Hello, all. I'm a screenwriter of only a couple of years, but I already have a handful of produced credits to my name. These have been work for hire, in that the producers I've worked with gave me their idea, the price they'd pay, and let me run with it. I never felt I was in a position to negotiate...
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Legendary hit-man Henry 'Big Dog' Douglas is considering a change of career but the local Russian mafia have their own plans for him.
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Make media and don't stop. Only half listen to what others say about your work. Keep producing. It is the iteration of your process that will develop your voice. So, exercise it.
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Hi Jo. I'm RB, co-founder and CEO of Stage 32. I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work and attracting attention to their projects. That's why we created Stage 32. Our members run the gamut from film students to award winners. The community is now 70,000+ members strong spanning 175+ countries. This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to help us spread the word through other social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We also ask that you help strengthen the com...
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I am having the exact same problem, I have been hired by a few small productions and.now I am
Being approached by a few people asking me to write for them and asking me how much I charge. The 2.5 perce...
Expand commentI am having the exact same problem, I have been hired by a few small productions and.now I am
Being approached by a few people asking me to write for them and asking me how much I charge. The 2.5 percent is a good idea but I am often asked to write the script first so the producer or whoever can apply for funding. So while 2.5 sounds awesome we often don’t know what the budget is going to be. I don’t want to undersell myself nor do I want to over charge as they are all small indie productions. It’s so confusing
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Jo Weiss,
2.5% doesn't really cover all the bases fairly. A good contract with a deferred payment for a writer assignment on spec and subject to funding should specify various tiers of payment in relat...
Expand commentJo Weiss,
2.5% doesn't really cover all the bases fairly. A good contract with a deferred payment for a writer assignment on spec and subject to funding should specify various tiers of payment in relation to budget with a low point that doesn't go below $5K and a high point that that aligns with WGA minimum at the time. You should also be getting paid, at least in part, as soon as the funds have been transferred to the production account.
Competent producers should have a clear idea of minimum and ideal budget. They should have a sales strategy and know the min needed to make a profitable return along with the max point where returns won't likely cover the budget. Long story short, there shouldn't be any big surprises.Participation is just too convoluted to rely on and easy to manipulate. Someone could offer you 25% of all global theatrical net for a lifetime but, if you don't have a right to an audit at their cost within a fair timeframe, you can't even legally determine if a movie has made money. If someone offers a really simple and generous participation agreement, take it, but never rely on it. You'll be way down the waterfall and the kind of productions asking for spec writing are often the kind that make a loss.
Dan Guardino raises a good suggestion about a risk premium. Ideally, they shouldn't be having their cake and eating it by asking a writer to do speculative work and then only paying their usual rate.
As ever, due diligence is essential here. You only want to get involved in these kind of relationships with producers who have a track record.
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I agree with both Dan G & CJ - there are lots of squishy parts in all 'participation' deals. This is not spec work. My rates; I'll talk with you for a low five figure retainer, I'll commit to a projec...
Expand commentI agree with both Dan G & CJ - there are lots of squishy parts in all 'participation' deals. This is not spec work. My rates; I'll talk with you for a low five figure retainer, I'll commit to a project for a low six figure (quarter on commencement), half at completion, last quarter on the principal day of shooting. I may want a small piece of the gross. Talk is cheap. When it comes to development hell - you're on your own.