do with as you see fit - for this you pay a set price. That price is negotiable up front. For a small indie production, 3 - 4% is a good starting point. 2) You bring the writer into the project for script polish, rewriting etc. This can get a little murky so you set everything out up front and budget 4 - 6%. 3) pay the writer on the back end with a small retainer up front (1 - 2% of budget) with a percentage of any gross - maybe 3% with a guaranteed minimum. Again this can get murky pretty quick so firm contracts are a must (this is where a lot of good friends part way). All the best.

Thanks all for great advice, keep it coming!

If your total budget under 100,000, write your own script. Seriously, I did a study of microbudget feature films, when trying to find distribution for my own film, and found that 100% of films with a budget under 300k that got distribution were by a writer-director. Not 99%, 100%.

The closest thing to an exception I could find is Napoleon Dynamite, where the director's wife contributed to the screenplay. Sometimes the actor gets a writing credit, but that's only because they ad libbed. Unless it's your spouse, your sibling or your parent, no one else will know your talents well enough to write a microbudget script for you.

Here's a hint: it's quicker to write a script than find one, especially at that price.

Or, use Shakespeare or something similar (and adapt it yourself.)

If you write your own agreement, be aware it's probably inadequate, especially given the permutations copyright law and new media are taking. Don't skimp on that. For rates, look to scale at the WGA - if your writer is those are them. Otherwise, bargain down from there.

If you truly want advice, feel free to connect and then send me a message. Also, Joseph Hart is my entertainment attorney and he's one of the Best in the Biz. His office is in Beverly Hills and deals with the studios all the time. Helped us negotiate an agreement with Oscar-Winner Benicio Del Toro on one of our pictures. I highly recommend him. As for the rest, if you're truly interested, again, reach out to me.

I thought I would get some good advice here as a screenwriter, but was left with an overwhelming feeling of how under appreciated the screenwriter is. You want to know why there are so many crappy films getting made? it's because too many people think it's easier to write their own script- or use just about anything- just to get something made.

I can't tell you how many local film festivals I've went to where the film was beautifully done and everyone raves about it- because it looks really pretty, and the audio is good, but the story is so incredibly boring, or pointless, that I'm actually irritated at having wasted 90 minutes of my life on it. And even more irritated at all the praise to the director at his beautifully shot film- (that was about as entertaining as watching paint dry) And then they wonder how it won big a local small scale festival, but went no where.

Do yourself a favor and find a good script. Yes, there are a lot of desperate screenwriters- I'm one myself. But what is a film without STORY???? Pay a fair price to a screenwriter with 10+ screenplays, because the more you do it THE BETTER YOU GET AT IT. That is so important you should go back and read it again.

Find someone who is a passionate screenwriter, or writer- and form a partnership where it's based on mutual respect. That's how you get the best screenplay in my opinion. Appreciate the screenwriter and stay in your own lane. And IMO $10,000 to start. Just make sure it's worth it. I've written 17 it takes me about 8 months to write and edit, and edit again. That's a lot of time out of my life to -create life- and the story you want to propel your own career.

Constance York Not everyone can afford a script. To find a great script, production companies spend many thousands of dollars, paying script readers to reject five thousand scripts for every one that goes into production (after rejecting countless others at the pitching stage.) Studio script readers get paid a small fortune to read terrible scripts, so that producers don't have to.

Writing your first good script is a full time job, that takes most writers a full year, full time (2000 hours.)

Those "boring" films you've seen, the writers spent a lot of time on them. (Unless they're festival shorts, then they were probably written by the director in a weekend.) They're harder to write than you think. And, if you look closely, they have subtle stories too.

If you write your own script, you can write it to your own strengths. You can write about the places you know well, write parts your friends can play, write effects you know how to do. You can save a lot of money, and show your own strengths.

Vasco, did you read my entire post? I know exactly how hard it is. I've done it many times.

In my experience, entertainment value of a story is independent of the time invested building it on pages. Surely more rewrites can potentially improve and refine, they can also dilute or reroute right off the cliff. However, quite off topic.

