My feature film got Distribution today! But the agreement....

Richard J. Johnson

Richard J. Johnson

Joystick Member
A feature film I shot last summer finally found distribution, which is a good thing. But the damn "contract" has so much legal jargon in it I can barely follow it. Should I have a lawyer look it over before I sign it?

Basically it boils down to splitting the profits 50/50 after recoupable expenses such as DVD production and advertising. For Internet and VOD it's just a straight split since there is no physical packaging. They don't own any sequal rights either and the period is 10 years I think. Is this just standard stuff for indies?

They do overseas as well. And I have seen their films in Blockbuster and in the Redbox. I'm hoping we can get on the shelves but this is my first time and I am not sure If we will get there.

But even if it is not a great deal should I take it? A lot of other companies passed on it and even though we may not make a ton of money, I'm thinking just to have it out there and make a little is not really a bad thing.:D
 
always have a lawyer look over a contract. Because you never know what they try to slip in there. If the distribution company does it's own advertising what's to stop them from saying their efforts were worth 1 million dollars and the film takes in a million dollars, the distribution company gets it all. So yes, have an entertainment lawyer that is familiar with distribution deals to look it over. It'll be money well spent.
 
No it isn't. A net 50 deal is in fact is the worst deal possible. A proper distribution deal for an independant production involves about 29 key points with the last one involving binding arbitration over disputed issues.

One of the first things that should happen is that all terms should be defined at the beginning.

Get an entertainment lawyer or I guarantee you'll never see a single cent.
 
craigbowman said:
No it isn't. A net 50 deal is in fact is the worst deal possible. A proper distribution deal for an independant production involves about 29 key points with the last one involving binding arbitration over disputed issues.

One of the first things that should happen is that all terms should be defined at the beginning.

Get an entertainment lawyer or I guarantee you'll never see a single cent.
Click to expand...


damn thats heavy.
 
A good but scary read is "Fatal Subtraction". It delves into the rather whacko methods "Hollywood" uses to account income. You definitely want a lawyer (entertainment lawyer) to take a look. It could all be fine but any "net" deal means you need to be very explicit in how it is defined and check for loopholes. If you go in assuming that any way it can be interpreted to screw you, it will be you will be happier in the end. I would also google the folks and see what others who have dealt with them are saying.
 
Our company will offer most indies with no bankable assets a 50/50 profit split, with no advance. However, our contracts sets out what can be considered "expenses", and sets limits on those expenses. Therefore, we cannot charge you $1,000,000 for $5,000 in advertising. Our contract states that our advertising will be charged "at cost". We will also set out a min. / max. advertising and replication budget in the contract.

Generally, an example breakdown would be:
Films grosses $150,000 in DVD sales and Rentals
We deduct the $2,500 MPAA FEE, Around $10,000 in advertising and $24,000 in replication cost's. That leaves us with $113,500 which is split 50/50.

BE VERY CAREFUL OF CONTRACTS THOUGH. Hollywood is notorious for offering the "standard 70/30 deal". This sounds good on the front, but what they don't tell you is they charge a 35% distribution fee and take an additional 30% of the profits. This means that the split is really 65/30 in favor of the distributor. Not to mention Hollywood contracts will rarely set-out a max. / min. spend on advertising and little or no guarantees. This leaves them open to double or triple charging for expenses before profits are distributed.

When in doubt, get a lawyer!
 
Yeah, that is very sketchy. I guess if you have no bankable stars and whatnot in some senses you have to take whatever the distributor offers, I mean a profit sharing agreement is probably most reasonable. It's kind of a shame, though.

I would hope that if I pour $125K into a feature, I don't settle for that, but rather can sell it for cash upfront.
 
Keep in mind that once we reach full operations, we will also be handling Television and Foreign rights, which means that for films that we can sell to TV (either original movies or just broadcast rights) and in foreign markets will mean an increase in that number.

$150,000 in gross for a DVD Premiere is relatively low, and I was using that figure as a baseline. However, if you made your film for $20,000 and ended up with $56,000, that's a pretty good return for a film with no bankable assets.

A best case scenario for a indie film with no bankable star or script, and in the Horror Genre, with a DVD Premiere would be 75,000 rentals and 20,000 DVD units sold.
This translates roughly into our gross income for the film being about $211,450 before expenses. In general, for this type of film, we would spend between $15,000 and $20,000 on MPAA and Advertising, and $25,000 in replication of the discs. This means that our gross profit is $166,450. Of this, $83,225 would go to the filmmaker.

Seems like a pretty good deal for a movie that most likely would end up on DVD anyway, being distributed by the filmmaker with no distribution contracts to get the movie into stores... With us, we have agreements (or will have in some cases***) with retail stores and RENTRAK....

*** = Currently negotiating agreements with RENTRAK PPT, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Kmart. Almost reached agreements with Baker & Taylor and Ingram as well as Comcast OnDemand.
 
Last edited:
Congrats Richard! Do you have a link or a trailer to the feature so we can check it out ahead of time? Looking forward to renting it from Netflix/Blockbuster.
 
how are all of you guys contacting these distributors? are you phoning them or sending them emails of the trailers or what?
 
congrats richard, but are they offering any advance money up front?

i'm curious as to how you guys are contacting the distributors as well? do you need to simply phone in and send screeners or what?
 
They are not offering any money up front this time around. There are plenty of distribution companies out there that you can call and email or just send in a screener. We contacted almost all of them and 2 bit. The company that we went with got the DVD from someone at the New York Film Festival. We have no idea who, because we never submitted to the company.

It's all good though. We just want to get it out there and see how it does. I'm satisfied with that for now. This entire process is a learning one and this thread has taught me several things I need to look for in the future.

You could try Maverick, York Films, Rsquared, just to name a few.
 
You could try Maverick, York Films, Rsquared, just to name a few.
Click to expand...
You can also submit your screen to us. We are currently acquiring films, and will start placing films in retail by the end of the year.

Submission Instructions:

  • Your film must be feature length (70min +)
  • You must print out, fill in and return THIS form with your submission.
  • We do not return submissions!
  • We only accept DVD screener's in region 1 or region free. No VHS, Bluray, MiniDV etc.
Send Screener Too:
Film Submissions
c/o Moonlight Media
211 S Kimble Drive, #C38
Bloomington, IN 47404
​
 
thanks for the info. I have 1 feature in post and started another last week. You will get something from us in a month or so.

Landon D Parks said:
You can also submit your screen to us. We are currently acquiring films, and will start placing films in retail by the end of the year.

Submission Instructions:

  • Your film must be feature length (70min +)
  • You must print out, fill in and return THIS form with your submission.
  • We do not return submissions!
  • We only accept DVD screener's in region 1 or region free. No VHS, Bluray, MiniDV etc.
Send Screener Too:

Film Submissions
c/o Moonlight Media
211 S Kimble Drive, #C38
Bloomington, IN 47404​
Click to expand...
 
heard a lot of bad things about maverick and york in previous threads, have you dealt with them before?

you didnt try lionsgate or any of the larger distributors?
 
I would always suggest submitting to the major first... They have the largest power to bring your film to the marketplace. However, don't get your hopes up. :crybaby:

Unless it's an extremely commercial film, and has at least one recognized actor...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top