Background If you’re setting up financing for your next film, theatre, or new media production, and you’re planning to talk to potential investors, you need to know the rules. Whenever a company sells investment opportunities, in which the investors will be ‘passive’, not taking any meaningful role in the management of the business, the transaction… Continue Reading
Front Money – what it is, how it works. What is Front Money? Front money, or Seed money, as it is often called, is a common first round of capital for a start-up businesses, including many independent films and theatrical projects. It gets its name from the idea that early stage financing plants the seed… Continue Reading
Every week, I speak with producers developing their film or theatrical projects who struggle with the big challenge: finding the financing. In many cases, they’ve come to me as an entertainment lawyer, thinking I have the magic solution. Sadly, I don’t. In fact, most film and theatrical attorneys steer clear of helping clients find the… Continue Reading
Last April, Congress passed, and President Obama signed into law, the JOBS Act. One important component of that act loosened restrictions on the way film and theatre producers companies can obtain financing through private offerings under Rule 506. This has been the preferred approach to independent financing for films and theatre projects for some time,… Continue Reading
Crowdfunding: How to do it right Earlier this year, Congress passed, and President Obama signed into law, the JOBS Act, which among other things, legalizes both debt and equity based crowdfunding. Later this year, the SEC is required to promulgate new rules which will allow companies seeking investment capital to use portals similar to IndieGoGo… Continue Reading
Learn all you need to know to take advantage of crowdfunding as a tool to finance your next film, play, musical or other media production. Dicsount of 10% available for a limited time. Continue Reading
What If I Die? How will my investors be protected? What about my family? A reader of my blog recently asked me this question. It seems an investor is concerned that, should this producer die before or during production, the project (in this case, a stage play) would fall apart and the investment would be… Continue Reading
An interesting post at Plagiarism Today explains how much of modern Dracula/vampire lore is the result of a misguided effort by the producers of “Nosferatu” to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit from the Bram Stoker estate. http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/17/dracula-vs-nosferatu-a-true-copyright-horror-story/ Hat tip to Delicious.com user nooitmeere for tagging this story Continue Reading
What is Chain of Title? Put simply, Chain of Title is the paper trail that establishes a person or company’s right to take proposed action with respect to a piece of property. The “chain” runs from the present owner back to the original owner of the property in question. In the entertainment industries, this… Continue Reading
With the signing of the JOBS Act, crowdfunding for investment in entertainment projects like films, plays and musicals is a step closer to becoming a viable option, but the risk of fraud is significant, and producers using this approach must still comply with significant anti-fraud rules. Continue Reading
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