How Can a Lawyer Become a Producer? by Lawyer Micahel Weiss
http://www.lacba.org/Files/LAL/Vol33No3/2707.pdf
TWO WOULD-BE TELEVISION PRODUCERS consult an entertainment
lawyer regarding a reality show they seek to develop. During the initial
meeting with the duo, the lawyer realizes that his prospective clients
have no credits, no pending offers, no significant contacts, no family
in the business, no money, and no real idea of how to get their reality
show concept off the ground. The lawyer wonders why the two
are seeking legal representation. They reply that agents, managers, and
networks have refused to meet with them because of their lack of credits.
The lawyer now is sure that he is the only accessible link in the
entertainment chain for these novices.
The lawyer starts brainstorming with his
prospective clients and spends nearly an hour
building a show concept. The lawyer provides
talent suggestions, recommends showrunners
to attach, offers likely budget forecasts, explains
the difference between shooting a character reel
and a presentation, gives his take on which networks
to approach, and tells them how to
prepare the written materials they need for
pitching and building a show bible. The more the lawyer talks, the
more the prospective clients modify their idea.
Ultimately, the lawyer knows that if this project is going to have
any chance, the would-be producers are going to need someone to
guide them through every facet of the industry. All of a sudden, the
entertainment lawyer becomes the show?s coproducer.
Michael J. Weiss is a partner in the law firm of Abrams Garfinkel Margolis
Bergson, LLP, where he specializes in the representation of writers, actors,
directors, and producers in entertainment litigation and transactions.