The successful screenplay that was "written in a week"- is usually a myth told by the director who wrote it - and has the ability and time to adjust and change it in the fly and while shooting. Most screenplays take time to plan, write and edit- and two edits is not excessive by any means, but I agree- too much can ruin it.

Constance York The thread was originally about finding a writer for a microscopic amount. At 100k, the producer/director's probably not going to have enough money to hire a writer (or even a script reader), which is why I suggested the author write it himself.

No one was demeaning the writer's achievement as far as I could see (unless you count the suggestion of paying 10k for a feature script.)

As for short films, they aren't about the writing. I can't think of a single writer in the history of film who got his or her break through short film festivals. Directors, I can name perhaps three. Even if you have a great script in a short film, you'll probably cut out the bits with bad sound and lighting.

A lot of microbudgets also have a high degree of improv.

The only writers I can think of who started in short films started in industrials/corporate films. And, for microbudget films, they were writer-directors, with the possible exception of Robert Towne (who, adjusted for inflation, wasn't that poorly paid).

You don't need a micro-budget production to prove yourself as a writer, it's in the script itself. In fact, making a microbudget film with a first time director is more likely to hurt your career than help it. Roger Corman's films, if you adjust them for inflation, paid more than 10k to the writer and cost far more than 100k to make.

Don't get me wrong Vasco Phillip de Sousa, my 17 feature length screenplays are worth far more than $10,000 too, but in order to get one made, I might take the 10k, because if done well- I know it would get my foot in the door. I'm just saying - if you're going to pay the rest of the crew cash money, but not your screenwriter- than you deserve a boring film.

Has anyone else here made a $100,000 movie? I have. And no, I didn't get $10,000 for script. That's ridiculous, 10% of $100K? You'll run out of funds for postproduction and marketing.

Real world, it's somewhere between $2000 to $4000. 0 back end.

Dan - you're not the only one, well close. The bean counter told me that the final cost was $98,747.54 - a few years back, but I figure that's close enough. It's just my observation that not many in here sidle up close to the real world.

Okay, on a 100k film, you'll be doing a lot on your own. Writer-director most of the time, who doesn't get paid and might act as well. Actors get paid, skeleton crew, you'll probably also edit it yourself.

Dan MaxXx is a troll, his image has changed over the years (and no, not the same person aging.) His viewpoint also changes, so he can argue with people. Doug claims to teach film in a small town, that's usually even worse. I doubt either of them could raise 100k anyway. (Maybe if they flipped burgers instead of trolling here, who knows.)

In the old days, writers got paid 100 quid, per performance, for a short play performed by amateurs. That's when a nice house could be bought for 3000 quid. Now is probably the worst time to be a writer, but those who don't pay the writer a decent option are not likely to find investors.

Vasco Phillip de Sousa Teach theories. You’re excellent at that

Dan MaxXx only one here with experience it sounds like. I bought an entire scripts for $500, $1000, and $2000 outright. I optioned another one for $5 with with 2.5% of budget going to him once production starts (plus 2% back end on producers side) and I was being generous. . Screen writers are not undervalued, they are over saturated. Few good ones but I find them. I personally know only a few good writers...there's not a lot of them.

I thought stage 32 was moderated for respectful behavior.

Well, if someone considers themselves being generous by buying scripts for pennies, then I don't know. Wouldn't want to work with that kind of person.

I've seen a lot of great scripts, most were represented by guild agents. (So, wouldn't sell that cheap.) I haven't seen anywhere near as many competent directors, just a few people who get lucky with good cinematographers.

I wrote my own low budget scripts because I didn't trust writers who charged what I could afford. 500 bucks for a script? If that's a feature, I'd rather do improv.

that's a tough one, Its all a matter of diplomacy, experience, if the script has substance or not and your budget

Thank you for asking this question. There is some great info here.

I've adapted several screenplays as libretti for stage musicals, and in some cases it's taken months--or even years--to just track down exactly who it is that controls the rights, never mind having to negotiate. In one case, there were three authors who had fallen out with each other after the movie bombed and I had to deal with each one separately. In another instance, I could only get conditional rights, pending a remake which hasn't happened yet and seems very unlikely, but in the meanwhile they could be getting at least some income from the property. My advice is to stick to projects based only on material in the public domain.