Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 77 The Strategy of Attorney Lindsay Dole

   Ronald turned through his business card book and address book again, looking for someone who could help him. He still wants to find a qualified lawyer for careful consultation. As a young man with no connections in New York, it is so painful to encounter things.

   It really doesn’t work, so I can only try my luck with some law firms from the phone book.

The business card    turned to was Eddie, the agent introduced by casting director Julia Taylor. I talked to him once, and I got the impression that he is a rare truth-teller in the entertainment industry. He has a wild approach and has signed a lot of low-cost actors and models. Maybe ask him what connections he has.

"Eddie? I'm Ronald, Ronald Lee, remember me?...I need some legal advice, do you know any lawyers in the entertainment industry, or intellectual property? Yes...don't be too much. Expensive kind..."

   "I have a good lawyer friend I grew up with, who is also Jewish, Bobby Donnell. You can try him."

  Ronald stood in front of this humble law firm. There seemed to be only one fluorescent light on inside, and the door was dark. Confirming the name "Robert Donnell & Associates Law Firm" on the door, Ronald pushed the door open.

   "Hello, I'd like to ask lawyer Bobby Donnell about the script signing dispute. Eddie introduced me. I called in advance, but you couldn't get through, so I had to go directly to the door."

The front desk was a young black lady who came up to receive Ronald: "Oh, the Bell company is overhauling the phone line, so the phone is temporarily unavailable. Attorney Bobby is in court, what do you want to ask? We have more here. Two senior attorneys, Eugene Young, and Elena Fruit, can serve you."

   "I have a dispute over the authorship of the movie script. I need to consult." Ronald was a little suspicious. Could it be that he didn't pay the phone bill and was cut off by Bell? And why is it so dark here, only one light is on.

   "What is the specific situation? Can you tell me about it first? I also graduated from law school and am taking the lawyer qualification certificate."

   Ronald looked at the front desk lady: "Okay, my name is Ronald Lee,

   "Rebecca" The black front desk reached out and shook his hand.

"I was working on MGM's Hot Lunch crew and had a verbal agreement with the director, ... but in the end they didn't sign me, here's some evidence I've gathered, here's the final draft of the script, this is where I wrote the script The manuscript, these are the list of possible witnesses."

   "Ha, Mr. Li, among our law firm's clients, you are the most well-prepared, and you are a model client."

"I went to Kirkland & Peterson law firm before, and they told me there was no drama. But I was not reconciled, and I wanted to ask another lawyer. I can afford the consulting fee. I have a formal job as a portrait photographer. "

   Seeing that she is so young, the lady at the front desk doubts whether she can afford the consultation fee. Ronald quickly affirmed his ability to pay and handed over his business card.

   "Okay, I'll ask Lawyer Fruit, who is free with Lawyer Yang and can chat with you." The lady at the front desk still went into the room and called a lawyer for the sake of the consultation fee.

   "I have to go to court." A chubby white woman, lawyer Fruite carried a bag on her back.

   "Peterson's people say there's no drama? Verbal contract, not a union member, tell him not to waste money, I have to work on the intentional homicide case," Eugene Young, a **** lawyer, told the front desk.

   "I'm just fine. I've been here for two months. I'm always doing research for you guys. I'm about to take a case of my own."

  A young white female lawyer took the business card brought by the front desk and expressed her willingness to accept this order for consultation, "Ronald Lee, audition portrait photographer."

   "I'm the official lawyer of the firm. My name is Lindsay Dole. What you're consulting is a dispute over the authorship of the movie script, right?"

   Ronald sat in the conference room chair, looking at each other. Attorney Dole is very young, with a baby face and two cute little rabbit teeth, very beautiful. However, it seems that the age of just graduating from college, as a lawyer, is the right person to consult and seek advice?

Lindsay seemed to see Ronald's suspicion, took out a business card and handed it to him, "I graduated from Harvard Law School and passed the New York State Bar Exam after only one exam. You can trust my professionalism. ."

   "Sorry, Attorney Dole, I shouldn't have suspected you." Ronald took the business card, with Harvard's emblem on it, and the title of lawyer to reassure him.

   "If you have no objection, we can start. My consulting rate is $150 per hour." Lindsay pressed the lawyer's clock.

   After listening to Ronald's narration and checking all the documents, lawyer Lindsay Dole frowned, picked up the yellow pencil, and tapped the paper with the eraser on the other end.

   "It should be said that you have done something imprudent, Mr. Li. The oral contract is not legally binding, and it depends on the parties to perform the contract."

   "It's me being naive, I haven't dealt with people from big studios before."

   "Why don't you let the Screenwriters Guild arbitrate for you? As far as I know, as long as you have the manuscript, their arbitration is fairer, and the result is mandatory, and the producer can only accept the result."

   "I haven't joined the Screenwriters Guild yet. It's because the director promised me to sign the script. In order to use this script to apply for the Screenwriters Guild qualification, I agreed to change it for him for free."

