Last week, a colleague asked me the following question:
If an actor improvises lines in a play, and the “author”/director of the play later wishes to write a screenplay which incorporates the actor’s improvised dialogue, does he have to obtain rights to that dialogue? What is the written (or unwritten) rule regarding the incorporation of improvised [...]
Theatre, Film, Television, Music & New Media
Category Archives: Theatre law
Who owns a play that’s partly improvised?
Smoking Bans and the First Amendment…free speech goes up in smoke in Colorado.
The Colorado Supreme Court has dealt another blow to the First Amendment, holding that public health concerns trump the First Amendment in cases involving bans on smoking.
Curious Theatre v. Colorado Department of Health and Public Environment
The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act (which went into effect in 2006) prohibits indoor smoking of tobacco and other products [...]
Jeremy Piven is Off The Hook. Fish story satisfies arbitrator.
THR Esq. reports today that Jeremy Piven’s mercury poisoning excuse for leaving the Broadway production of “Speed The Plow” last season is sufficient, and he’ll not be liable to the producers for breach of contract, or other claims. Here’s the story:
Arbitrator accepts Jeremy Piven’s sushi explanation–THR, Esq. – Entertainment and Media Law.
Interestingly, the show [...]
Jeremy Piven's fish-story gets him off-the-hook.
THR Esq. reports today that Jeremy Piven’s mercury poisoning excuse for leaving the Broadway production of “Speed The Plow” last season is sufficient, and he’ll not be liable to the producers for breach of contract, or other claims. Here’s the story:
Arbitrator accepts Jeremy Piven’s sushi explanation–THR, Esq. – Entertainment and Media Law.
Interestingly, the show managed [...]
R&H Music Publishing Catalog valued at $200 Million (estimated)
My friend and podcast co-host Tamera Bennett has posted an article at her blog about the valuation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein music publishing catalog. Apparently, the catalog was worth around $200 Million when it was recently purchased by a Dutch pension fund. This valuation is estimated by experts who suggest that it’s probably around [...]
On Domain Names, squatters and new show titles.
One of my favorite blogs is Ken Davenport’s PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE. Ken has posted an insightful piece about cyber-squatters and the need to register your show’s domain name(s) early. The article is titled: Got an idea for a show? Here’s the first thing you should do.
This is among the first recommendations I make [...]
Jeremy Piven – Speed the Plow producers to arbitrate in June
Jeremy Piven’s departure from the Broadway revival of ‘Speed-the-Plow’ is the subject of an Arbitration Hearing that has been set for June 8 and 9.
Arbitrator George Nicolau will hear the matter, which concerns Piven’s sudden withdrawal from the show, claiming he had high levels of mercury in his body, and was quitting on [...]
Financing independent films and theatre projects is more difficult in the current economic climate. Myth or Reality?
In recent weeks, I’ve had a number of clients express their view that the current down economy means that they won’t be able to find investors to finance their films and/or shows. As a consequence, they’re sitting back, waiting things out.. not trying to make it happen.
Meanwhile, I’ve had others tell me that investors are [...]
Recommended Reading: (NY Times) Subsidiary Rights and NonProfit theatres
RECOMMENDED READING
Joy Goodwin’s piece from the New York Times (11/22/2008) discusses the increasing tendency of nonprofit theatre companies to take a percentage of a playwright’s subisidiary rights income… in some cases as much as 40%.
ASK THE READERS:
What do you think about this trend?
Does a nonprofit production add enough value to a new play to [...]
Why every writing team should have a written collaboration agreement. (part 3 of 3)
This is the final installment of a 3-part series on the importance of collaboration agreements for every writing or other creative team. In Parts 1 and 2, I analyzed some of the important provisions found in properly negotiated and drafted collaboration agreements. Here, I’ll continue that discussion, and explain the advantages of using entertainment lawyer [...]
