Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements
Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements
Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson, The Clear Choice in Film and Television Streaming Service Agreement Contracts and Entertainment Lawyers
An Exciting Time For Film and Television Projects
Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson will tell anyone willing to listen, there has never been a more exciting time for film and television production companies looking to produce and pitch film projects and television scripted and unscripted limited and unlimited dramatic and reality series to streamers like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, HBO, HBO Max, Hulu and the BBC, not to mention Disney Plus, Peacock, Discovery Plus, Paramount Plus, and Apple TV.
If that’s not enough for producers, directors and writers to get excited about, there’s still the networks, other players in Britain, and can it be long before we see Facebook and other social media companies joining the streaming revolution and reaching out to film and television producers for content.
No matter what type of TV project you have, a dramatic or reality television show, a limited series or one that could seemingly go for 6 or more seasons depending upon how successful it is and whether a franchise or universe could be built around it, there has never been a better time to be developing a television series project or to pitch it to Amazon Prime Video.
With streamers like Netflix holding the purse strings however, the streamer essentially pays talent handsomely and a premium over production costs in return for wanting to retain most of the worldwide rights. In essence, the production company signs away the majority of future revenue opportunities to the company for a larger payment up front.
A production company that would otherwise make money through licensing deals, syndication and by other means such as merchandising and product placement will for the most part not be able to reap the rewards they would otherwise do so if the show is a big hit.
Even that larger payment up front to a producer doesn’t necessarily mean a production company will make a profit after the first season of a television series. That’s because of the costs a streamer will either deduct, such as a fee for distribution of a show, or because of the obligations a streamer may put on a producer to pay such items as residuals to talent when the episodes are shown on the streaming service’s platform.
While a production company may negotiate a bonus if a show is renewed for subsequent seasons, such bonuses simply are not nearly as lucrative for a producer as would be if the production company had retained all the rights.
To retain more of the rights to licensing and syndicating and profiting from their projects, they will need to pursue independent projects that offer a better shot at reaping the rewards for a successful project. The trouble with that plan while the pandemic continues to rage is that with theaters closed and networks becoming less and less relevant, streamers are almost the only game in town at present.
The advantages of working with a streamer for the most part is that the streamer takes a hands-off approach and lets the production company make the project they want to make once it is greenlit. Additionally, the production company has less risk and less riding on the project if it’s a failure even if that means the potential for a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for a successful project is only a tin cup with some silver.
Despite these issues in dealing with streaming services, what we are witnessing right now is truly only the beginning of a golden age of content production for film and television producers of scripted and reality series and streamers that will drive a creative environment in every facet of the film and television industry for generations to come.
Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson
With law degrees in both California and Great Britain and over 40 years of combined practice in California and London, Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson is the entertainment attorney to turn to for film and television projects being produced in the U.S. and the U.K.
Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson has been named a Top Lawyer for the past 12 years in a row by the prestigious Palm Springs Life Magazine and has been rated “Superb” (their highest rating) by Avvo which rates attorneys all across the U.S. He has been called “Brilliant” and “A Legend” and is recognized as a celebrity lawyer in the U.S. and the U.K. having been asked to appear on Fox News as well as ITV National News in London as such.
As an experienced entertainment lawyer in California with law degrees both in California and Great Britain and over 40 years of practice both in California and in London, one is constantly headhunted for positions such as Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs for a film and television studio or production company, or some other position with an exalted title which essentially means the lawyer will work long hours each week and rarely see the light of day.
The problem with taking any positions like that is 1) you’re generally required to work in Los Angeles, which with it’s traffic and other issues is basically a pit and 2) you’re expected to take the side of the entertainment entity against creative people when drafting or negotiating contracts with them, and 3) even if you represent the creative people, you can’t afford the time to truly assist them with their legal concerns, or be of help to them with the creative aspects of their work.
But even more important than those drawbacks is that when you’re working for an entertainment conglomerate or even a small production company, you generally have no input in the creative side of the business. Not that most attorneys have had experience making films or a TV series (though many are frustrated musicians), but for those who have a creative background, it’s a rare situation where an entertainment head of legal affairs is able to have any part in the creative decisions for the entity.
An entertainment attorney at a large entertainment law firm isn’t in a much better position. Large entertainment law firms who represent large entertainment companies similarly hire lawyers to follow strict marching orders of the senior partners. An attorney who wants to be involved in the creative side of entertainment clients in film, television, publishing, modeling, music, art or any other aspect of entertainment is rarely able to do so. An attorney in a large entertainment law firm in most cases isn’t even allowed to contribute to the law firm’s website.
