Authors — Robert Zipser
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Not an Option: The Ins and Outs of Shopping Agreements
The motion picture and television industries have become increasingly informal in recent years. In the past, agents would sign actors and writers before trying to sell their services or material, members of producing teams would sign collaboration agreements with their partners before taking a project to a studio, and producers would enter into written option agreements with writers under which they would pay money to exclusively option the motion picture and television rights to a property. These days, however, many agents will “hip-pocket” new artists and promote them without a contract to avoid commitment; a collaborator will walk a project […]
by Robert Zipser on Oct 20, 2014 -
How to Option a Book for Film Adaptation
The following is a guest post by veteran entertainment attorney Robert Zipser. It originally appeared on his official website. “In the motion picture business, nothing is more important than rights.” –Prominent Business Affairs Executive Hollywood has loved books ever since the days of silent films. It always will. Sometimes you will hear grumblings from studio executives and producers that acquiring motion picture and television rights to books costs too much. They vow to cut back on it. Pay no attention to this babbling. Hollywood’s love for books will endure for two simple reasons: First, books offer built-in wonderfully developed stories with fascinating plots and […]
by Robert Zipser on Aug 8, 2013
