Lead Actress Quit - Need Legal Advice, Please Help

I had a falling out the with lead actress of my film and she quit. I don't mind so much that she quit, because we only filmed a few small scenes and the project wasn't really going anywhere anyway.

What I'm concerned about is the rights to the footage. Unfortunately, I didn't have her sign anything yet. And now she is saying I have no rights to use anything and she wants everything removed online with her in it. She also said to release the footage to her, so I'm guessing that means she wants the footage too.

Am I legally obligated to honor all her requests? Do I have any rights to the footage at all?

Thanks
 
If It were me I would remove the footage from online and cease all contact with her.
If a plant has a diseased branch you should prune it.
 
"The person holding the camera owns the rights". That's how the copywrite law is interpreted, unless a WRITTEN agreement stating otherwise is in effect. Assuming that YOU (the producer) have an agreement transferring all rights to you by the DP, then all she can do is prevent you from exploiting her image. But either way, she has ZERO control over the disposition of the footage. Incidentally, PETA's "Monkey Selfie" case was based on the "person holding the camera" principle. The courts found that a primate (crested macaque) was not a "person". Gee. But in the interest of simplicity, SFoster has the right idea. Remove everything, tell her that all identifiable footage of her has been removed, and put her on "ignore". Don't answer any further, don't offer any explanations, don't justify your actions. The less you say, the less she can use against you. And DON'T badmouth her to anyone else. If asked for a reference, just say you wouldn't work with her in the future.
 
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But either way, she has ZERO control over the disposition of the footage.

That's not entirely correct. If you significantly switch the intended performance, she might. There was a case a few years back that had the producer failed to get the actors to sign over her moral rights, she could have blocked a film she appeared in.
 
Do you need to pull the footage offline...yes. Without a signed release you can't do anything with the footage. It's dead. BUT. She doesn't own the footage either, and you are under no obligation whatsoever to give it to her. You might consider selling it to her, since the footage now has no value to you. Interesting....
 
If the film is for "news/documentary" purposes, it can be used in certain limited cases. But for "entertainment" product she can sue if there is no signed release. In the U.S., programs such as "Dateline", "48 Hours", and "60 Minutes" look like documentaries, but they are still "entertainment" shows, and require signed releases. Lawyers are fine if you have $300/hr...is it worth it?
 
Professional insurance?.....There's another expense on top of the $300 lawyer. How many no budget indie filmmakers have insurance, permits, and lawyers? Not many. Common sense and budget prevails. If the raw footage has no value in a finished project, why spend a nickle to own it?
 
No need to be snarky. I expected you'd understand I'm talking about the insurance the lawyer holds.

You're assuming the footage has no value due to your limited legal knowledge. If that is in fact incorrect and the guy doesn't need to go to the added time and expense of reshooting all the scenes that have already been done, do you think that or his own peace of mind may be worth the consultancy fee?
 
In the original post he said that "it doesn't really matter because the film was going nowhere anyway"... If a person can afford to spend $500 for "peace of mind", go for it. The footage is still worth zero.
 
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