I've been asked to write a man's life story on spec. There is no money in place and possibly this will never be produced so I'm wondering what kind of contract I should use.
My first thought is that I will draft an agreement where I am given his life rights to write a screenplay and treatment. Then it will state that I will hold the copyright on the material once it is written. But he will have permission to "shop" it around in order to produce it.
But here's where I'm stumped -If someone is interested in producing it I will require payment. Should I ask for a WGA contract up front in my agreement? This may hinder his sales pitch. Should I say that if a company is interested in this they will have to negotiate with me for the rights before moving forward?
Also, what kind of agreement should we have about his life rights once he's trying to sell it? Seems to me the only way he'll make any money on this is to sell his life rights, correct?
Thanks,
-Josh
My first thought is that I will draft an agreement where I am given his life rights to write a screenplay and treatment. Then it will state that I will hold the copyright on the material once it is written. But he will have permission to "shop" it around in order to produce it.
But here's where I'm stumped -If someone is interested in producing it I will require payment. Should I ask for a WGA contract up front in my agreement? This may hinder his sales pitch. Should I say that if a company is interested in this they will have to negotiate with me for the rights before moving forward?
Also, what kind of agreement should we have about his life rights once he's trying to sell it? Seems to me the only way he'll make any money on this is to sell his life rights, correct?
Thanks,
-Josh