What % of profits do you give a writer?

Jay Rodriguez

Jay Rodriguez

Coffee Member
What is the standard? I'm taking on a short film script and will be paying the writer for his efforts, should I also give him a % of any profits?
 
Is this a work for hire or are you optioning an original work and having it adapted for the screen?

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Usually the writer does not get a cut.... They get paid a fixed sum in advance.

Fictional Example: Paramount just bought my screenplay for $100,000.

1 year later: Paramount made 100 million from the movie based off my script. I don't get anymore money!

lol
 
I've sold three short scripts over the last 8 months. They were all straight cash deals. However I also optioned a couple with % stipulations. Of course, shorts don't make money, but it's a nice gesture on the filmmakers part to offer (1-5 points at most). Kinda made me laugh, but it was a charming thought and it pushed me into the deal.

As far as the amounts I was paid, well, lets just say I'm still a starving writer. These were all scripts lining my birdcage, so it was no loss to sell for cheap. And it never hurts to have another script produced under your belt. Depending on the writer you can get some solid scripts for reasonable rates over at Inktip.

Good luck to you.
 
hmm, ok. Well it was pretty much work for hire but I thought about giving a few points so that's why I asked.

All of your input helped, so thanks fellas!
 
As stated above, it is best for the writer to structure the sale of his work as an option. This is a two-way street scenario. You can pay less up front, yet offer more, based on the contingency that the work will be produced within a pre-determined period of time.

If this person is hired to adapt or write original material for you based on your own concept or one you've already optioned from a third party, it would likely be set up as a cash transaction with no points paid.

There is a difference and it warrants a closer look before you jump into any agreement.

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If it's a matter of being a 'deal maker, or breaker' then I say, why not? Depends how much you want that script and how cool the writer is being. There's no rules in the short-script game. I've dealt with industry standards as a writer and always prefer dealing with guys that are cool and flexible. I mean, it's a short, not a feature. Throw him a bone.
 
Overland made a good point, agreed. I figured this was an outright sale. As an option goes there's definately time-periods set. As a side note, I always extend the option to the filmmaker if I feel he's doing his best to get it done. Like I said, if he's cool, I'm cool. Now if he was a dik then I'd pull the carpet from under his feet.
 
Unfortunately, I spend more time writing development contracts than I film now, and I will just say that there is potentially a lot more to this than we can cover here.

A big for instance on this one would be:

If this is an original short story by the author, what rights is he forfeiting by selling the work outright? Should there be a chance to parlay the work into a feature two years from now, what rights does he have (if any) in the work if he has sold it outright to the producer?

Is the producer (not slamming the originator of this thread!) going to argue against the author that he's the copyright holder now?

If I purchase a short story or concept outright, I am the owner of the work. If I option it, I have a shared interest in the work for a set period of time and there are provisions for almost every subsequent scenario. Was that handshake deal for all the rights - including spin-offs, derivatives and other media?

I don't believe that we have many of those types around here, but that is indeed what the author is giving up unless the details protecting his interest are expressly set forth within a binding contract.

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