   "So that's the case, then Peterson's advice to you is reasonable."

   "Why, do you also suggest that I give up my authorship?"

"It's too early to say this, but there's one thing I don't understand. Why don't they want you to sign? As far as I know, a movie can have up to three screenwriter names, and there is only one on the script." The lawyer Miss asked.

   "The director said they signed a signed exclusive agreement with the writer."

   "This is not normal, I have to check related cases". The lawyer got up and went to the library to inquire about relevant cases over the years.

   After a period of time, lawyer Lindsay Dole returned to the reception room with the pad again, "I found it".

   Blonde hair was neatly tied behind his head, and the blue eyes of the lawyer were shining with excitement: "The screenwriting creation of the movie is a commissioned creation. After the producer has a story, the screenwriter is commissioned to write the script."

"In that case, the property rights of the script belong to the producer. He has the right to decide, and he can put you who have modified more than one third of the script in the signature column. The problem is that he signed the exclusive agreement, he did not The reason is so signed."

   "You mean, the producer is lying to me again?"

   "No, I mean, this exclusivity agreement is very unreasonable, the producer must have got something to pay for this exclusivity."

   "I'm a little confused, Miss Dole"

   "So," Lindsay Dole wrote two lines on a pad with a pencil and turned it to Ronald.

   "Story:" (Storyby)

   "Script:" (Screenplayby)

   "These two signature methods are two concepts in Hollywood, you know?"

   "Yes, the story is the person who came up with a core story concept, and the script is the person who actually wrote the script."

   Lindsay wrote another line

   "Writing:" (Writtenby) = Story + Script

   "If the attribution is 'writing', it is the highest level of attribution, which means that both the story and the script are written by one person. Only in this case, the screenwriter is only signed by one person."

   Ronald nodded in understanding.

   "But this is obviously a script that a producer came up with and hired a screenwriter to complete. The screenwriter just completed a hired creative job. Logically, the script's signature should be like this:

   Lindsay Dole wrote two more lines on the pad:

  Story: David Da Silva

   Screenplay: Christopher Gore

   But why is there only this screenwriter's signature on the script? "

   "Original Screenplay: Christopher Gore"

   Attorney Lindsay Dole, pointed to the line on the cover of the script, and looked at Ronald with piercing eyes.

   "This? Maybe the producer doesn't care about attribution?"

   "Impossible, it is impossible for a producer to voluntarily give up any opportunity to bring him income and fame unless he has a greater interest."

   "Look here again." The female lawyer pointed to the cover of the script again.

   Ronald leaned forward slightly and read it out: "Original script?"

   "Yes, the reference to the original script is not the convention of script labeling, but the name of the Oscar nomination. Maybe the producer used the exclusive opportunity of the Oscar nomination in exchange for some benefit from the screenwriter."

   "For example: a script transfer fee that is much lower than the market price?" The female lawyer threw the pencil on the table and came to a conclusion.

   "Your reasoning makes a lot of sense, Miss Dole, you convinced me. But I still have a question, are they so confident that this film will be nominated for an Oscar?"

   "This is beyond the scope of my consultation. I'm just a lawyer, I can only analyze the legal issues of the contract for you, and I don't understand the artistic taste of Hollywood and Oscar."

   Lindsay Dole waved.

   "This may be your breakthrough, Mr. Li. If the reason I guess is true, then you will have a card in your hand that can bring you back some disadvantage."

   "Return the disadvantage?"

   "First of all, you have to separate the producer and the director. Now they still have the same interests. The producer doesn't want to bother to revise the contract with the original author. The director also hopes that you sign the contract as soon as possible to help him complete the final revision of the script.

We throw this card so that their interests are not aligned, and as long as one of them feels that the benefits of solving your attribution problem are greater than the trouble of revising the contract with the original author, they will help us convince the other... …”

   Writing down the lawyer lady’s strategy in a notebook, Ronald thought about it:

"I still have a question, the producer said they have a legal lawyer from MGM, I think if I follow your strategy and take the producer's army, he will definitely hire a lawyer to deal with it, and after that The contract issue, I'm afraid they will bury me in the contract again."

   "I can accept your employment, contract negotiation plus contract review services, and my hourly fee, totaling $850 for you." The female lawyer moved her chair slightly forward, her blue eyes staring at Ronald.

   "My portrait studio still has some income to pay your price."

   "Then it's settled. I'll wait for your call."

   Female lawyer Lindsay Dole stood up and shook hands with Ronald.

   "You can go to Rebecca to sign a service contract."

   Satisfied with the $150 consultation fee, Ronald and Lindsay Dole left the law firm on the phone. The two made an appointment to call her if the negotiations with the producer progressed and a lawyer needed to intervene.

"Yeah!" Lindsay Dole and Rebecca at the front desk hugged each other and took out the consulting fee of 150 yuan that Ronald just paid: "Hurry up and pay the phone bill, and let Bell restore the phone. . Too much delay."

   (end of this chapter)