It’s the attorneys in more boutique entertainment law firms or solo practitioners who have the ability to pick and choose their clients. Such attorneys can refuse to take untenable positions foisted on them by senior partners. They can have outside interests or their own entertainment projects and by doing so gain valuable experience. But most importantly, they are not just attorneys but counselors as attorneys are meant to be.
An attorney without the leash that comes with a big law firm is able to work independently and more creatively. They are able to spend the time, even without charging a client if they wish to do so, to do whatever it takes to help a client the most to get a great project created, developed and produced rather than to simply produce something mediocre because that what a large entertainment conglomerate feels has worked for them in the past.
The client who feels so lucky to have a streaming service or a network or cable channel interested in their project and who will take any type of offer made to them either with an attorney’s advice or without, is throwing away their chance to truly participate in the profits of their project simply in the hopes that by taking the first offer made to them will 1) show they’re easy to work with or 2) lead to more work down the road at which time they can hold out for a better deal on the next project. And an attorney who advises them to take a bad offer is not worth the money they charge for that advice.
California Entertainment Attorney Sebastian Gibson thinks differently. This could be your one shot at recognition, and for a fair share for creating, writing, directing, producing or being a showrunner on a brilliant project, and even if it is not, you’re short changing yourself when you agree to work for less than what’s fair for your creative and inspired work.
Work with an attorney you can have faith in to stick up for you, who will be at your side when you need them and who is as involved in your project as you are. Choose an attorney who recognizes what you’ve created, what you can add to a great project, and whose guidance and creative abilities can be of value to you rather than someone who just plays with legalese and numbers.
When considering who to retain to represent you, your endeavors or your project in entertainment, the right attorney can make all the difference. The right choice is California entertainment lawyer Sebastian Gibson.
The Combined Budgets of Streaming Services Like Amazon and Their Thirst for Studio Space
It can easily be estimated that over the next four years, the combined budgets of streaming services like Amazon could very well range between $200 and $250 billion for original content.
Amazon’s Prime Video service’s budget alone was expected to be $7 billion on original content in 2020.
Once Netflix tied up the studios at Shepperton, Surrey, outside London, U.K. became even more booked up before for film production causing a race for new space to be built.
Disney-Fox has a ten-year deal to make movies at Pinewood Studios in the U.K. and that means Amazon, Apple TV and other streamers and production companies are competing to find available stages for their projects.
But land in London and Southeast England is hard to come by and is extremely expensive. While the industry would like to see the film industry less centered around London, investors are somewhat more wary of committing to financing locations father away from the English capital.
In 2020, plans for the development of Ashford International Film Studios in Kent, England were approved. The project which includes 240,000 square feet of production space will be built on a 13-acre site at Kent’s derelict Newtown Railway Works. It will also feature a media village an educational center and a hotel.
The studios project in Kent is advantageously located close to the Ashford Eurostar stop, which provides links with Netflix’s European hub in Amsterdam and France’s TF1 television network.
But building new studios takes time. As an example, the project in Kent isn’t expected to open until early 2022.
T.C.D.I., an investment company which purchased a significant interest in Twickenham Studios hopes to open 1m square feet of production space by 2024 by expanding Twickenham, in Richmond, London and at new facilities in Liverpool by investing a significant amount of funds in new UK studio space.
Another project in the works is Eastbrook Studios in Daggenham, in East London which when built, will house up to 12 sound stages and prop workshops on a 22-acre former factory site. Filming is hoped to start at the Daggenham studios in mid-2022.
Screenwriter and director Steven Knight who was born in Birmingham has been working for years to develop a multi million pound Birmingham media village comprising of film and TV studios, and space for houses, bars and restaurants in Digbeth, an area in the center of the city. Central to the project will be his Mercian studios for television and film production.
As Knight among others have known for some time, for many years, filmmakers and production companies have been coming to the UK because of the talent in every facet of production. There’s a significant tax break for overseas film-makers, and while there are other locations with bigger tax breaks, Britain’s talent and locations are hugely attractive to production companies, both domestic and foreign.
The BBC has studios in London and also in Cardiff, Wales where they’ve produced Doctor Who and Sherlock for instance.
And Belfast did serve perfectly, however, as the base for HBO’s Game of Thrones and Belfast Harbour Studios has more than 120,000 square feet of space for studios, workshops and offices.
