Deal Memos

[Philip J. Martinez SOC]

Deal Memos

 

How do you guy?s feel about these 2 parts in a deal memo I was asked to sign?

 

?Employee?s services shall be rendered on an exclusive basis from all periods required by producer unless otherwise specified in this deal Memo.?

 

?Producer is under no obligation to commence principal photography as scheduled and may advance or delay Employee?s start date in its sole discretion?

 

I sent them this. Am I making to big a deal about this?

 

?I respectfully refuse to sign any document stating these parameters.?

[Robert Starling SOC]

?I respectfully refuse to sign any document stating these parameters.?

 

Rather than "refuse" you could have offered a compromise that was a "solution" to the objectionable language rather than an absolute refusal which sounds like you could potentially be viewed as inflexible in general. (not saying you are and I'm not defending the producer's terms)

 

It's your right to accept or decline work; but most contractural language is fairly boilerplate and is rarely set in stone. It could be as simple as asking what are your concerns related to this language in the document and these are my concerns as to how that may relate to me; how do we find something in the middle that we're both comfortable with?

 

You don't mention how it was presented to you either? Take it or leave it? Here, we need you to fill out these papers?

 

I went through a negotiation with Remote Productions, Inc. (MTV Networks) this week where they objected to about ten items in my rental and aerial camera op agreement; some mattered to me and some did not and we worked through it. There was only one absolute no in what they requested and that was that the terms of the agreement were subject to Nevada law. They wanted NY law, but I stood my ground there. I'm a Nevada company, the gear is based in Nevada and the job was in Nevada. It was all respectful and we compromised on the other nine points; most boilerplate and most didn't even apply. On the other hand, a lot of large companies can be very heavy handed and the nice person who called you about the job lives under the rules of their company's Legal or Risk Management department.