Part XLIII- When is a Screenwriting Contract NOT a Contract?

Some time ago, I engaged in a long negotiation with an overseas production company- Templeheart Films based out of London, England, and their principle, Lyndon Baldock- regarding developing a new concept, storyline and horror screenplay. This relationship was a long time in development for me at Shark-Eating Man Productions, as we had done several smaller jobs, pro bono, along the way. I counted Templeheart producers and their stable of actors and directors and other producers as good friends, and we seemed to enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutual support for a couple of years, at least. Lyndon and I Skyped on several occasions; he seemed like a straight-shooting, trustful fellow, very pleasant and seemingly easy to work with. I immediately felt comfortable about the new business relationship and was excited about the future of the screenwriter/producer partnership.

A contract was submitted to me, and while the money was not what I’m used to, this wasn’t about the money at all. I was looking long-term and working with a reputable producer.

One benefit was that I was able to bring along a couple of writer friends and give them credit as well, giving them their first produced writing credit, and this was exciting for me. I always find it a thrill to help others achieve their goals whenever possible.

Outside of the compensation, the contract stated some very hard dates regarding deadlines, and penalties should those deadlines be missed; penalties for the writers being late, and penalties for the production company being late in payments and/or notes. These are fairly common protection clauses, and the contract was reviewed by attorneys on both sides of the agreement.

This contract was signed in May 2015.

After a few weeks, and some brainstorming with the other writers, we came up with two very strong storylines, and submitted one- a completed script- which Lyndon loved, much to our pleasant surprise. He emailed me explaining that he will review further and submit notes immediately. It should be noted that the first draft was written and forwarded for review PRIOR TO ever receiving the down payment to start the project- which I NEVER do.

I waited…and waited. No notes were forthcoming.

I sent a reminder email regarding the notes; still no response.

Also in reviewing the contract again, I noted that if the Mr. Baldock did not respond with notes within an eight-week time period, the draft submitted is considered final and acceptable, rendering the contract completed and making all payment immediately due.

After TEN weeks of NO contact, NO feedback notes, and, most importantly, NO down payment paid- I fired off an email to Mr. Baldock requesting immediate payment of the down payment and the payment in full for the contract, outlining where he and his production company breached his own rules:

"The engagement shall commence on the 12th of June 2015 (the “Starting Date”). ?????????????????

1.1??The Writer shall deliver the First Draft to the Company as soon as is reasonably practicable but in any event not later than six (6) weeks from the Starting Date and in this respect time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.

1.2???The Company may within six (6) weeks from delivery of the First Draft give written notes to the Writer following which the Writer shall deliver to the Company the First Draft Revisions as soon as is reasonably practicable but in any event not later than three (3) weeks from the date of the said notes and in this respect time shall be of the essence of this Agreement.

1.1????The sum of $xx,xxx payable as to $xx,xxx on the delivery of the First Draft and $xx,xxx on approval of the Shooting Draft or if no revisions are requested by Company six (6) weeks following delivery of the First Draft; and..."

In summary, Mr. Baldock failed to fulfill ANY of his legally promised obligations per the signed contract created by his own company’s attorneys. He failed to meet any of the deadlines HE set, and he failed to make any of the payments as promised. Eventually, the down payment was wired to my bank through a bank transfer, but this was months after the fact, and weeks after the deadline.

Now, I was requesting payment in full, per the contract.

What was Lyndon Baldock and Templeheart Films response to this request? They simply recreated a second contract, with NEW due dates and requested I sign that.

Well, naturally, you can imagine what I told them. Mr. Baldock was no longer interested in Skyping with me. In his effort to get me to sign the revised contract, he stated “Let me know if you prefer something else and we'll see if we can agree to?something.”

I told him what I prefer is that the other contract be satisfied, i.e. paid off as contractually obligated, before I’d even consider entering into another agreement. Needless to say, he balked. He took "our" script, and hadn’t spoken to us since.

Now, many will say “sue the bastards!” Quite difficult to do when you’re talking about another country, and they know this, which is why I handle out-of-country agreements quite differently these days.

A signed contract isn’t necessarily a signed contract, unless, of course, you’re willing and prepared to chase it all the way in court at great expense. This is a slam-dunk winner, but far too costly and not worth it to me. So I wrote about it instead.

NEXT WEEK: When is a Screenwriting Contract NOT a Contract, Part II

This Week's Promo - L.E. Wilson, and her blog "Life Lessons From Movies"

L.E. Wilson has created a unique perspective on movies, and now blogs about it in her WordPress blog, "Life Lessons in Movies" (https://moviewise.wordpress.com/). Using movie stories, L.E. breaks down the heart of many of the fan favorites and defines their theme, and how it can be used in teaching- and learning- some of life's hardest lessons.

"I just wanted to write down what I thought were the main messages, or Life Lessons, in movies I enjoyed. Each post is just a one line summary of a movie, the Life Lesson from it, and the movie scene that illustrates that Life Lesson. Then, in the Substack newsletter, I bring multiple movies together to discuss one Life Lesson in particular that I've learned. I think a lot of movies give good advice. There is a lot of wisdom embedded in them, and that's why "moviewise" was born!"

WRITER'S BIO: Mr. Scala spent 22-plus years in the Hollywood community, and was the Executive Director for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards, as well as?The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Award Show.?He recently completed the screenplay adaptation of the novel?"Making Broken Beautiful"?by?Pamela Millican-Hartnoll; a tragic story of excessive abuse and redemptive success. Currently, he is working on the fascinating autobiographical adaptation of?"Call Me Zena", by?Sally Barnard?who, after a brief illness, began experiencing intergalactic travels while also developing high-level artistic skills overnight!

Most recently, Mr. Scala has been hired as the?Executive Script Consultant?on a major feature film scheduled for filming in August, 2021. He is also developing the screenplay adaptations of rock pioneer?Jimmie F. Rodgers,?Motown star?Tammi Terrell?and iconic folk singer?Harry Chapin- all while continuing to mentor new writers and self-published authors.

Geno has two screenplays produced into feature films;?"Assassin 33 A.D."??and?"The Tombs".?Both are currently available on Amazon Prime. https://www.thescriptmentor.com