For my script I don't want the actors to disclose it, once the auditions start. I want to keep the plot secret to keep it original obviously. I heard one can type up an NDA himself but I still want it to be legally enforceable. So where do I get them, or get the format I will need to type up a legal one? Someone suggested the law library but they would not help me since I was not a student. Someone suggested a lawyer but the cheapest one I could find would cost at least a third of my shoe string film budget right there. So where do you guys get them from? Thanks.
Where to get non-disclosure agreements.
- Thread starter harmonica44
- Start date
You can get standard templated NDA's on the web, and customize them easily to your needs. No cash necessary.
I'll edit in a link later if I get a chance.
I'll edit in a link later if I get a chance.
Thanks, I found many sites but didn't know which one to go with, especially since a lot of them look quite different. How do you know if it's a legally enforceable one or not?
My first suggestion is to take a step back and look at this from a
different perspective.
How likely is it that one or more of the actors auditioning for
your movie will leave the audition, tell a writer your plot and
write, audition, make and release a competing movie? How likely is
it that one or more of the actors auditioning for your movie will
go to the local media and release secret information? How likely
is it that one or more of the actors auditioning for your movie
will tell the plot of your movie to others?
In all my years (and that’s a lot) in this business I have never
seen a NDA at an audition. I know professional and even
semiprofessional actors will find this less than professional.
And enforcing a NDA legally is very, very difficult. I know you
will not sue an actor who signed and then tells their best friend
the plot of your movie. and I know you won’t be pursuing legal
action against an actor who posts your plot on their FaceBook
status. You can’t afford a lawyer now, you won’t be able to afford
one to sue later. Proving that the breaking of a NDA caused you
and your movie to loose money or created unfair competition is
expensive. Are you sure you want to do that?
Okay, I didn’t answer your question:
Any of the NDA agreements you find on the web are legally
enforceable when both parties sign them. Pull one from the first
site you found. It will be legally enforceable.
different perspective.
How likely is it that one or more of the actors auditioning for
your movie will leave the audition, tell a writer your plot and
write, audition, make and release a competing movie? How likely is
it that one or more of the actors auditioning for your movie will
go to the local media and release secret information? How likely
is it that one or more of the actors auditioning for your movie
will tell the plot of your movie to others?
In all my years (and that’s a lot) in this business I have never
seen a NDA at an audition. I know professional and even
semiprofessional actors will find this less than professional.
And enforcing a NDA legally is very, very difficult. I know you
will not sue an actor who signed and then tells their best friend
the plot of your movie. and I know you won’t be pursuing legal
action against an actor who posts your plot on their FaceBook
status. You can’t afford a lawyer now, you won’t be able to afford
one to sue later. Proving that the breaking of a NDA caused you
and your movie to loose money or created unfair competition is
expensive. Are you sure you want to do that?
Okay, I didn’t answer your question:
Any of the NDA agreements you find on the web are legally
enforceable when both parties sign them. Pull one from the first
site you found. It will be legally enforceable.
It wouldn't hurt to get it notarized. I'm a massage therapist and you know those waiver's you sign releasing liability? Well, technically they are not enforceable in court unless they are notarized. Or at least that's what I was told in my practice management class, Your mileage may vary.
I didn't know that.
I knew that having any contract notarized is an option, but I
didn't know that a liability release isn't enforceable unless notarized.
So not only will harmonica have to ask every person auditioning
to sign a NDA but a notary will need to be there to notarize each
agreement?
I know every NDA I have signed I have signed in the presence of
a Notary. But I always thought that was just a second level of
proof and not necessary for it to be legally binding.
I knew that having any contract notarized is an option, but I
didn't know that a liability release isn't enforceable unless notarized.
So not only will harmonica have to ask every person auditioning
to sign a NDA but a notary will need to be there to notarize each
agreement?
I know every NDA I have signed I have signed in the presence of
a Notary. But I always thought that was just a second level of
proof and not necessary for it to be legally binding.
There is an NDA for free here
http://www.sonnyboo.com/downloads/filmmaker.htm
http://www.sonnyboo.com/downloads/filmmaker.htm
I thought any witness could make a witness and you won't need a public notary. Couldn't I just get any witness for every person signing?
So is it a good idea to get actors to sign the NDA before reading the script in the audition?
