Please forgive me if I get too wordy. My situation is a bit odd. A close friend (and ex boss) asked me to help him write his memoir years ago. He was the first person to freeze a human being, under controlled conditions, in the field f cryonics back in 1967. He froze more people, but soon learned that keeping them frozen was really really hard. It's a rather insane story. The book was published back in 2014, but prior to that, the story was featured on the radio show, This American Life. We started getting film offers right away. Steve Zaillian and Errol Morris pitched it to Mandate Pictures, and they picked up the option for a narrative film. Mind you, I was not on that contract. My friend, Bob, owned the book, and I was paid 25% through our literary agent. Zaillian ended up purchasing the option from Mandate. He wanted to direct it, so he dropped Errol. Errol had a writer pen the first version of the screenplay. Unfortunately Zaillian sat on it for ten years. Bob stuck with him anyway. Before the last option year my friend passed away. Yes, he's frozen now. His widow, Mert, asked me to handle the project. She also offered me 10% of whatever she earned from it. I dropped Zaillian and got four new offers, including Errol Morris. We ended up going with Errol. It turns out that he hated the first screenplay, so he hired another writer. After a year passed and that screenplay was completed, Errol hated that one too. I was starting to feel a little desperate. In an attempt to get Errol to keep the most recent screenplay, I wrote a new beginning and modified a key scene. Well, to my shock he asked me to write a new screenplay. I suppose it makes sense, as I'm intimately familiar with the story and the main character. I reminded him that I've never written a screenplay before, but he didn't give it a second thought. To bring all this stuff up to date, I just finished the first draft a few days ago. I did the whole thing using free Microsoft Word knockoff. That should pretty much inform you of my current financial situation. LOL. Anyway, Errol's production company purchased Final Draft for me so I can format it properly, ans we can collaborate. Here's the catch; I'm already contracted with Errol as a technical advisor. My compensation is the 10% I mentioned. If Errol likes what I've written, and we move forward with it, I have no Idea what to ask for compensation. I'm a retired electronics technician, I'm not looking to make a killing, but I do occasionally enjoy eating something better than Hamburger Helper. I have so much time and love invested in this story that my number one priority is to get the damn film made before I assume room temperature. Any advise would be very much appreciated.
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As usual, in the film industry, the answer is...it depends. There's a lot that goes into making one film.
For an initial sale of one screenplay, screenwriters get anywhere from 1% to 3% of the budget. Between 1% and 2% being the average. If, and only if, there is a budget. For films that have zero budget, then, of course, your payment is zero.
After a film is made, there are residuals, which is a paid agreement to reuse a screenwriter's credit. If you have sole credit, as in you're the only one who wrote the screenplay, you get 100% of the agreed percentage of revenue. Depending on the revenue the film gets, that could be anywhere from thousands of dollars per scheduled payment to zero.
If a screenwriter gets hired to write a feature screenplay, depending on budget and agreements, well, the one-time payment could be anything from hundreds of dollars to thousands.
However, all that info might be irrelevant. Have you registered the copyright? Do you have permission? Signed agreement? Contact? Possibly a lawyer...?
Wow, amazing. I can't answer any of your questions but hoping to see it made. Tell them to pay up! ;)
Sometimes I have to pinch myself to assure myself that all of this real. I try to take precautions. I was able to procure an experienced Hollywood attorney to help negotiate the book to film deal and to write up the contract. He was kind enough to work on a small retainer, and then to finish paying him with the option money. It ended up being $9,000 out of the $10,000 option, but it was wort it. Back in 2013 we obtained a literary agent, Steven Fisher, with APA.for the book. He got it published for us. Steven also specializes in book to film deals. I just left messages with both of them to see which one would be appropriate to handle my unusual situation, or perhaps recommend an agent that is more specific to my needs.
Another interesting twist to my little journey is that the friend I wrote the book about was a TV repairman when he was thrust into the crazy world of cryonics. I worked for him for years as a TV repairmen, and then I was thrust into the world of Hollywood. Nobody would ever write this story because it's too unbelievable.
I was thinking that if Errol Morris goes with my screenplay, I would ask him to give me the points and pay the fee for me to join the AWA as my compensation. I've been fortunate to network with some good people in the industry, and I have good representation. I love to write. Who knows. This could lead to some future work. Of course it's all contingent upon Errol using my work and getting a reasonably successful film done. I'm optimistic, though. Errol is very passionate about the story. He sees it as his ultimate opportunity to do his most creative and innovative work, and this man is an innovator. He single-handedly changed how documentaries are made.If it doesn't work out, I'll start creating some innovative recipes for Alpo.
Check out this piece I put together about compensation; https://www.scriptrevolution.com/blog/a-screenwriter%E2%80%99s-basic-guide-to-analysing-early-offers
Consider that, if you were starting a business with someone and doing the bulk of the actual work, would you do it for 10% of profits that may or may not ever materialise?
Yeah, CJ makes a very valid point. If I were doing the bulk of the work, apart from the initial sale of a screenplay, I would probably ask for producer credit and at least 50% of all revenue, at the minimum.
Hi Lily and Mr. Walley. I just read the link you posted. It's very helpful. I also just got off the phone with my literary agent. He was surprised by the arrangement between Errol Morris and myself in that I hired Errol to do the film based a book that I co-authored, and he hired me to do the screenplay. He said that compensation should have been negotiated before I started working on the screenplay. I've already finished the first draft. It took me four months, but that's not working every day. Errol's assistant offered to help me mold what I've written into a film before we give it to Errol to read. What I have is good, but reads a bit like an audio book. What can I say, it's my first attempt at a scree play. My agent (Steve Fisher at APA) says that I need to work out compensation before I hand it over to Errol. He also offered to represent me if needed. I feel a bit awkward about asking for money, but your link is helping me to work through that. Thanks!
Lily, 50% seems like a lot. Of course I don't know. My main concern is getting the film made, but of course I'd like to be compensated for my work. I'm on a fixed income, so cash is good. As for the copyright, that's a little confusing as well. I co-authored the book that I'm adapting, but I don't own the rights to the boo. The owner has passed away, so I took over making a book to film deal in his place. His wife is giving me 10% of what she gets from the film. Errol has an 18 month option on the book. Can I copyright an adaption?
For one producer, 50% of revenue is within the norm. Of course, if there is any revenue. If, long after the film gets made, and it doesn't make any revenue, then you would get 0%. Residual payments are always 100% to the writer. If there's more than one writer, then it gets divided evenly. Try not to get too overwhelmed with numbers. Aim for the norms, and whatever works best for you. The worst that could happen here is nothing.
Just to complicate matters further, 50% of the producer's share is typically actually 25% of the overall share, as profit is often split 50/50 with the financier - and guess what, there are plenty of people who get a piece of the pie before going into the black. I suggest researching "the waterfall" for more information on how that all works, as a book could be written on it.
10% of the wife's revenue is a none deal to me. This is a very common offer and basically drills down to "If you do the work and I get rich, I'll give you scraps".
Worthwhile participation deals are generally quite hard to get and are subject to being a producer.
This is effectively a sale based on existing IP. The value is all down to supply and demand, and with only one party interested, they effectively dictate the worth. Assuming this would be a low-budget indie film, WGA union rates suggest a fee of between $13K and $26K.