Screenwriter and director Steven Knight who was born in Birmingham has been working for years to develop a multi million pound Birmingham media village comprising of film and TV studios, and space for houses, bars and restaurants in Digbeth, an area in the center of the city. Central to the project will be his Mercian studios for television and film production.
As Knight among others have known for some time, for many years, filmmakers and production companies have been coming to the UK because of the talent in every facet of production. There’s a significant tax break for overseas film-makers, and while there are other locations with bigger tax breaks, Britain’s talent and locations are hugely attractive to production companies, both domestic and foreign.
Entertainment Attorney Sebastian Gibson
With offices in Palm Desert, in the Palm Springs area, in Newport Beach in the Orange County community of Corona del Mar, and operating from our location near Malibu outside of Los Angeles and serving London from our meeting location in Shoreditch, we represent international entertainment clients and their projects and endeavors throughout the world.
Whether your endeavors are in film or television, producing, directing, acting, writing or creating, or in music, publishing, modeling, sports or in theatrical productions, Entertainment Attorney Sebastian Gibson is the right choice for all of your needs.
Some Examples of Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Developed and Pitched to Amazon Prime Video
Bosch
An example of allowing a studio to obtain an option for far too long a period of time, is the option by author Michael Connelly in 1995 of the film rights to the character of Harry Bosch to Paramount Pictures for fifteen years.
For 15 years, the main character of Connelly’s books, Harry Bosch was tied up without any projects being developed based on the character. When in January 2010, the 15-year option expired, Connelly had a one-year window to buy back the rights by paying the studio for “all out-of-pocket costs, advances and payments” incurred, plus interest.
To make matters more tortured, in March 2010, Connelly sued the studio in order to acquire an accurate accounting of how much Paramount had spent on development. Finally in October 2010, Connelly bought back the rights to his own character so Harry Bosch could have a life on TV.
Bosch, as a TV dramatic series came to life when in December 2011 Swedish television producer Henrik Bastin met with Connelly at a hotel for a long breakfast. Connelly had one major stipulation – every shot of the series would have to be filmed in Los Angeles. Bastin agreed.
In 2012, Connelly and Bastin met with writer/producer Eric Overmyer, who became showrunner. Connelly then partnered with Fuse Entertainment and writer-producer Eric Overmyer.
Instead of first pitching the show and then waiting for reactions, they created a show bible and Overmyer wrote the script. The script was sent out to studios and networks in November 2012.
After a Yankees spring training game in Tampa, Connelly was talking to Larry Kirshbaum, former CEO of Time Warner Book Group which owns Connelly’s publisher, Little, Brown and who was now head of Amazon’s publishing arm, and asked Connelly what he was up to. After Connelly told him, Kirshbaum went back and told Roy Price who was head of Amazon Studios.
The next thing to occur was that Joe Lewis, head of drama and comedy development at Amazon Studios called. Lewis met with Connelly and Bastin to request they not pitch the project to any other studios and asked them to produce the series for Amazon.
Although Amazon assured Connelly and Overmyer that Amazon would provide the money to have the series made exactly as they wanted and greenlighted Bosch for production, after the pilot was filmed in 2013, the series was not picked up for a ten episode series until after the pilot showed on Amazon in February 2014.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Pitching a television series to a network or streamer is normally a process fraught with nerves, with extensive preparation of scripts or bibles, all followed by interminable delays before one hears the verdict, pass or fail. But sometimes, it can happen on the spur of the moment and with total ease, except with what follows after a studio says, great, and the pitch made on the spur of the moment is all you have.
Such was the case with the pitch for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to Amazon Studios.
Head of Amazon Studios, is former NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke. She is normally seated in an anteroom to her office when she takes pitch meetings with writers, producers, and directors.
When writer, director, and producer Amy Sherman-Palladino was invited to have a meeting with Amazon executives and spontaneously threw out a pitch about a ‘50s housewife navigating the Greenwich Village comedy scene, the brass said to go and write it.
But what do you do when that spur of the moment idea is literally all you have? You write The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Head of Amazon Studios, former NBC Entertainment president Jennifer Salke clearly knows talent when she sees it like writer and actor Phoebe Waller- Bridge who created “Fleabag” a co-production between BBC Three and Amazon Studios and who was the head writer and executive producer for the first series of Killing Eve.
Phoebe Waller- Bridge will now reportedly be getting $20 million a year to create and produce new television content for Amazon to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Fleabag
There are few television series which originate as did Fleabag.
In short, “Fleabag” began as a one-woman show performed by Phoebe Waller- Bridge at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2013 and which centers around a dry-witted, grief-riddled and promiscuous British woman living in London.
