Hi prpro
I'm an author who has done this very thing myself, so I'm pleased to
help. When looking to option a real-life story for use in a movie or a
book, the steps you need to follow are:
1. Contact the person or next of kin. If you have a full name and
general location you should be able to find them in the phone book.
There are many phone directories online - try
http://www.switchboard.com or http://www.att.com/directory/. If this
is unsuccessful, a good method I've used in the past is to trace a
journalist who has interviewed this person. Contact the journalist,
politely explain what you are doing, and ask them to pass your contact
details and a message on to the person. It's best not to ask the
journalist to give you the person's contact details.
2. Call the person up and flatter them. Explain that you are a
Hollywood movie producer or whatever exciting spin you can take on
your actual job title. Tell them you'd love to make a movie of their
life story. This is the key moment. Although there may not have been a
movie or book made or written about this person, someone may have
already optioned the story. In which case you can go no further, other
than finding out how long the option lasts and perhaps picking it up
once the option expires. But if you got there first, expect the person
to be very flattered and ready to do a deal. How would you feel if a
Hollywood producer called you up and offered to make a movie of your
life? You need to make an offer straight away. If, for some reason,
the person is hesitant or wants more money than you can afford see
step 8.
3. Make the offer. So how much should you offer for option rights? The
first thing you need to note is that the "option price" is quite
different from the "purchase price". The option price is a partial
downpayment which gives you exclusive rights to purchase the story at
a later date. Without a doubt, the person will be most interested in
the purchase price, because it is so much higher.
4. Determine a purchase price. Remember, you will not pay this until
your movie gets the go-ahead, and principal photography begins. You
will have funding by this point. So ask the person how much they want
and negotiate from there. The purchase price will vary greatly
depending on the person, but few would turn down an offer of, say,
$10,000. The person may be happy with much less, or may want more. In
practice, a typical Hollywood purchase price for a life story of a
not-yet famous person would be around $50,000. Remember, you will not
pay this amount unless your movie gets made.
5. Negotiate the option price. It is common to offer anything between
1 percent and 10 percent of the purchase price. This would be $500 or
$5,000 on a £50,000 purchase price. Bear in mind that Hollywood
regularly options stories for just $1. People are happy to accept a
low option price because they are concentrating on getting the higher
purchase price. Whatever option price you agree on, write out a check
immediately - it needs to be cashed before your option contract
becomes binding.
6. Decide upon an option period. This is all stuff that will go into
your contract. Bear in mind that movies take years to get
greenlighted, so option for at least 18 months. Three years would be a
safer option period. If the person wants a shorter option period,
agree to an option renewal clause in the contract. This will allow you
to renew the option after your initial period for another option fee.
Again, this would be a low amount, so it is well worth doing.
7. Agree on the purchase price schedule. As stated above, this is
usually paid when principal photography begins, because by then
funding is in place and you will be able to pay. If it is a very large
amount you may wish to agree to pay in instalments. Always remember to
deduct the option price from the purchase price paid. The option price
was an advance against the purchase price. So if the option price was
$5,000 and the purchase price was $50,000, you should pay $5,000 on
optioning and $45,000 on purchase. State in the contract: "option
price is applied to purchase price".
8. Points. This is a Hollywood term for a percentage of profits. If
you cannot agree a deal with your person, try offering net points to
sweeten the deal. You will only have to pay out if the movie is a
success because, if the movie fails, 0 percent of $0 is $0! You could
also offer a production screen credit - this will cost you nothing.
9. Draw up the contract. You'd be wise to get it checked over by a
lawyer, especially if big money is involved. The entertainment lawyer
Paul D Supnik has some very useful legal pointers here:
http://www.supnik.com/lifestor.htm. Note his points on whether
optioning is required at all.
Also see: http://www.marklitwak.com/faq/life_story_rights.html.
The contract itself is pretty easy to draw up. Just be sure to include
all of the points you have negotiated as above. Copy the format of an
example contract. You can see an excellent example of a life story
option contract here: http://www.scriptsales.com/RightsOption.html.
10. Get a signature, and make sure the person cashes your option price
check. You have optioned your life story. Now you just have to make
the movie!
Following these steps will ensure you cover all of your bases, so good luck!
To answer this question I relied upon personal experience, and checked
facts at the websites listed above in the body of the text. Google
search strategy: option "lifestory" OR "life story"
If any part of this is unclear, please request a clarification before
rating this answer.
Best of luck, prpro, I look forward to seeing your movie or book!
Paultoon-ga |
,
0 Comments
)