The Pocket Lawyer for Filmmakers, 3rd Edition

9ACQUIRING SCREENPLAY RIGHTS

DOI: 10.4324/9781003228479-13

In the last chapter, we covered how to protect the script you wrote or cowrote. But what if you haven’t written your own screenplay? This chapter is for those of you who want to:

• Option or purchase a screenplay written by someone else. (See “The Screenplay Option/Purchase,” p. 124.)
• Negotiate a shopping agreement or attachment. (See “The Shopping Agreement,” p. 134.)
• Hire a screenwriter to write or re-write a script. (See “Hiring a Screenwriter,” p. 136.)
• Write a script that’s based on someone else’s novel, short story, or comic book. (See “Screenplay Adaptations,” p. 142.)
• Purchase the right to someone’s life story. (See “Life Story Rights,” p. 150.)

THE RIGHT RIGHTS

One of the producer’s ...