As someone who has auditioned constantly over the last couple of years, I have never had a request to sign an NDA. It would seem unusual for me to go into an audition and be asked to sign one, but I would, because you have to audition to have a chance at the role. However, some actors, and good ones, might balk at the idea. No one likes to sign official-looking paperwork in a circumstance where they normally don't have to sign anything.
And unless you audition everyone with a single scene wherein everyone has an expository monologue that explains every aspect of the movie, odds are good your actors won't be able to figure out the entire plot line from the page or two they will use as sides.
I wouldn't bother.
gelder
And unless you audition everyone with a single scene wherein everyone has an expository monologue that explains every aspect of the movie, odds are good your actors won't be able to figure out the entire plot line from the page or two they will use as sides.
I wouldn't bother.
gelder
No.
First, you will not show the actors the entire script - only the "sides".
As I said, you need to be realistic. What do you have in that script that
is so sensitive that an actor might tell someone and hurt your production.
Your script is under copyright so no one is going to take that script and
make a movie before you do. Your idea cannot be copyrighted so even if
one of the actors felt your idea was good enough to steal what are the
chances they will make a film with your idea and get it to the public
before you do?
Do not ask actors to sign a NDA.
harmonica, what is it that concerns you about actors reading your script?
Another thing you could do is simply writing sides just for the purpose of auditioning your actors. These sides would need to be written in a way that enable you to check if the actor is suitable for the particular part, nevertheless they don't need to be part of your original script. Scripts get rewritten a lot anyway, scenes are removed, new scenes are added, etc. Also, as you know the process of auditioning is more complex than just checking how an actor will do with some particular scene, you also check if you can direct that actor, if he or she will be good to work with and has chemistry with someone you already cast, etc.
I should add I have never seen NDAs during any audition and I would think of a person attempting to use these while holding auditions as a beginner to the industry.
Last but not least, being overly protective of your material is generally speaking a sign of a beginner. It is justified if you are producing The Dark Knight with however big budget but not necessarily so with an indie production of a beginner movie maker. In fact, some publicity might do you good, you never know who will want to get involved with your project.
Ideas are cheap, execution is everything!
Thx
I should add I have never seen NDAs during any audition and I would think of a person attempting to use these while holding auditions as a beginner to the industry.
Last but not least, being overly protective of your material is generally speaking a sign of a beginner. It is justified if you are producing The Dark Knight with however big budget but not necessarily so with an indie production of a beginner movie maker. In fact, some publicity might do you good, you never know who will want to get involved with your project.
Ideas are cheap, execution is everything!
Thx
You should consider spending the bucks to both register your script with the WGA and copyright it if you fear someone is after your ideas.
Does your material have a proven track record of making money before in the same or another media? If not, no studio will bother with it to begin with. As a Hollywood producer once told me, "the studios don't care how original or perfect a script is written. All they care about is what is it's track record for making money in the past?" So, they're not out to steal your stuff unless you wrote the script to Avatar or something like that.
See if you can find a lawyer to take advantage of an initial free first visit or a big discount over their regular fees for a first visit to talk it over.
Part of NDAs lawyers drafted for me required stamping "Confidential" on all sensitive material. Usually, my former lawyers never worried about NDAs if the script was registered with WGA and copyrighted with the US Copyright Office and they were overly paranoid about too much to the point of breaking too many deals that should have been signed deals.
Does your material have a proven track record of making money before in the same or another media? If not, no studio will bother with it to begin with. As a Hollywood producer once told me, "the studios don't care how original or perfect a script is written. All they care about is what is it's track record for making money in the past?" So, they're not out to steal your stuff unless you wrote the script to Avatar or something like that.
See if you can find a lawyer to take advantage of an initial free first visit or a big discount over their regular fees for a first visit to talk it over.
Part of NDAs lawyers drafted for me required stamping "Confidential" on all sensitive material. Usually, my former lawyers never worried about NDAs if the script was registered with WGA and copyrighted with the US Copyright Office and they were overly paranoid about too much to the point of breaking too many deals that should have been signed deals.
Yeah, obviously practitioners don't advertise the fact, otherwise why have them sign it at all. But it serves as a deterrent. Also, it's not uncommon for the receptionist/nurse at a doctor's office to be a notary. Every bank has a notary present at all times (which is great because it's a free notary if you've got an account, usually), too.