Talent Lawyer LA

MMA Law – A word of advice…

The MMA industry has spawned a burgeoning area of law which is discretely linked to boxing law. Although there are many crossovers between the two sports in terms of regulations, there is also a significant difference in that many boxing regulations do not apply to Mixed Martial Arts. Drug and Doping requirements are quite different and regulations in relation to the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act which protects Boxers by restricting the types of contracts they are allowed to sign with promoters/managers do not necessarily apply to MMA fighters. There is no national governing body for the MMA sports and the sanctioning bodies that have been established thus far do not have clear, credible objective methods of rating fighters or establishing methods of protecting them. The end result is that it is a completely unregulated sport and complete caution must be used when entering into agreements.

Screenplay Option Agreements – A Vehicle for the Writer to be Director

Screenplay Option Agreements are an important aspect of the movie-production process.  Many writers in independent films often want to also be the director in order to further their artistic endeavor.  However, before that process is begun the film must be financed, developed, produced, and showed. This becomes the producer’s job and the agreement between both parties is embodied in the Screenplay Option Agreement. In this type of agreement the writer agrees to complete a screenplay for a certain consideration (cash or percentage points), and Producer agrees to have the exclusive and irrevocable option to purchase Full Motion Picture Rights. This agreement is also the vehicle which can be used to give the Writer a chance to be the Director of the motion picture.  Below is a SAMPLE Screenplay Option Agreement with a clause entered into the second paragraph for the purposes of achieving a writer/director option.

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