Engaging talent: potential pitfalls and practical protections

In a world where the talent attached to a project may be the key to its being financed in the first place, or long lived after an initial success, it has never been more important to contract carefully with key performers.

And the rules can differ greatly if the individual involved is a marquee star for a feature film, or an unpaid participant in a reality show that becomes the next watercooler conversation starter. Add to this a changing industrial relations landscape, and constantly evolving technologies, and there is much for the busy producer to juggle.

Let's start with the relevant industrial instruments. For local actors, the talent agent's expectation will frequently commence with the SPA/MEAA agreements and standard contracts. These include templates for TV dramas and feature films. The models contemplate, essentially, rates of payment tied to sets of rights acquired. For SPAA and MEAA members, these templates are expected, and the various buyouts provided