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Buying a script
- Thread starter Indiegirl
- Start date
E
Edge Fog
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Indiegirl said:
I think this was gone over already.
. Here is the link...http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=5278
Hi Indiegirl:
WGA, Writers guild of America sets standards for their members. An original screenplay purchase minimum is $34,740, a non-original screenplay sells at $28,271, a rewrite is $16,965, and the publication fee is $5,000. The company may defer the remaining portion of money due until receipt of first revenue after production costs are recouped or commencement of commercial distribution, whichever is earlier. If you are a gross profit participant, you may be able to defer monies until profits start being paid. There are also enhanced creative rights provisions.
The above are minimums, there are no maximums. Seven figure deals are common and addition to % of gross.
Hope this helps.
Satire
WGA, Writers guild of America sets standards for their members. An original screenplay purchase minimum is $34,740, a non-original screenplay sells at $28,271, a rewrite is $16,965, and the publication fee is $5,000. The company may defer the remaining portion of money due until receipt of first revenue after production costs are recouped or commencement of commercial distribution, whichever is earlier. If you are a gross profit participant, you may be able to defer monies until profits start being paid. There are also enhanced creative rights provisions.
The above are minimums, there are no maximums. Seven figure deals are common and addition to % of gross.
Hope this helps.
Satire
Hi Boz Uriel.
Thanks for the compliment. I am not a member of WGA. I still await a signatory company to puchase one of my six completed screenplays. With that accomplished, I need to write a check for $2,500 to become a WGA Member.
Currently there is an Animation Company in India requesting a price for my short "Inquiring Minds" which would meet the requirements of WGA. I asked for $7,500. plus 3% of net profit. Time will tell on that one.
"Mount Soledaad Love Story" a completed screenplay, gets most of the action at the moment with quite
few producers considering it. The book, adopted from the screenplay is available on :
http://mountsoledadlovestory.com/
Why, the book, you might ask?
These days Hollywood is so afraid to take a risk, that they either do a remake like Oceans 11 and Aviator, or film a proven success book.
With about 30,000 new screenplays a year all but about 3 a year are trashed or put on a shelf for eternity.
All six of my screenplays therefore have been converted to novels, the first of which should come out this year.
Hopefully in IndieTalk, A producer might find one of my low budget films like, "Degas" or "The Mighty Kuchka" or "The Swan" and run with it. After all film makers are artists as well as musicians and painters creating masterpieces.
All my screenplays and one short are available on www.InkTip.com
Thanks for your interest.
Satire
Thanks for the compliment. I am not a member of WGA. I still await a signatory company to puchase one of my six completed screenplays. With that accomplished, I need to write a check for $2,500 to become a WGA Member.
Currently there is an Animation Company in India requesting a price for my short "Inquiring Minds" which would meet the requirements of WGA. I asked for $7,500. plus 3% of net profit. Time will tell on that one.
"Mount Soledaad Love Story" a completed screenplay, gets most of the action at the moment with quite
few producers considering it. The book, adopted from the screenplay is available on :
http://mountsoledadlovestory.com/
Why, the book, you might ask?
These days Hollywood is so afraid to take a risk, that they either do a remake like Oceans 11 and Aviator, or film a proven success book.
With about 30,000 new screenplays a year all but about 3 a year are trashed or put on a shelf for eternity.
All six of my screenplays therefore have been converted to novels, the first of which should come out this year.
Hopefully in IndieTalk, A producer might find one of my low budget films like, "Degas" or "The Mighty Kuchka" or "The Swan" and run with it. After all film makers are artists as well as musicians and painters creating masterpieces.
All my screenplays and one short are available on www.InkTip.com
Thanks for your interest.
Satire
Indiegirl: It all depends on the quality of the script and the writer's desire to see it made v. get paid a lot of money. Some features are made for less than the WGA minimum price of a script, so don't think you need to pay that kind of money to obtain the script you're interested in. If you're not a WGA signatory, you don't need to worry about those guild mininums anyway. What you might want to do is suggest the writer come on as a producer, give them some back end revenue participation as part of the deal. Another way to handle it is to offer the writer a percentage of your budget - whatever you can raise, the writer gets paid X%. I'd say make it 5%, but you might be able to get it down to 2 or 3% of budget if you offer back end revenue participation. I also suggest you offer revenue rather than profit, because you don't want the writer to think he's gonna get screwed. In a revenue deal he won't, because he'll make money if the film makes money - he's in the same boat as the rest of the team. I've taken writing assignments both ways - where I get paid when the movie makes money and where I get paid when the budget is raised, but without backend. All depends on the writer. Afterall, without the script you don't have a film.
Thanks for all the info
Thanks everyone for all the info. I think I've worked a deal where I can use the screenplay for free and she gets a percentage if it ever turns a profit. We're still working out the details. The writer has never sold a script before and is happy someone wants to produce it. WGA prices are way out of my league. I'm just a wee indie producer just starting out. Thanks again. I'm still amazed at how helpful the contributions are on this forum.
Thanks everyone for all the info. I think I've worked a deal where I can use the screenplay for free and she gets a percentage if it ever turns a profit. We're still working out the details. The writer has never sold a script before and is happy someone wants to produce it. WGA prices are way out of my league. I'm just a wee indie producer just starting out. Thanks again. I'm still amazed at how helpful the contributions are on this forum.