The Entertainment Law Office of Michael Norman Saleman - Attorney

The Entertainment Law Office of Michael Norman Saleman - Attorney Motion Pictures, Music, Business He is a graduate of UCLA and Whittier College School of Law. Mr.

ATTORNEY-AT-LAW: Representation of Independent Filmmakers TV, Creation of Production Companies, Financing Document Preparation, Production/Legal Contracts, Distribution, Negotiation and Agreements. Michael Norman Saleman is a Martindale-Hubbell AV rated attorney at law admitted to practice law in the States of California and Texas, Federal Courts of the United States and United States Tax Court. H

e was admitted to practice law in California in 1980 and in Texas in 1994. Saleman has three offices, one in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), California, one in Austin, Texas and another in Dallas, Texas.e. Saleman’s practice maintains a special emphasis on the representation of independent filmmakers. In the course of such representation, he handles the creation of production companies, prepares financing documents, handles production/legal contracts and distribution negotiation and agreements. He also represents film, television, multimedia, music and software clients in Texas, California and other parts of the United States. In his 32+ years of practice, in the area of film, he has represented independent filmmakers, television producers, writers, former studio heads of network programming, directors, actors and other members of the entertainment industry. He has been involved in negotiation and transactions, as well as litigation, involving films which have been distributed on a worldwide basis. He has prepared offerings, L.L.C.s, limited partnerships and other financing vehicles for independent film projects. He has lectured at film festivals, such as SXSW and in continuing education seminars for other entertainment attorneys. He has also lectured at the University of Texas at Austin, Loyola Law School, Whittier College School of Law, UCLA, Chapman College Film School and other institutions. He acts as advisor to the Texas Film Commission, sits on the board of the Film Texas Fund and was one of the drafters of the Texas Film Development Act.

To film producers:  If you plan on having "s*x scenes" in your movies, please be sure to engage an intimacy coordinator ...
01/30/2020

To film producers: If you plan on having "s*x scenes" in your movies, please be sure to engage an intimacy coordinator and budget for it as well.

Screen Actors Guild guidelines for intimacy coordinators are designed to protect performers filming nudity or simulated s*x

Very important article for any indie filmmakers who have or are using Tugg to get their films in theaters.I am not aware...
01/29/2020

Very important article for any indie filmmakers who have or are using Tugg to get their films in theaters.I am not aware of any bankruptcy filings and cannot speak to the veracity of this article.

Is TUGG Going Bankrupt and Not Refunding Filmmakers & Customers? I don't know if something is in the air but things are getting rougher for indie filmmakers every day. I received a call today from a

Just in case any producers want to avoid paying option fees and option exercise purchase prices:
01/03/2020

Just in case any producers want to avoid paying option fees and option exercise purchase prices:

For the second year in a row, January 1 brings thousands of classic copyrighted works into the public domain. Under U.S. law, works published any time in 1924 will enter the public domain on January 1, 2020. This includes books, films, artworks, sheet music, and other concrete creative works—but u...

It would be great if the legislature could finally really get behind the film industry in Texas. The Office of the Gover...
11/05/2019

It would be great if the legislature could finally really get behind the film industry in Texas. The Office of the Governor has always been supportive. The legislators from some of these smaller rural areas complain that Texas should not give money to Hollywood. Based on the money that filmmakers spend in Texas, "Hollywood" is actually giving money to Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott today invited all Texas communities to participate in a Film Friendly Texas Workshop on Tuesday, November 12, in Lufkin.

I am seeing a new "Streaming Bonus" (when a film goes straight to a streaming service like Netflix) demand from the atto...
11/04/2019

I am seeing a new "Streaming Bonus" (when a film goes straight to a streaming service like Netflix) demand from the attorneys for actors. The greedy ones demand it in addition to box office bonuses (where performers receive x thousand dollars when domestic box office reaches 20 million and an additional x thousand dollars for each 5 million dollar increment of domestic box office thereafter. Rather than make it either/or as the article may suggest, I just insert into the contract that any box office bonuses get deducted from the Streaming Bonus.

Contracts haven't kept pace with studios' stepped-up efforts to forgo theatrical releases for direct-to-consumer options: "There is no recourse."

Filmmakers and writers need to be very selective about the festivals to which they submit.  As evident from this article...
11/01/2019

Filmmakers and writers need to be very selective about the festivals to which they submit. As evident from this article, some are absolute scams.

Beyond the glamour of Cannes and Sundance, a network of international events promises to boost the careers of nascent filmmakers, but those opportunities often come with hefty price tags — and plenty of disappointment.

These types of law firms generally receive 5% of whatever the client makes in exchange for doing the legal work on their...
10/31/2019

These types of law firms generally receive 5% of whatever the client makes in exchange for doing the legal work on their acting agreements, etc. Since this case settled (just like 99.9% of all film related lawsuits) we will probably never know how much of a settlement was paid.

The lawsuit that had Hollywood's dealmakers watching comes to an end.

This is not a political post.  I just want to make actors aware of how the new tax laws affect their deductions.
10/29/2019

This is not a political post. I just want to make actors aware of how the new tax laws affect their deductions.

President Trump's 2017 tax reform legislation was meant to provide a tax cut to Americans, but it has had the opposite effect for many actors who can no longer deduct expenses such as costumes and head shots. The actors are lobbying Congress to remedy the problem.

Things may start getting very interesting in the sequel/prequel/remake world once these Copyright terminations start fly...
10/28/2019

Things may start getting very interesting in the sequel/prequel/remake world once these Copyright terminations start flying around.

Warner Bros., Disney and Skydance receive copyright termination notices over existing IP, potentially giving other studios an in.

A glimmer of hope for some competition for distribution of films and potential financing.
10/25/2019

A glimmer of hope for some competition for distribution of films and potential financing.

A discussion on the sales industry took place at the BFI London Film Festival.

My favorite part of this article is the Comments section where a number of WGA members just ask whey they cannot send th...
10/11/2019

My favorite part of this article is the Comments section where a number of WGA members just ask whey they cannot send their contracts directly to WGA rather than WGA forcing the agencies to do so.

As the WGA’s ongoing battle with Hollywood’s talent agents nears the end of its sixth month, the guild is making the case for one of its demands that’s kept many mid-tier agencies from signing its …

I find it interesting that the Plaintiff's attorney mentioned that a Nudity Rider was never signed.  Would that have eve...
10/07/2019

I find it interesting that the Plaintiff's attorney mentioned that a Nudity Rider was never signed. Would that have even made a difference if the other allegations prove to be true?

The allegations that the actor exploited women students echo a broader assumption: that discomfort in a professional setting is a liability.

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