But there is much more to how this series on Amazon came to be about a flirtatious woman living in London grappling with depression, some habitual lying, an empty bank account, a passion for casual sex, and no small amount of grief which can somehow still make the viewer roll over with laughter.
Even before it began as a monologue play, which Waller-Bridge performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the U.K., it began with Phoebe Waller-Bridge graduating from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Even before that, she’d performed a 10-minute monologue at a local fringe festival that gave birth to “Fleabag,” that dark-humored, naughty, sexually voracious, unapologetic, and broken woman who would eventually captivate viewers on Amazon and BBC Three, but it would take a Kickstarter campaign to allow the Waller-Bridge-led one-woman show to happen and be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
To raise funds from the Kickstarter campaign, Waller-Bridge and Vicky Jones her partner and co-Artistic Director of DryWrite who directed the show described it in these words: “Today I’m going to be a new person. No more slutty pizzas. No more porny wanks. Lot’s more lovely threesomes. Go. The Fleabag bites back. A rip-roaring account of some sort of a female living some sort of life in some sort of city.”
The play won an Edinburgh Fringe First award and that Kickstarter campaign description became the essence of what the stage play and later the TV adaptation would come to look like.
In 2016, BBC Three announced its plans to develop Waller-Bridge’s play into a half-hour comedy. Amazon came on as co-producer for the second season which premiered in 2019.
Jack Reacher TV Series
Amazon is reportedly developing a TV series based on the Jack Reacher character after author James Grant writing under the pen name Lee Child regained the rights to his work and shopped it around to various networks and streaming services with the intention of developing a series with an actor who more closely resembled the character in his books.
To that end, Child has reportedly been adamant that the character of Reacher should be someone well over six feet tall and, as described in the books, with hands as large as dinner plates.
Amazon Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Lawyer Sebastian Gibson
At the Law Offices of Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Lawyer Sebastian Gibson, we specialize in all facets of entertainment law. With expertise in film and television as well as acting, publishing, modeling, music, stage productions, celebrity representation, and international entertainment matters, Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Lawyer Sebastian Gibson is the attorney to turn to for all your entertainment matters worldwide.
Having performed internationally on the stage and national television as a musician and singer with an Oscar nominated actress, then later as a songwriter, screen writer, author of a musical and as a published author, and finally with a strong interest in the law, it was always natural California entertainment attorney Sebastian Gibson would become an acclaimed and sought after entertainment lawyer.
Today California entertainment lawyer Sebastian Gibson provides creative and legal advice to artists and producers in California, across the U.S., in England, Wales and throughout Great Britain, and worldwide.
As an experienced entertainment lawyer in California and England, attorney Sebastian Gibson’s primary interest is in assisting the most talented individuals to gain recognition and the creative aspect of bringing quality projects to fruition across the entire spectrum of entertainment from film, cable, streaming, television, documentary, music video and animation productions to screen writing, acting, performing live, stage productions and musicals, world tours, songwriting, publishing, modeling, fashion design, sports, creative art, and artist representation.
California Entertainment Attorney Sebastian Gibson remains committed to the representation of artists, writers, musicians, models, artists, designers, writers, directors and producers throughout the entertainment industry in the U.S., the U.K., and worldwide.
As a respected writer and published author, Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Lawyer Sebastian Gibson also continues to providing cutting edge articles on the entertainment industry, some of which may serve as an outline for a series of courses to be taught in a major university’s entertainment curriculum.
Focused as he is on current and future developments in the entertainment industry, today one of the most exciting developments is the current golden age in the production of limited dramatic scripted series and reality television for streaming services which are fast becoming the lifeblood of the film and television market and which is creating a golden age of creativity that will last for decades to come.
While Covid-19 restrictions and safety precautions have significantly limited film and television production and severely limited concerts, live performances and world tours, Sebastian Gibson continues to assist artists and producers to bring their talent, their creations and projects to a world starved for a return to what was once normal in our lives.
Content produced on streaming services, whether scripted dramatic television, reality shows or streaming musical performances can never fully replace what was once normal in our lives, but they can in some small but important measure help to remind us of what we long for and what we were able to enjoy when we could safely socialize, take in a movie at a theater or attend a live concert, or even simply to listen to some live music in a restaurant or go to a stage show.
By fostering such creative content to be produced, Film Reality and Dramatic Scripted Limited TV Series Agreements Attorney Sebastian Gibson hopes some measure of hope can be brought to everyone grappling with the effects of this terrible pandemic.
