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Get a lawyer… not just any lawyer, but an entertainment attorney. If you’re considering taking the option, let me say this first: There may be good reasons to take said chance with Mister unknown resourceless producer… more on that later.) 4 – Get a lawyer Your script may no longer be working for you, either inside or out of the option. Your script (assuming it’s a good script, and of course it is, right?) may be more valuable to them than they are to you. If you’re approached by an unknown producer with no resources, no previous credits, no financing and no connections, and thus a limited likelihood of getting to production, it’s okay to say no. So, you want it optioned by someone who’s really got the goods to make things happen. Now the option has to be working for you, by being more valuable, more likely to lead to production, than having the script “on the market”. When your script is under option, it’s “off the market” and is no longer working for you. That’ll probably include submitting it to any more contests, and certainly means not showing it to any other producers. I assume that you don’t just write them and stick them in a drawer… you show them to people, put them into contests, post them on screenplay sites, right? You want them out there representing you, if not to get sold, to at least be working as writing samples.īut during the time the script’s under option, you’re likely restricted from any further exploitation of your own.
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They’re an investment for you, and like any investment, they should be working for you. Remember too that your scripts are your product, and have value. Not just for your ego, but for your career. Because while having a script optioned is great (and it is great, don’t get me wrong) having a script produced is even better. If they did have the resources, they’d buy it and make it, right? So what you really want (short of actually selling the screenplay) is to have it optioned by someone who has a high likelihood of getting it made. But it doesn’t mean your film is going to get made… it means someone wants to make your film but doesn’t have the resources yet. Any time within the option period they can “exercise” the option, and buy your script for an agreed price. Granting a producer an option means granting them the exclusive right to develop the script… to try to raise the money to make it, get talent or a director attached, and otherwise exploit the property with the end goal of making your movie.
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Producer Bob stumbled across your script on your site or in a screenplay competition, and has approached you with an offer to “option” it. Part II is a list of negotiation points and terms that I’m very glad I know about now, and you might like to know about as well.
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Part I is the basics… what is an option, how to respond, and what to expect. But now that I’ve got a handle on the basic vocabulary and have some sense of what it is I should be looking for, at least I won’t feel like an outsider in my own negotiations. I don’t plan on being so involved in future deals. I picked out the points I wanted to ask for, and removed items I felt were over-reaching or I just didn’t feel like I needed. I asked the attorney to mark up the contract with all the items of concern or negotiation he could think of… then I had him go over them with me, and explain things to me that I didn’t understand. I wanted to learn, so I was involved in the negotiation process, and reviewed each round of revisions on the offers and eventual contracts, asked lots of questions, and took lots of notes. Of course, I’m no lawyer, but I did pay one (a really good one, too!) to represent me in my deals. This is no substitute for having an attorney, mind you… more on that later. So I thought I’d gather my notes together here, in the hopes that it’ll prove useful to others. It’s a little humbling, cuz I’m just a lucky guy with a couple of options, but I know how much I appreciate when I stumble across some good first-hand info, and figured it would be a good idea to share what I know. Now that I’ve been through the option gauntlet a couple of times, I get asked about the experience and the process. Should you do it? What are the considerations? What does it mean to have your screenplay optioned?Ī producer wants to option your script.